Carpenter Wrasse with Cut, White Fuzz? Lymphocyte?

danR777 · Feb 19, 2022

Had him for about a week, was eating gin up until today, sort of found him lying on his side this AM, but then he moved & then all of a sudden came out and swam a bit, he did not seem to be as interested in eating all like he has been:

There is a shallow gash (1/2 inch or so) on each side of the fish, it seemed to be getting better, but now it seems to be getting whiter? Maybe it is healing?

Sorry the best pic I could get of him when he came out a few minutes ago?

Is it Lymphocytes? could it go away on it's own? and he may be recovering?

MnFish1 · Feb 19, 2022

danR777 said:
Had him for about a week, was eating gin up until today, sort of found him lying on his side this AM, but then he moved & then all of a sudden came out and swam a bit, he did not seem to be as interested in eating all like he has been:

There is a shallow gash (1/2 inch or so) on each side of the fish, it seemed to be getting better, but now it seems to be getting whiter? Maybe it is healing?

Sorry the best pic I could get of him when he came out a few minutes ago?

Is it Lymphocytes? could it go away on it's own? and he may be recovering?

Was he the only recent addition?
What else is in the tank? (Ie.. fish, predators, etc)
Is there anything 'sharp' that it could have wedged into? Are the areas totally symmetrical?
Any other sick fish?

To answer - This does not look like lymphocyctis.
To me it looks like a wound of some sort. Since the fish is acting poorly. I would consider removing it to a hospital (separate tank) - and consider treating with a broad spectrum antibiotic. Will call the rest of the crew as well:

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy242 @nereefpat @tamberev

MnFish1 · Feb 19, 2022

Ps - assuming thats a 'wound' - thats covering a large portion of 'skin area'. My guess is that without treatment - it will get worse not better. In the meantime if you can prepare a hospital tank - I would do so. (as well as determining what remedies are available in your area).

To me its difficult to tell - is the skin 'cut' - or is it sloughing? Is there some big anemone that could have stung it?

MnFish1 · Feb 19, 2022

PPS. by broad spectrum antibiotic, I would include something that covers fungal infections as well - though I don't see how any of those would just pop up - in that area - in that shape without an injury. The only reason to recommend (and its really prophylactic) antibiotics is that that is a huge wound, and the fish is behaving poorly

danR777 · Feb 19, 2022

@MnFish1 Thank you so much for all the posts!!!

.

Was he the only recent addition? a Bicolor blenny was added about the same time (who seems perfectly fine since introduction last weekend does not mess with the wrasse or anything , hides from his shadow but does come out and peek around and eats fine )...

What else is in the tank? (Ie.. fish, predators, etc)
- the bicolor blenny I mentioned
- 2 clownfish who don't interact with anyone or thing in the tank
- yellow female goby watchman who is paired with a candy cane pistol shrimp

I have not seen any interaction with the wrasse and other fish much, wrasse does not seem scared of anything in my tank...

I believe it had the marks when I got him, but both grew a bit since.. and started turning white as pictured.

He is coming out like every 5-10 minutes or so now, swims a bit around for a minute or two and then goes under a rock bridge and just stays there.... just acting very different then he has been, was very active always out.... I put some freeze dried cyclops in the tank and he came out and seemed to have eaten some and was interested in it...

Is there anything 'sharp' that it could have wedged into? Are the areas totally symmetrical? seems like it, it was a significantly smaller on the other side... the other side's mark/cut seems to be almost gone today actually.

Any other sick fish? No.

danR777 · Feb 19, 2022

MnFish1 said:
Ps - assuming thats a 'wound' - thats covering a large portion of 'skin area'. My guess is that without treatment - it will get worse not better. In the meantime if you can prepare a hospital tank - I would do so. (as well as determining what remedies are available in your area).

To me its difficult to tell - is the skin 'cut' - or is it sloughing? Is there some big anemone that could have stung it?

I would define it as sloughing or was "medium coarsely grated"

no, other than the tiny candy cane shrimp but I doubt they interacted as the YGW guards it all the time

MnFish1 · Feb 19, 2022

danR777 said:
@MnFish1 Thank you so much for all the posts!!! .

Was he the only recent addition? a Bicolor blenny was added about the same time (who seems perfectly fine since introduction last weekend does not mess with the wrasse or anything , hides from his shadow but does come out and peek around and eats fine )...

