Please Help My Wrasse!

[tdileo]

I came home today to find my lineatus wrasse swimming all crazy and there is a big chunk missing from his right fin. He is swimming sideways, upside down, and every way except the way he should be. I don’t know how to attach a video. I have had him for a few weeks and this suddenly happened. I am very upset to see this happening and I worked for a very long time to have enough money for one. (I’m 15).

 

[tdileo]

I believe I am seeing internal bleeding in his tail. He isn’t eating. His fins all appear to be decaying. I have turned off most of my powerheads so that swimming is easier on him.

 

[tdileo]

Bump. He is seeming worse. I have moved him to the sump so he can rest peacefully and hopefully make a miraculous recovery. When I removed him from the DT a couple scales came off.

Here he is now. Obviously not a great photo, but you can tell it’s very bad. He is still breathing though. I don’t have much hope for him surviving at this point. He is my families favorite fish, my mom loves coming home from work every day and talking to him when he comes over the see her.

 

[Big G]

Sounds like a nasty bacterial infection has set in on your beautiful fish. Many wrasses come to us and have internal parasites as the primary problem. Then untreated it spreads to externally visible symptoms, like fin & tail rot and other behaviors. Highly suggest the "trifecta" at this point: Metro + Kanaplex + Furna2

Do you have a quarantine tank?

Here's Humblefish's treatment advisory for Bacterial infections. Note the bolded and underlined:

Bacterial infections:

Symptoms - Sometimes it's self-describing: Popeye/cloudy eyes, fin & tail rot, dropsy (bloated fish), etc. But some other bacterial infections, such as furunculosis, hemorrhagic septicemia, etc., can have varying visible symptoms. Any redness or open sores/wounds on a fish should be viewed with suspicion. Also, a white film or fungus-looking growth may denote a bacterial infection. It’s important to note that in many cases a bacterial infection is usually secondary in nature to a parasitic infestation such as ich, meaning if a fish has been battling ich for a while then his immune system has been lowered. This makes infection more likely for many opportunistic, harmful bacteria.

Treatment options - Broad spectrum antibiotic medication i.e. one that treats both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases. Examples of this include Furan-2, Kanamycin aka Seachem Kanaplex, Nitrofuracin Green Powder, Triple Sulfa Powder, or a combination of using both Erythromycin & Minocycline. The latter can be accomplished (albeit expensively) by using freshwater Maracyn 1 & 2 and then doubling the dosage for saltwater use. When battling a particularly nasty bacterial infection, combining Furan-2, Kanaplex and metronidazole (ex. Seachem MetroPlex) can be very effective (and safe). Props to “hedgedrew” for enlightening me of this.

@4FordFamily, @eatbreakfast, @Humblefish

 

[Deinonych]

Is it possible he had a run-in with a powerhead? The sudden loss of scales and fins would fit that scenario.

 

[HotRocks]

Is it possible he had a run-in with a powerhead? The sudden loss of scales and fins would fit that scenario.

What other fish is he housed with?
Do you have a QT tank?
This fish is most likely going to need some sort of treatment in order to survive. That pic is very hard to see. Uploading videos is easiest by uploading to YouTube and then post the link to your video.

 

[tdileo]

The only fish that would possibly concern me is my starry blenny. Sometimes he’s a real dick, but it’s usually only towards other herbivores. However since the wrasse starting drifting around I have seen him nip at him a couple times. My QT tank is currently not running but I can set one back up. To avoid stress from changing water params, I moved him to my refugium. He layed down on a bed of caulerpa and did not move. Very slowly began making a mucus cocoon but never finished. About 45 minutes later I came back downstairs afraid to look and was shocked to see him swimming around (this is about 10 minutes ago as of now).

 

[HotRocks]

Ok. I would prepare your QT and get some seeded media moved over from your DT. Regardless, from the sounds of his injuries, you will probably need to treat with antibiotics. If you can post a video there are several people here that can help guide you along the treatment process.

 

[tdileo]

Here are some photos. Thanks a lot for the help and information. In the second pic he is to the left of the light glare. I am going to leave him here for a little while before I set up QT.. I have Tetracycline and triple sulfa on hand but will not be able to get out to the store because I’m in the middle of a big snowstorm. I wish I could get my flower anemones out of my 46g and just QT him in the nice big tank (they’re the only inhabitants left). I’m sure he would be a lot happier in there than the 10g QT I have. Every time I look at him now he seems to be swimming a bit stronger. I really am wondering if the blenny just went berserk today and attacked him while I was at school.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

I have had 3 different male wrasses meet a similar end. Beautiful, fat and happy, swimming around in the morning...find them all jacked up by the time I got home from work. my females are fine, and my Brunneus is fine but 2 flames and a katoi all died the same way.

 

[Big G]

triple sulfa

Bingo Triple Sulfa is a broad spectrum antibiotic that treats both gram negative and gram positive bacterial infections.

 

[Maritimer]

Another possibility to consider is a spinal injury, which often presents with that characteristic "tail drop" and erratic swimming. The reddening of the tail does smack of an infection, though - quiet time in a QT, as the sole fish in residence with antibiotics for the possible infection, should be about the best you can do to cover both possibilities.

~Bruce

P.S. - To upload a video, post it up on Youtube, Vimeo or similar, and link to it here, using the "movie frames" icon at the top of the post-window.

 

[tdileo]

Another possibility to consider is a spinal injury, which often presents with that characteristic "tail drop" and erratic swimming. The reddening of the tail does smack of an infection, though - quiet time in a QT, as the sole fish in residence with antibiotics for the possible infection, should be about the best you can do to cover both possibilities.

~Bruce

P.S. - To upload a video, post it up on Youtube, Vimeo or similar, and link to it here, using the "movie frames" icon at the top of the post-window.

I appreciate the help a lot. I am going to give him another day or two in my refugium because he seems to be doing okay there now and I’d like to see him recover a bit more before he has to go to a new system. I will treat for bacterial infection and then allow him until the end of the month to heal before he goes back in the DT because I’m leaving for vacation.

 

[tdileo]

Didn’t update when it happened, but a while ago he slipped under a crack in the sump into a pitch black section wit nothing there. Yesterday I use a waterproof flexible camera the width of a pen to see in there and make sure he didn’t die. After his disappearance the other day, a few minutes he has emerged after nearly 48 hours of sleeping. His wounds have healed a lot. However he is still swimming very poorly. Any guesses as to what it is? Assuming it is swim bladder, are there any known cures? From what I have read there isn’t. He still shows no interest in food of any sort.

 

[Deinonych]

We would need to see a video of the swimming behavior to attempt a diagnosis. Unlikely it's a swim bladder issue, as those are typically a result of poor collection and decompression. They tend to show up early after acquisition.