Six Line Wrasse Troubles

[JacqueBickley]

Help! I added a six line wrasse to my tank on Wednesday and he was acting completely fine until today. He is hiding in a rock and refuses to come out for food. I had to get a flashlight to actually see him and he’s breathing very heavy. Any thoughts? I’m worried I am going to lose him.
When I added him, I also added 2 Bangaii Cardinals and one bubble anenome as well as various snails and crabs. I have an established 110 high with other fish and ample rock. I was going to make him leave the rock but don’t want to stress him anymore.

thanks for the help.
Jacque

 

[John A!10]

Help! I added a six line wrasse to my tank on Wednesday and he was acting completely fine until today. He is hiding in a rock and refuses to come out for food. I had to get a flashlight to actually see him and he’s breathing very heavy. Any thoughts? I’m worried I am going to lose him.
When I added him, I also added 2 Bangaii Cardinals and one bubble anenome as well as various snails and crabs. I have an established 110 high with other fish and ample rock. I was going to make him leave the rock but don’t want to stress him anymore.

thanks for the help.
Jacque

Did you qt? Any other signs of parasites scraping against rocks in sand. Not just the wrasse but all the fish. You might want to get some supplies just in case you have to treat ich, velvet or other parasites. I would order copper, but I’m not an expert and I’ve heard wrasses don’t tolerate it.

 

[JacqueBickley]

I didn’t QT, I never have and yes I know it’s a bad habit. Shame! however no one else is showing any signs of illness. He is just sitting in this hole in the rock staring at everyone and breathing fast

 

[threebuoys]

When I first added a 6 line wrasse to an established tank, he was bullied by other fish in the tank, specifically some damsels. In the photo, I don't see any threatening tankmates, unless they too are hiding. It took the wrasse a day or two to stand up for himself.

 

[John A!10]

I didn’t QT, I never have and yes I know it’s a bad habit. Shame! however no one else is showing any signs of illness. He is just sitting in this hole in the rock staring at everyone and breathing fast

How’s he acting now I would suggest quarantining everything from now on. I don’t even have a fish tank. I just use a clear tote with a small $15 hob filter.

 

[JacqueBickley]

He just died, I was watching him fade knowing I couldn’t do anything. He had a huge white/bare spot near his tail and his body looked a little beat up when I saw him last. My husband took him out while I was gone so I couldn’t get a photo of him. I’ll be looking into getting a QT tank, or clear tote as you use.

I noticed I am getting these brown stringy critters lately. At first I thought to was algae but it looks like a gooey worm with strings all over it. Haven’t found a cause yet in my research. Would that be an issue with the wrasse since he spends a lot of time on the rocks?

 

[vetteguy53081]

May have been hiding due to aggression. A pic or two always helps.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

He just died, I was watching him fade knowing I couldn’t do anything. He had a huge white/bare spot near his tail and his body looked a little beat up when I saw him last. My husband took him out while I was gone so I couldn’t get a photo of him. I’ll be looking into getting a QT tank, or clear tote as you use.

I noticed I am getting these brown stringy critters lately. At first I thought to was algae but it looks like a gooey worm with strings all over it. Haven’t found a cause yet in my research. Would that be an issue with the wrasse since he spends a lot of time on the rocks?

While the wrasse could have been attacked by other fish in the tank, the rapid breathing doesn't fit well with that.

That white bar actually might be "good" news. Newly acquired Wrasse are very susceptible to Uronema disease. This manifests as a white or red bar on the fish that looks like an injury. It is almost always fatal. Why the good news? Well, it is the one disease that can cause rapid breathing that won't transfer to every other fish in your tank!

Here is an article I wrote about this issue:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect treatment methods...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[CMMorgan]

Sorry for your loss.

I love our little six line, Ruby. I think she is our oldest fish. She makes it impossible to keep pods though.

 

[JacqueBickley]

While the wrasse could have been attacked by other fish in the tank, the rapid breathing doesn't fit well with that.

That white bar actually might be "good" news. Newly acquired Wrasse are very susceptible to Uronema disease. This manifests as a white or red bar on the fish that looks like an injury. It is almost always fatal. Why the good news? Well, it is the one disease that can cause rapid breathing that won't transfer to every other fish in your tank!

Here is an article I wrote about this issue:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect treatment methods...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

I never even considered this. I actually had this when I set up my tank originally and bought fish online, they were all green chromis and died within a week or two and had this injury looking lesion on them. The wrasse had it in a similar location but I couldn’t get a good look at the lesion itself. Thank you for the information.

 

[John A!10]

At least it won harm your other livestock. I learned from my mistakes and I’m currently doing a fallow period for ich because I didn’t quarantine. I’ll be quarantining everything from now on.