What else is in the tank? (Ie.. fish, predators, etc)
- the bicolor blenny I mentioned
- 2 clownfish who don't interact with anyone or thing in the tank
- yellow female goby watchman who is paired with a candy cane pistol shrimp

I have not seen any interaction with the wrasse and other fish much, wrasse does not seem scared of anything in my tank...

I believe it had the marks when I got him, but both grew a bit since.. and started turning white as pictured.

He is coming out like every 5-10 minutes or so now, swims a bit around for a minute or two and then goes under a rock bridge and just stays there.... just acting very different then he has been, was very active always out.... I put some freeze dried cyclops in the tank and he came out and seemed to have eaten some and was interested in it...

Is there anything 'sharp' that it could have wedged into? Are the areas totally symmetrical? seems like it, it was a significantly smaller on the other side... the other side's mark/cut seems to be almost gone today actually.

Any other sick fish? No.

So it sounds? like damage in transport perhaps? I think I would try to put him in a separate 'QT/Hospital tank' figure out what remedies you have locally (perhaps take your picture to a GOOD LFS) - again especially since he seems to be getting worse on one side. Adding a dose of 'stress coat' will not hurt. In the meantime

The only other issue - uronema can sometimes start out looking a little like this - followed by red ulceration. I do not think this the case

MnFish1 · Feb 19, 2022

danR777 said:
I would define it as sloughing or was "medium coarsely grated"

no, other than the tiny candy cane shrimp but I doubt they interacted as the YGW guards it all the time

Sloughing could also suggest brooklynella - the rest of the symptoms do not really.

Sorry I meant to ask you - did you QT him? Have you done a FW dip, etc? It seems so localized. that to me its hard to say its a parasite per se.

Thanks for answering all of the questions - Lets wait for some other opinions/advice - in the meantime - I would try to set up a hospital tank. Find out what medications etc are available at your local LFS - in order to be prepared to treat if necessary. The good sign is that the other side is getting better/almost gone. The bad part is the not eating - listlessness.

danR777 · Feb 19, 2022

MnFish1 said:
Sloughing could also suggest brooklynella - the rest of the symptoms do not really.

Sorry I meant to ask you - did you QT him?

No, but this may be when I start... I have 15 fish in my larger tank, and have never done it w/o any issues, but I know I am gambling the whole tank

MnFish1 said:
Have you done a FW dip, etc? It seems so localized. that to me its hard to say its a parasite per se.

Thanks for answering all of the questions - Lets wait for some other opinions/advice - in the meantime - I would try to set up a hospital tank. Find out what medications etc are available at your local LFS - in order to be prepared to treat if necessary. The good sign is that the other side is getting better/almost gone. The bad part is the not eating - listlessness.

I believe he is declining, I will keep a close eye and see if I can setup a hospital tank if I can even get him out

thank you so much for all the input

Jay Hemdal · Feb 19, 2022

danR777 said:
No, but this may be when I start... I have 15 fish in my larger tank, and have never done it w/o any issues, but I know I am gambling the whole tank

I believe he is declining, I will keep a close eye and see if I can setup a hospital tank if I can even get him out

thank you so much for all the input

Visually, and given the time frame here, I'm worried that this is Uronema. Common in new wrasse, it is difficult to treat. It could also be bacterial, or worse yet, Uronema AND bacteria. Here is a link to an article I posted here on Uronema:

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

danR777 · Feb 19, 2022

Jay Hemdal said:
Visually, and given the time frame here, I'm worried that this is Uronema. Common in new wrasse, it is difficult to treat. It could also be bacterial, or worse yet, Uronema AND bacteria. Here is a link to an article I posted here on Uronema:

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

Ugh. Have been doing alot of reading about…
The wrasse came from a tank of Chromis….
How likely is it to infect the rest of the assuming healthy fish ? It seems like white pieces are floating around the tank not sure if that is flesh of the wrasse rotting away or not …. I attempted to get him out without luck he still is swimming when evading me

vetteguy53081 · Feb 19, 2022

Looks like bacterial and my treatment choice would be Seachem Neoplex
If unavailable. . . Ruby Rally Pro starting with a 90 minute bath then a 10 day treatment