Help!! Vetteguy, Randy please!!

Nordy · Mar 16, 2025

Hi,
This Jewel wrasse came in two day ago. Salinity was 1.019. I acclimated for almost 2 hours to get it to my my water at 1.025. It was on its side the entire time. It is hanging on, but still on his side and breathing hard. I can probably net him out. I have a hospital tank that has been cycling without any treatment for 3 months now. It has a clown that was getting beat up from a pair of clowns in my Dt, so I gave it some refuge. What do I do with this Jewel wrasse???

Crabs McJones · Mar 16, 2025

@vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal #fishmedics

vetteguy53081 · Mar 16, 2025

Nordy said:
Hi,
This Jewel wrasse came in two day ago. Salinity was 1.019. I acclimated for almost 2 hours to get it to my my water at 1.025. It was on its side the entire time. It is hanging on, but still on his side and breathing hard. I can probably net him out. I have a hospital tank that has been cycling without any treatment for 3 months now. It has a clown that was getting beat up from a pair of clowns in my Dt, so I gave it some refuge. What do I do with this Jewel wrasse???

2 hours acclimation is a little long but doubt the issue. Some wrasses will display this behavior when new. If you approach, not tap it, it should swim away. If not, fish is in distress and will need at minimum added aeration with air stone and also low lighting to keep it calm.
Yes, transfer to quarantine tank and in hopes the clown will not annoy it.

Jay Hemdal · Mar 16, 2025

Nordy said:
Hi,
This Jewel wrasse came in two day ago. Salinity was 1.019. I acclimated for almost 2 hours to get it to my my water at 1.025. It was on its side the entire time. It is hanging on, but still on his side and breathing hard. I can probably net him out. I have a hospital tank that has been cycling without any treatment for 3 months now. It has a clown that was getting beat up from a pair of clowns in my Dt, so I gave it some refuge. What do I do with this Jewel wrasse???

Acclimating a fish from 1.019 to 1.025 in one stage is very stressful to a fish. Was it shipped to you? The salinity stress combined with shipping stress is a one two punch that most fish cannot tolerate. It may rebound, but it does look very stressed.
The best way to handle shipped fish is to move them into water the same pH and salinity, then acclimate to a tank of intermediate salinity (like 1.021) and then bring it up to 1.025 the next day.

You should also aerate the fish during extended acclimations…

Here is an article I wrote on proper acclimation:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/acclimation-methods.903/

braaap · Mar 16, 2025

Jay Hemdal said:
Acclimating a fish from 1.019 to 1.025 in one stage is very stressful to a fish. Was it shipped to you? The salinity stress combined with shipping stress is a one two punch that most fish cannot tolerate. It may rebound, but it does look very stressed.
The best way to handle shipped fish is to move them into water the same pH and salinity, then acclimate to a tank of intermediate salinity (like 1.021) and then bring it up to 1.025 the next day.

You should also aerate the fish during extended acclimations…

Here is an article I wrote on proper acclimation:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/acclimation-methods.903/

What? Almost all my fish come in at 1.019 and I drip to 1.026 and add them to the tank. No losses have occurred. Not even a sign of stress. The only losses I have are DOA. I can't imagine anyone doing an intermediate tank to acclimate fish.

Jay Hemdal · Mar 16, 2025

braaap said:
What? Almost all my fish come in at 1.019 and I drip to 1.026 and add them to the tank. No losses have occurred. Not even a sign of stress. The only losses I have are DOA. I can't imagine anyone doing an intermediate tank to acclimate fish.

You've been lucky! Marine fish can be dropped in SG very rapidly, but a rise must be done more slowly. The smaller the fish, the more severe the potential issue due to skewed surface area to volume ratios. It really dehydrates the fish. The article I posted explains more of that....including how to do drip acclimation properly.