Flame wrasse aggression injury

ngoodermuth

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Hey folks! I tend to be more “conservative” when it comes to injuries in my reef. My flame wrasse recently got into a tussle with a newly added female lineatus, and lost. Most of the wounds are superficial, but there is one deeper bite on his tail that I’d love a second opinion on.

Eating, breathing normal. No white discoloration, a tiny hint of red just in the center of the wound. It’s a bit more noticeable in person than in photos... wound is a couple of days old. Lineatus has been temporarily(maybe) relocated.

I’ve considered everything from leaving alone completely and feeding well- in hopes it will heal on it’s own, catching for an MB bath and a swab of neosporin then putting back in the tank, and catching and putting in QT for preventative antibiotics.

So WWYD? :) He’s my favorite fish, so I might be a little over-protective...#reefsquad
dc974bc870a39a8a7182574447caae4e.jpg
 
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nautical_nathaniel

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I would feed it food treated with kanaplex and focus to hopefully hold back any bacterial infections and of course give it meaty food treated with amino acid and vitamin supplements :)
 
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ngoodermuth

ngoodermuth

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Should mention that my first instinct was that it could probably heal on it’s own, but that an MB bath wouldn’t hurt. But of course since it’s a fish I’m rather attached to I’m second guessing myself ;)
 
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ngoodermuth

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So, resurrecting this thread since it is the same fish and similar issue. But my current dilemma isn’t so much about treating the fish, but troubleshooting aggression towards it.

This fish is the literal punching bag of the tank. Everyone else looks great for the most part, the black leopard sometimes has a nip or two but nothing too crazy.

But this guy, every few weeks I watch the lights come on and he looks awful. Huge bite marks, or a giant chunk out of a fin or tail. I can’t say for sure who is doing it, because it only happens over night... but I have a hunch that he is sleeping too close to the regal angel’s cave, based on the size of the bites. Could be the larger of the clowns also.

During the day, everyone gets along great.

@evolved @eatbreakfast ?

Any ideas on how to reduce aggression towards this one particular fish at night? Besides the obvious rehoming... I have a bit of an attachment to him, but I also hate seeing him looking so ragged all of the time.

Current fish list:
Flame fairy wrasse
Pintail fairy wrasse
Melanurus
Yellow wrasse
Melaegris leopard
Black leopard
Moyers leopard
Pair clarkii clowns
Copperband butterfly
Regal Angel
Potters Angel
Green Mandarin
 

HairyGary

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So, resurrecting this thread since it is the same fish and similar issue. But my current dilemma isn’t so much about treating the fish, but troubleshooting aggression towards it.

This fish is the literal punching bag of the tank. Everyone else looks great for the most part, the black leopard sometimes has a nip or two but nothing too crazy.

But this guy, every few weeks I watch the lights come on and he looks awful. Huge bite marks, or a giant chunk out of a fin or tail. I can’t say for sure who is doing it, because it only happens over night... but I have a hunch that he is sleeping too close to the regal angel’s cave, based on the size of the bites. Could be the larger of the clowns also.

During the day, everyone gets along great.

@evolved @eatbreakfast ?

Any ideas on how to reduce aggression towards this one particular fish at night? Besides the obvious rehoming... I have a bit of an attachment to him, but I also hate seeing him looking so ragged all of the time.

Current fish list:
Flame fairy wrasse
Pintail fairy wrasse
Melanurus
Yellow wrasse
Melaegris leopard
Black leopard
Moyers leopard
Pair clarkii clowns
Copperband butterfly
Regal Angel
Potters Angel
Green Mandarin
Do you have any crabs in the tank? When my attenuatus was little he used to have chewed up fins as well. Thought it was my Lineatus but the little attenuatus slept under a rock in a cave. Thought it might have been CUC nipping at night.
 
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ngoodermuth

ngoodermuth

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Do you have any crabs in the tank? When my attenuatus was little he used to have chewed up fins as well. Thought it was my Lineatus but the little attenuatus slept under a rock in a cave. Thought it might have been CUC nipping at night.

Good thought, but I doubt my crabs are big enough to do the kind of damage I’m seeing. I’ll try to get a picture of how he looks this morning... it’s very clearly a large “bite”.
 
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ngoodermuth

ngoodermuth

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Not the best picture, but you can see it better under blue lighting.

The tail damage was already there and healing... the bite just showed up today.

But, it’s like this all the time for him... as soon as one injury heals another shows up.

7da91eb896486d5f4247efd6d113cb7f.jpg
 
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ngoodermuth

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Still eats and acts normally all day, no excessive hiding or signs of stress other than the obvious physical damage.
 

HairyGary

Why do all your fish look like trout?
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Do you know where he settles down at night? If you do, maybe experiment with blocking the location so he finds another spot.
 
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ngoodermuth

ngoodermuth

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Do you know where he settles down at night? If you do, maybe experiment with blocking the location so he finds another spot.

Not a bad idea... I have a general idea, but I might do some searching tonight and see if can find the exact spot.

He used to sleep where the pintail sleeps now, but the pintail stole it from him...
 

HairyGary

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Not a bad idea... I have a general idea, but I might do some searching tonight and see if can find the exact spot.

He used to sleep where the pintail sleeps now, but the pintail stole it from him...
Also don't rule out the Isosceles. I have seen some of the rather aggressive side. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
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ngoodermuth

ngoodermuth

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Also don't rule out the Isosceles. I have seen some of the rather aggressive side. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

The only reason I’m more suspect of the angel, is that I have seen it chase the flame away from food a few times and the “bites” are pretty consistent with the size of the angels mouth [emoji849]

But, I’m definitely not completely ruling out anyone. Like I said, I feel like he is the tank “punching bag” and don’t doubt that he is getting it from more than one fish. Maybe he tried to get his old sleep spot back and failed.

I’m thinking about maybe trying to add a few more pieces of rock and making a few more caves if possible. Wouldn’t be a bad idea anyway for the mandarin... more hunting grounds :)
 

HairyGary

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The only reason I’m more suspect of the angel, is that I have seen it chase the flame away from food a few times and the “bites” are pretty consistent with the size of the angels mouth [emoji849]

But, I’m definitely not completely ruling out anyone. Like I said, I feel like he is the tank “punching bag” and don’t doubt that he is getting it from more than one fish. Maybe he tried to get his old sleep spot back and failed.

I’m thinking about maybe trying to add a few more pieces of rock and making a few more caves if possible. Wouldn’t be a bad idea anyway for the mandarin... more hunting grounds :)
Yeah there is always one or two. Sounds like a plan!

Just read through your build thread. Tank looks great! I've contemplated adding a small regal angel but an worried about nipping on some of my LPS. Any issues with yours?
 
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