Thalassoma - help! How dead is dead?

Ben jammin · May 24, 2014

I just added a quinquevittatum wrasse to my tank after he was QT'd for me at my LFS. On the way home he played dead in the bag, which didn't surprise me as I've read that Thalassoma wrasses often play dead when stressed. I did a long drip acclimation in the dark and noticed that I didn't even see his gills moving, but again figured he's just doing a good job playing possum. After the acclimation I added him to my tank and figured he'd go hide under the rocks or in the sand for several days, but instead he remained motionless on the sand in the front of the tank. Then my cowfish came over and took a small bite out of him! I scrambled to get feeding tongs to keep the cowfish away and a small breeder to protect the wrasse with, but in the 10 seconds it took me to get that my cowfish picked him up by his head and started carrying him away. I knocked the cowfish with some feeding tongs to get him to drop the wrasse and then put my plastic breeder box upside down over him on the sand to protect him from the other fish. Through all of this - even getting bitten by my cowfish and french angel, he never flinched. He's still playing dead 15 minutes later but I'm not so sure he is playing. I plan to leave the breeder on him to protect him for at least a day. If he's alive I hope he'll finally bury himself in the sand under the breeder until he's ready to come out, but I'm worried his wounds will get infected or he'll get ick or something at this point.

I have never before seen anything like this when introducing a new fish, even other wrasse. I can't believe he was really dead after a short car ride and an acclimation, but I can't believe he wouldn't bolt from other fish when they started biting him either if he was really alive. Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated - he's a beautiful fish and I hate to lose him. I am so mad at my cowfish.

Eienna · May 24, 2014

It does sound an awful lot like he's dead.

I'm pretty sure he would have reacted upon being picked up by the head.
One of my healthy (I thought) anthias died when I put her in a bucket to move to my new home...everyone else is okay, but she was definitely dying within about half an hour. Still not sure why.

Ben jammin · May 24, 2014

Went out for dinner tonight, came back and turned a light on to look at him - he sure looks dead to me. I don't know could have happened. I brought home a blue tang and some yellowtail damsels as well and acclimated them all together, and the damsels and tang are already eating, while the wrasse appears to have been DOA. He'd been hiding in the QT when I got him but I confirmed he was eating before we bagged him up. It's like he had a coronary or something. Again, I know these things can play a convincing game of possum but there's no gill movement and he's turning white. If he hasn't moved by tomorrow I feel like I need to remove him and dispose of him unless someone can offer a glimmer of hope and experience. :-(

Eienna · May 25, 2014

If he's turning white, he's dead.

Sorry to hear it. It's possible he tried to "dive into the sand" on the way home, but with no sand, and hit it so hard he killed himself. They do that sometimes. Next time you go to get a wrasse (that isn't a dairy or flasher), bring a bucket with a good 4"-5" of sand in the bottom.