please help

Alisha · Feb 14, 2016

Hello we were switching our tank over today and our flame wrasse started acting weird, he keeps floating to the top of the tank and can't seem to get anywhere. Maybe swim bladder infection? His mouth keeps coming out of the water, do we need to keep his mouth under water??? Please help me if you have any experience of knowledge

he's not looking so hot

hybridazn · Feb 14, 2016

Any physical signs of illness or infections? Pics would help greatly as well if you can post them. The more info provided the better we can help

[HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]

@melypr1985

Reeflogic · Feb 14, 2016

When you say switching over, do you mean you moved sand, rock and water to a new tank and then put the fish in? If so, how deep / old was the sandbed? That is the only thing I can think of that would cause fish to surface, assuming the new water is RODI saltwater or equivalent. Any other fish or inverts acting similar to the wrasse? There could be many things, you may want to add more details. Also, do you have another system you can place him in temporarily? I Hope he pulls through.

Diesel · Feb 14, 2016

+1, we need more info, pics and what did you do in the switch over?
Any other fish or corals in the system/
CUC or shrimp?
What kind of filtration you run?

Alisha · Feb 14, 2016

Thanks guys, no other signs of illness besides his belly looks a little bloated. We placed him in a clean piece of pvc so he can hopefully relax, he kept trying to prop himself behind and under things so we thought that would help. We placed all the fish in a 20 gallon container with a heater while we rinsed the sand to put in our new tank. We had everything in a 210g and had a custom 105g made so we are using all the same rock, sand and water and everyone seems fine besides the male flame wrasse.

Alisha · Feb 14, 2016

Sorry I'm so nervous for my wrasse I'm all over the place, we didn't have any of the fish in the new tank yet so he wasn't mixed with the dirty sand we have corals female flame, melanurus, pyles, 2 cardinals, blue spotted watchmen and pistol shrimp but they are all fine.

Reeflogic · Feb 14, 2016

Ohhh, so he was freaking out in the 20g holding tank? Maybe stress from being netted, is he staying in the PVC you placed in for him?

Reeflogic · Feb 14, 2016

Another thing that came to mind, wrasses like to head straight under the rocks when they stress, any chance he may have received any pressure when moving the rocks to the new tank?

Alisha · Feb 14, 2016

He is staying in the pvc at least for now he stuck his face out a tiny bit but that's it. I don't think any rocks got him we only had smaller rocks that had coral attached to them in the container and we set them all on the bottom before we put the fish in. But when we netted him his teeth (or something in his mouth) got caught on the net but we wiggled the net and he got off and was breathing heavy buy seemed ok.

Reeflogic · Feb 14, 2016

Well, let's hope it was just netting stress and the fact he was snagged a few seconds. Doesn't sound like you did anything wrong or changed anything in water parameters to drastically, so crossing fingers that it's just him stressing out. Do you have a screen or top on the holding tank? I'd make sure it remains covered with something, stressed wrasses like to fly.... I can't think of anything that would cause the bloating, though, if he wasn't bloated before being netted, there may be some type of internal injury. Keep an eye on him and keep us posted!

Alisha · Feb 14, 2016

Yep there's a top so he can't jump out. Thanks for the help! I'll do an update on any changes, thanks again!

melypr1985 · Feb 14, 2016

Sorry I'm late to the party. When EXACTLY did this start? Did it start before the transfer happened? Was he acting different before you netted him out and into the holding tank? Or did it start after he was moved? Is he currently breathing hard? Any redness (i know it's stupid cause he's probably red anyway), or dark spots on the body or damage to his body otherwise? Do you have any Epsom Salt on hand?

Alisha · Feb 14, 2016

He seemed fine after being netted and put into the holding container he was breathing heavy but all of the fish were from being caught. I didn't see any damage to his body besides his belly was bloated and he couldn't stay down he kept floating to the top. But the poor guy didn't make it

if this were to happen to another fish what would I do with the Epsom salt?

Reeflogic · Feb 14, 2016

I'm sorry he did not pull through

and I'm curious to see what others say may have happened. It still sounds to me that he may have been inadvertently damaged by moving rocks around, possibly the swim bladder.

Alisha · Feb 14, 2016

Thanks, but I don't know how that could have happened because all of the rocks were taken out first and put in a separate container than the fish. Would that cause him to float up to the top of the tank if he was damaged by a rock ?

Reeflogic · Feb 14, 2016

I'm sure you were very careful removing the rocks, but if the rocks were removed first, in order to remove the fish more easily, one of the rocks could have leaned or fallen onto him, inadvertently causing pressure on him or his swim bladder. I know wrasses I have had over the years always head to a hiding spot beneath rocks, right on the sand or bottom, when stressed. I could be completely wrong here, but if he was fine and healthy before the transfer, I would think a disease or other ailment would be out of the question, leaving a few possibilities as to why he died. They are so delicate, it doesn't take much pressure to cause an internal injury. The other fish are all doing ok? Again, really sorry for your loss, I hate losing fish, especially in situations like this, where you are not 100% certain of what caused it. Maybe the reefsquad will have a better diagnosis than me, without seeing him or being there, I am really just brainstorming and trying to help best I can.

Alisha · Feb 14, 2016

Yep everyone else is doing good, and all of our other wrasses swim for the rocks when frightened this guy had his own personality he always stayed out front and would swim almost against our hands when they were in the tank. Poor guy, like you said they are delicate a rock or a large coral could have tipped on him

when he was in the holding container. Thanks again for the info I really do appreciate it!

melypr1985 · Feb 14, 2016

This is what to do with Epsom salt. It's really good for relieving swelling.
Epsom Salt: Treats eye and other injuries. Popeye in one eye usually means injury, but popeye in both eyes usually denotes a bacterial infection requiring antibiotic treatment. Cloudy eye can be a bacterial infection or flukes.

How To Treat - 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of aquarium water. Repeat only once, if necessary. Use only “USP” grade Epsom salt.

Pros - Reef safe, as Epsom salt is just magnesium sulfate.

Cons/Side Effects - The effects of excessive sulfate in a reef aquarium are not fully known.

I sincerely think this problem was already present in the fish before the transfer. No doubt the chasing and catching and moving of rocks exacerbated it, but it's way to odd for it to just appear minutes after being removed to a holding tank.