melanurus wrasse death

[FMJUICE]

I have had a fair bit of luck keeping a variety of fish however the melanurus wrasse I just can not seem to keep alive. I have tried 4 times now and each one has died either in quarantine or in the display tank. My latest casualty, however appeared fine in the qt tank and alright the first day in the display but after that I saw him with this white what looked like maybe a burn on his side. I have 2 clowns, mandarin goby, diamond goby, and a anathis all of which are/have been healthy for 3 years. I have a 75 gallon reef with a sandbed. I am wondering if anyone could shed some light on what could have possibly happened.

 

[Sharkbait19]

That looks like uronema to me - it’s pretty common in halichoeres and is always fatal.
Same thing happened to the yellow Coris I tried.

 

[MnFish1]

At the least there was an injury with infection - or possible uronema?

 

[threebuoys]

That looks like uronema to me - it’s pretty common in halichoeres and is always fatal.
Same thing happened to the yellow Coris I tried.

Agreed!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have had a fair bit of luck keeping a variety of fish however the melanurus wrasse I just can not seem to keep alive. I have tried 4 times now and each one has died either in quarantine or in the display tank. My latest casualty, however appeared fine in the qt tank and alright the first day in the display but after that I saw him with this white what looked like maybe a burn on his side. I have 2 clowns, mandarin goby, diamond goby, and a anathis all of which are/have been healthy for 3 years. I have a 75 gallon reef with a sandbed. I am wondering if anyone could shed some light on what could have possibly happened.

Represents uronema but is not and I suspect aggression resulting in injury or fish obtaining damage from rock structure
Treatment asap with seachem kanaplex in a separate quarantine setting

 

[FMJUICE]

If it is uronema are/were my other fish at risk?

 

[jmoney7]

Most display tanks have uronema including mine currently it normally is only an issue with newly introduced fish and highly stressed fish. There are also fish that are susceptible to having it. The best advice I got was to make sure you get one that is eating from the store and acclimate slowly and least stressful way possible. If you do QT them give them 1-2 weeks of no medication before putting them into DT. I am going to try melanarus wrasse using this process I lost my first one to what I think was due to stress.

 

[1112-425XL]

I've had my Melanurus Wrasse for over 2 years. 4 weeks in 20 gal observation tank with no meds before going in DT. Definitely one of my favorites. Don't give up.

Bedtime, 5 min before lights out

Good morning 20 min before lights on

 

[TheFunnyFarm]

If you get a small female it’s usually best, as mine was a champ all the way through Jay Hemdal’s QT protocol in a 10gal. The younger they are the easier it typically is to transition to captivity.

They also tend to do better in QT where it’s darker and quiet with few sudden changes such as lights turning on or doors swinging open to the room.

 

[FMJUICE]

Most display tanks have uronema including mine currently it normally is only an issue with newly introduced fish and highly stressed fish. There are also fish that are susceptible to having it. The best advice I got was to make sure you get one that is eating from the store and acclimate slowly and least stressful way possible. If you do QT them give them 1-2 weeks of no medication before putting them into DT. I am going to try melanarus wrasse using this process I lost my first one to what I think was due to stress.

what meds are you going to try in the qt tank? Also would a uv filter help with eliminating the uronema? I have read adding something like garlic xtreme helps, do you know if there is any validity to that?

 

[FMJUICE]

I've had my Melanurus Wrasse for over 2 years. 4 weeks in 20 gal observation tank with no meds before going in DT. Definitely one of my favorites. Don't give up.

Bedtime, 5 min before lights out

Good morning 20 min before lights on

This is awesome I appreciate the words of encouragement because I am beyond frustrated losing them over and over.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Garlic won’t do anything - all it’s really good for in aquaria is slight relief from certain intestinal parasites.
Uro is considered a part of every tank, but only certain fish will be affected. If I’m not mistaken, you usually don’t see reinfections that often either (unless a lot of new, susceptible fish are dying at once).
@Jay Hemdal can confirm that though.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

If it is uronema are/were my other fish at risk?

This does look like internal uronema to me as well.

Probably not, unless they are also newly acquired, and of a succeptable speices (anthias, wrasse, some butterflyfish).

There are two basic forms of uronema infections in fish: internal or external. The internal one cannot be successfully treated, although you will read people saying treat with "this or that". External Uronema is usually seen in seahorses and seadragons and can be treated with formalin or chloroquine. Don't make the common error though - of seeing a lesion on a fish and thinking it is the external form. Ironically, that is the internal form that has reached the surface of the fish, it cannot be treated at this stage, the damage has already been done.

Internal Uronema is only seen in newly acquired fish of certain species. It is not contagious. Most established reef aquariums have Uronema free living in them. Uronema is not an obligate parasite, it normally feeds on bacteria.

Jay