Is My Wrasse Blind Now?

[ReefWithCare]

Hi there,

So you may remember my fairy wrasse that was all weird in QT. Well, he’s been in the display and has been doing great since I got rid of the bully orchid dotty, but I think my wrasse is losing its vision.

He just swims across the bottom now and can’t really find food. I’m seeing him bump into corals and rock now. I doubt it’s flukes given he’s been treated with so many meds at this point. Any other symptoms I should look for?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

What do his eyes look like?

 

[ReefWithCare]

What do his eyes look like?

They look like the normal red colour he’s always had. I could really take any video because he was late in th evening when I got home. He swims across the sand near the rock on the back of the tank only. He seems to smell food and get excited but food just passes him by and I’ve seen him miss a few times

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Can you get a video of this next time you feed?

They look like the normal red colour he’s always had. I could really take any video because he was late in th evening when I got home. He swims across the sand near the rock on the back of the tank only. He seems to smell food and get excited but food just passes him by and I’ve seen him miss a few times

 

[ReefWithCare]

Can you get a video of this next time you feed?

Yes. I’ll try tomorrow when I get home. He never wakes up early enough for me to feed him in the morning.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Has he been treated for internal parasites? Any white-stringy poop? Hanging around the sandbed and loss of appetite can be symptoms of advanced internal parasites

 

[ReefWithCare]

Has he been treated for internal parasites? Any white-stringy poop? Hanging around the sandbed and loss of appetite can be symptoms of advanced internal parasites

This wrasse has been given every med known to man at this point:

Copper, metro in food, PraziPro in water, that med I used earlier that starts with F, safety stop when he first went in QT.

I just got home and tried feeding again. He didn’t eat and just swims on the sand bed. Really frustrating because now I’m dealing with a Dino outbreak in the tank because my levels keep dropping to zero because there isn’t enough fish in the tank. It bugs the corals a little bit - but it’s not so bad.

It’s kinda a struggle to keep decent levels when you QT everything forever

 

[ngoodermuth]

Well phosphates you can add just by feeding. Especially coral-sized foods like phytoplankton and oyster feast

Nitrates can be dosed. I had to run my tank fallow twice when my first run failed... I didn’t dose very often or very much, just enough to keep the levels above zero. I used the freshwater one (I think its flourish? I’d have to double check but it is a nitrate supplement for planted tanks), but I’ve seen others use stump remover for the same purpose.

As for the wrasse, is the “F” one fenbendazole? Did you do a bath, or was it fed to the fish? Feeding metroplex would have taken care or internal flagellates, but not intestinal worms. You’d need either praziquantel (I use general cure) or fenbendazole in the food for that.

Also, how long did you feed the metro-laced food? Sometimes it can take 2-3 weeks to fully eradicate internal parasites if they are really loaded with them...

 

[ReefWithCare]

Got a video. I managed to feed him metro dosed food via a pipepett. He just swam across the bottom and didn’t respond much to the pipe I even bumped him a few times and nothing.

He ate after the food literally hit his mouth

 

[ReefWithCare]

Well phosphates you can add just by feeding. Especially coral-sized foods like phytoplankton and oyster feast

Nitrates can be dosed. I had to run my tank fallow twice when my first run failed... I didn’t dose very often or very much, just enough to keep the levels above zero. I used the freshwater one (I think its flourish? I’d have to double check but it is a nitrate supplement for planted tanks), but I’ve seen others use stump remover for the same purpose.

As for the wrasse, is the “F” one fenbendazole? Did you do a bath, or was it fed to the fish? Feeding metroplex would have taken care or internal flagellates, but not intestinal worms. You’d need either praziquantel (I use general cure) or fenbendazole in the food for that.

Also, how long did you feed the metro-laced food? Sometimes it can take 2-3 weeks to fully eradicate internal parasites if they are really loaded with them...

Yes it was Fenbenazole. It was a 12hr bath that I gave him. I actually never feed GC direct in the food. I'm going to pick some up tomorrow then. He was fed metro laced food for around 14 days if I recall correctly.

Also, you'll probably notice his nose is messed up. I think he got a permanent scar around a monthback when he smashed his face on my tank net the last time he jumped.

 

[ngoodermuth]

I know it’s a pain, but if you can get him to eat the medicated food with a pipette I’d keep at it. As many times a day as you can manage if he’s only eating one or two at a time. Keep feeding for at least 14 days and see how he does.

It’s more of a hunch than anything, but I really feel like he might have a stubborn case of flagellates...

 

[ngoodermuth]

Yes it was Fenbenazole. It was a 12hr bath that I gave him. I actually never feed GC direct in the food. I'm going to pick some up tomorrow then. He was feed metro laced food for around 14 days if I recall correctly.

How was the food prepared? Did you thaw and drain the food first before adding the meds? Add water when soaking? 1 scoop metro, 1 scoop focus per about a tablespoon of food?

Otherwise, maybe try switching to feeding fenbendazole. Somebody mentioned doing fenbendazole and metro together recently... I’ll see if I can find the post.

