Melanurus Wrasse dying

[Steve Jones]

Just came home from work. My wrasse and Pajama Cardinalfish and Coral Beauty are all in hospital tank after Brooks hit my DT. They've had the Formalin baths and have been OK for 3 weeks. Last night the ammonia started to spike bad so I did a 75% water change on the 10 gal tank. They were fine after that and ate like pigs. Just now found the wrasse is at the bottom of the tank barely moving. Thought he was dead. Started another ammonia test and 2 minutes into the test the tube turned such a dark green it was almost black. what the heck? Put some new water in a large container and moved the wrasse to it w/ air stone. Left the other 2 as they seemed fine and did a quick 50% water change on the tank. Wrasse is still alive - but barely in the container. Just did another test and ammonia is now .5. Still high but I have some trouble shooting time. What might have caused such a HUGE ammonia spike in less than 24 hours? Anything I can do to help the wrasse?

 

[jsker]

[HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] Please

 

[hybridazn]

Is all the food being eaten? What kind of filtration are you using? A 10 gallon is rather small for those 3 at once.

 

[Steve Jones]

It was last night. I vacuumed up the tank bottom last night before water change. A hang on filter with sponge, carbon and ammonia reduction "stones" in a mesh bag. Size is not an option. They have been fine for 3 weeks.

 

[tdiddy]

Do you have substrate?

 

[melypr1985]

Be mindful of how much you are feeding in a QT and vacuum out all the leftovers each time you feed. You'll want to get some bacteria in a bottle like Stability to add to the filter and help naturally break that ammonia down. Large daily water changes until the bacteria builds up enough to handle it. Have you dosed anything else in the tank recently?

For the wrasse you can try a methelyne blue dip as it's good for healing ammonia damage in the gills.

Malachite Green/Methylene Blue: Treats ammonia burn, cuts, injuries.

How To Treat - Comes in both liquid and powder form, sometimes mixed in with another medication(s). So, follow the directions on the label. Best used as a 30 minute bath solution, but you also can treat with it in a quarantine tank. Aerate heavily. If you are using it in a bath solution, then it is also a good idea to treat the fish with nitrofurazone (active ingredient found in Furan-2 and Nitrofuracin Green Powder) once he is returned to the quarantine tank. Nitrofurazone is great for treating open wounds or sores.

Pros - Highly effective.

Cons/Side Effects - Depletes oxygen from the water. Malachite Green is considered “harsher” on fish than Methylene Blue.

 

[Salty1962]

Also realize that the ammonia stones have to be colonized with bacteria to function properly.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Did you change filter media recently? This can often affect the biological filtration.

 

[Steve Jones]

Feeding sparingly and vacuuming. I'll add some Stability as I have that. Don't know how quickly I can get the meds. Haven't dosed in the tank at all. Formalin dips were external to tank.

 

[Steve Jones]

No substrate.

 

[Steve Jones]

Had to be away last 3 hours - daughter's graduation. Wrasse still alive - but barely. Added Stability and Top Fin Ammonia Remover.

 

[Humblefish]

Any copper (or other medications) in the water? Those can cause false positives with standard ammonia test kits.

 

[Steve Jones]

No. Only treatment was Formalin well over a week ago and in an entirely separate set of bowls.

 

[Steve Jones]

Wrasse responds to touch and keeps moving into the curve of the PVC pipes wedging in near the tank base. I'm keeping an eye on but it doesn't look too good.

 

[Steve Jones]

Will check ammonia et al again before bed. If it is still around .5 do you recommend a water change or wait for ammonia reducer to kick in? If water change should I then add more reducer?

 

[melypr1985]

Will check ammonia et al again before bed. If it is still around .5 do you recommend a water change or wait for ammonia reducer to kick in? If water change should I then add more reducer?

The ammonia reducer will act almost immediately. Water changes are always a good idea when ammonia is present.

 

[Steve Jones]

Yes - so if I do another water change before end of night, should I add more reducer and more Stability since I will have lost some in the change?

 

[melypr1985]

Yes - so if I do another water change before end of night, should I add more reducer and more Stability since I will have lost some in the change?

More stability, though a better way to do that part is to get a sponge and soak it in the stability for a few hours before placing it in the filter. This should give the bacteria time to settle in the sponge and not get sucked out while floating around. If you still have detectable ammonia after the water change then add the reducer.

 

[Steve Jones]

The wrasse is a fighter, I'll give him that. He made it through the night. Not very responsive still - but not dead. Ammonia was at about .1 when I left for work, so I added some reducer to be safe. The Coral Beauty and Pajama Cardinalfish see fine. I'll see if I can't find someplace that can overnight me Malachite Green / Methylene Blue and we'll go from there.

 

[Duke4Life]

The wrasse is a fighter, I'll give him that. He made it through the night. Not very responsive still - but not dead. Ammonia was at about .1 when I left for work, so I added some reducer to be safe. The Coral Beauty and Pajama Cardinalfish see fine. I'll see if I can't find someplace that can overnight me Malachite Green / Methylene Blue and we'll go from there.

Amazon, I was able to order and overnight Methylene Blue to a member on here from them.