Leopard Wrasse worrying me

[reefingformysons]

So,

3 weeks ago we went down to the fish shop in search of a wrasse and my youngest fell in love with dotty the leopard wrasse.

First couple hours in the tank she spent burying himself in various spots I’m guessing due to the new environment and stress.

I went down to my LFS and grabbed some live copepods for her tiny mouth which she instantly came out and ate and has been feeding on everyday absolutely fine even swimming around the tank she shares with my adult clowns hunting them.

All was good and well up until a couple hours ago.

I noticed she was breathing really heavy with her mouth constantly half open, laying limp sideways on the sand bed. I even saw her attempt to dive into the sand 3 times but it was like she didn’t even have the energy to dig through it and gave up.

The way she is laying sideways limp you’d think he was dead (she isn’t, well not yet anyways)

I have a 114l tank.

PH 7.9
Amonnia and nitrites 0
Nitrates 26 (gradual decreased since she first entered)

The only change I could think is I turned my radions intensity up quite significantly as I’m preparing the tank for a few corals and it’s been running at 10% for the past week or so but was a bit higher the 2 weeks prior.

Do you think the intensity in light has caused this or that it could be down to something else?

 

[ninjamyst]

It's not your lighting change. Leopard wrasse is an expert only fish but it seems like you got it to eat which is usually the hardest part. How long has your tank been running? It sounds like a brand new tank....

 

[reefingformysons]

It's not your lighting change. Leopard wrasse is an expert only fish but it seems like you got it to eat which is usually the hardest part. How long has your tank been running? It sounds like a brand new tank....

Yeah I knew getting them to eat is generally the hardest part of keeping them not to mention the fact they get easily shocked and stressed in new environments but once they are settled they are known to be quite hardy. So asa she was eating instantly when the copepods go in the tank and activity swimming around all day and hunting for the past few weeks I thought she was okay.

It’s a 6 months old tank fully cycled with stable parameters. Tunze ATO to minimise fluctuations, weekly water changes.

 

[codenfx]

Mine was like acting like you described but because the male leopard bullied her to death. They been together fine for over a year, not sure what caused such aggression. I kept the male fat and well fed. I tried to isolate but couldn't catch her and she passed within couple days later sadly. Do you have a bully in the tank?

 

[reefingformysons]

Mine was like acting like you described but because the male leopard bullied her to death. They been together fine for over a year, not sure what caused such aggression. I kept the male fat and well fed. I tried to isolate but couldn't catch her and she passed within couple days later sadly. Do you have a bully in the tank?

the clowns are quite territorial. For the most part they leave her be and she even swims into their section and more often then not they do leave her. With that being said they are quite aggressive to one another probably more so than to her. They do occasionally charge at her but she’s so agile they never get close enough to actually bite or hurt her. I haven’t seen an increase in their aggression towards her from the first day she was put in there up until now and I am constantly watching the tank but then again I’m not observing it 24/7 so maybe I’m missing it?

 

[reefingformysons]

First video from the 19th second from the 15th of this month.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

your tank is 114 litres? Thats about 30 gallons, recommended tank size for leopard wrasse is 90 gallons. Also as mentioned, its labled as a difficult fish to feed due to its food preferences, it also needs to be fed several times per day.

I think you made a quick purchase at the LFS without prior research, and very often the quick purchases just don't work out, we've all done it. Consider yourself lucky that the fish didn't get ick and infect the others. Live and learn and move on.

 

[reefingformysons]

your tank is 114 litres? Thats about 30 gallons, recommended tank size for leopard wrasse is 90 gallons. Also as mentioned, its labled as a difficult fish to feed due to its food preferences, it also needs to be fed several times per day.

I think you made a quick purchase at the LFS without prior research, and very often the quick purchases just don't work out, we've all done it. Consider yourself lucky that the fish didn't get ick and infect the others. Live and learn and move on.

As an adult I would agree but for a young small leopard wrasse I think shes absolutely fine in the 30 gallon for now. Will be upgrading to a much larger tank within the next 6 months or so. I doubt the size of tank is what’s causing this issue. By the time she is big to the point it needs the 90 gallon she will be in one.

As you mentioned they are labelled as difficult due to its food preferences. As stated she has been eating brilliantly all day everyday. And is fed several times a day I should have mentioned that I guess.