 

[ReefWithCare]

How was the food prepared? Did you thaw and drain the food first before adding the meds? Add water when soaking? 1 scoop metro, one scoop focus per about a tablespoon of food?

I take a mini tuperware contain that holds about 50 ML of water. I put some RODI in there and thaw out the frozen food. I put in one part metro and one part focus (one scoop each). I let it soak for about 30-45 minutes then feed. I put the mix in the fridge for a couple days since they won't eat it all at once.

Do I need to worry about my corals eating the metro soaked food? My LPS and hermits tend to eat pieces of it.

Yeah I'm familiar with Dinos. They are just annoying and I hate having to constantly dose to manage my nutrients. My last battle I solved when I QT a crap ton of fish and got mud from IPSF. Everyone was telling me "you need a lot more fish." I busted out two QT tanks to get that many fish QT'ed. The system took them all in like it was nothing. I was happy as hell when I saw GHA lol. All I run is a skimmer and rock --- dry rock systems just run extremely clean for me vs. my LR experience.

With my schedule he'll be lucky to eat once a day. He wakes up too late in the morning for me to feed him so I can only feed him at night or during the weekends. During the weekends the fish get fed 3 times a day. They will also eat the coral food I drop in.

 

[ngoodermuth]

I take a mini tuperware contain that holds about 50 ML of water. I put some RODI in there and thaw out the frozen food. I put in one part metro and one part focus (one scoop each). I let it soak for about 30-45 minutes then feed. I put the mix in the fridge for a couple days since they won't eat it all at once.

Do I need to worry about my corals eating the metro soaked food? My LPS and hermits tend to eat pieces of it.

Yeah I'm familiar with Dinos. They are just annoying and I hate having to constantly dose to manage my nutrients. My last battle I solved when I QT a crap ton of fish and got mud from IPSF. Everyone was telling me "you need a lot more fish." I busted out two QT tanks to get that many fish QT'ed. The system took them all in like it was nothing. I was happy as hell when I saw GHA lol.

Ok, I would soak the food without the water. I mean a couple drops to help mix it but you want it to be more of a “slump” than a soup if that makes sense?

@GoldeneyeRet was the member who mentioned using fenbendazole and metroplex together... maybe they can chime in with experience and dosing help there. I’ve never done it personally.

When you feed it, turn off all of the flow and only feed a tiny bit at a time. The fish should be eating most of it. It helps if you run carbon as a back-up.

You don’t want to feed your cuc or corals with it if you can avoid it...but from personal experience, my torch accidentally nabbed a couple pieces of GC laced food when I fed too close and it wasn’t any worse for the wear because of it I’ve not had issues with it personally.

 

[ReefWithCare]

Here is the sample mix so you can see. The water is dark because there is garlic and selcon in the mix

 

[ngoodermuth]

Yea, I wouldn’t use that much liquid. Mine usually is moist...but it looks lumpy. If it starts to look a little dry I’ll add a couple drops of vita-chem but you don’t want to dilute the meds too much when soaking it.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Also, you'll probably notice his nose is messed up. I think he got a permanent scar around a monthback when he smashed his face on my tank net the last time he jumped.

Did the weird swimming start soon after this?^^

If so, it could actually be a spinal injury and not intestinal parasites after all....

 

[ReefWithCare]

Did the weird swimming start soon after this?^^

If so, it could actually be a spinal injury and not intestinal parasites after all....

Are you referring to the weird behavior he was displaying in QT? Yes he started doing that but he stopped when I put him in the DT after I got rid of the orchid dotty. He started acting like he is now since yesterday.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Are you referring to the weird behavior he was displaying in QT? Yes he started doing that but he stopped when I put him in the DT after I got rid of the orchid dotty. He started acting like he is now since yesterday.

Ok, but he was swimming normally after hitting his nose on the net? Sometimes they can missile themselves into things and actually hurt themselves. Not being able to swim up from the bottom and decreased use of the tail are symptoms.

But, humble recently suggested that sometimes these symptoms can also be caused by flagellates invading the spinal column... which is kind of where I was headed with all of this.

If it’s the parasites, the food could help... but an actual injury not so much

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

I do use fendendazole with metro as an oral antiparasite. The fen replaces the prazi found in general cure, but the metro is still needed for flagellates, as mentioned.

I thaw, rinse and sort of dry on a paper towel some frozen food. I then add 1 fen to 1 metro to 2 focus to a couple cubes worth of food. I prefer to use mysis if the patient is eating it. Add a drop or two of selcon if you need more liquid. Then stir the mixture together and let it sit for a while. I am essentially battering the shrimp. I then feed it a couple times a day.

I think you are adding too much liquid and the fish are not getting meds. Also, 14 days is often not sufficient especially for stubborn flagellates. Try a 21 day course. I think fen may work for you, but also that it's worth trying gc again if you don't yet have any fen.

I have fed fen plus metro to my reef 2x per day for 21 days and suffered no obvious problems doing so.

Hope that helps, good luck!