It wasn’t a quick purchase with no prior research to be fair I looked into several wrasse species as some are known to be quite aggressive themselves. The LFS it comes from charge a bit of a premium on fish as they do a full quarantine and even dose copper during that. Otherwise I would have put her in the QT tank first which I have already set up a cycled (Fluval evo). I learnt the hard way to QT, got ich before and not wanting to go through that again lol.

I am trying to learn that’s why I have made this post. I love every living thing be it fish or coral. And I know some fish dying is just part of the process but doesn’t mean I’m not going to want to try and stop that if I can.

So any useful suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Although I fully agree their recommend size especially for an adult may be 90 gallons, but i highly doubt her being in a 30 gallon is causing this. But then again I could be wrong.

 

[DanTheReefer]

They are notoriously difficult and probably best left in the ocean, stunning fish I hope is captive bred one day.

 

[JoJosReef]

Of it's laying on its side and breathing heavy/ mouth open, have you checked for flukes? I'm no fish medic, so can't help you there. @Jay Hemdal

Other than pods, what are you feeding her and how often? I think 5x per day is a good target for wrasses, although I know others do differently, like pellets twice and frozen once.

 

[reefingformysons]

Of it's laying on its side and breathing heavy/ mouth open, have you checked for flukes? I'm no fish medic, so can't help you there. @Jay Hemdal

Other than pods, what are you feeding her and how often? I think 5x per day is a good target for wrasses, although I know others do differently, like pellets twice and frozen once.

Other than the lack of energy I haven’t noticed anything else that would suggest flukes. I put 50-100ml split up into 3-5 feeds of live copepods throughout the day. I also feed 50ml of daphne once a week. I feed mysis shrimp daily for the clowns and also seaweed extreme pellets but she doesn’t show any interest in those. Also some TDO chromoboost but the clowns demolish that so even if she wanted some she probably wouldn’t be able to get at it

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Other than the lack of energy I haven’t noticed anything else that would suggest flukes. I put 50-100ml split up into 3-5 feeds of live copepods throughout the day. I also feed 50ml of daphne once a week. I feed mysis shrimp daily for the clowns and also seaweed extreme pellets but she doesn’t show any interest in those. Also some TDO chromoboost but the clowns demolish that so even if she wanted some she probably wouldn’t be able to get at it

In the video, it isn't super clear, but the wrasse seems very thin already. What happens is that when these are collected, if they come from a long supply chain, they just lose too much body mass by the time you get them. Then, even if they eat well, they just can't catch back up.

That said, the rapid breathing is not a sign of malnutrition, but rather, some gill disease. Given the timeline and that the wrasse did well at first, I would say gill flukes. Once a fish becomes weakened from gill flukes, it is very difficult to cure them - what happens is that if you kill the gill flukes (through a praziquantel treatment or a freshwater dip) they all drop off, leaving thousands on holes in the fish's gills and skin, and the fish literally bleeds out (ugh).

To be honest, I don't even try keeping this genus of wrasse - they are what I call "heartbreakers". The amount of work and degree of detail it takes to do well with them is just not worth it IMO.

Jay

 

[reefingformysons]

In the video, it isn't super clear, but the wrasse seems very thin already. What happens is that when these are collected, if they come from a long supply chain, they just lose too much body mass by the time you get them. Then, even if they eat well, they just can't catch back up.

That said, the rapid breathing is not a sign of malnutrition, but rather, some gill disease. Given the timeline and that the wrasse did well at first, I would say gill flukes. Once a fish becomes weakened from gill flukes, it is very difficult to cure them - what happens is that if you kill the gill flukes (through a praziquantel treatment or a freshwater dip) they all drop off, leaving thousands on holes in the fish's gills and skin, and the fish literally bleeds out (ugh).

To be honest, I don't even try keeping this genus of wrasse - they are what I call "heartbreakers". The amount of work and degree of detail it takes to do well with them is just not worth it IMO.

Jay

Thank you Jay for taking the time out to have a look at it and your feedback.

She’s been hiding behind rocks on the sand and laying in the corner of the tank so I think you’re right. That’s a good name to describe them. If the unfortunate does happen the kids will be devastated but it seems like this one wasn’t really in our control. Fingers crossed she pulls through