Melanarus Wrasse laying on side

[s70]

I have a new Wrasse. From Saturday.
it is laying on its side but gills are moving.
He has been hiding most of the time and I have not seen him eat.
I have a QT that I have been setting up. Not sure it is cycled yet.
leave him? Move him?
Sorry I do not have numbers. Leaving for work soon and just came down.

 

[s70]

I have a new Wrasse. From Saturday.
it is laying on its side but gills are moving.
He has been hiding most of the time and I have not seen him eat.
I have a QT that I have been setting up. Not sure it is cycled yet.
leave him? Move him?
Sorry I do not have numbers. Leaving for work soon and just came down.

Forgot I have specimen container. In there now. Laying on back gills moving.

 

[threebuoys]

Hopefully, you will be able to provide some photos and video taken under white light to help diagnose any issues.

Wrasses enjoy laying on the sand, or burrowing into it, when they settle down at lights off. Perhaps this is what you are seeing, however, that is far from a diagnosis without more info.

 

[threebuoys]

What is a specimen container in this instance? Wrasses can be shy when first introduced into a tank. He will need room to swim around. If the QT is ready other than being cycled, I would put him there and monitor ammonia closely since you have already moved him from the DT. Each time you net the fish, you add additional stress.

Hopefully, he is not seriously ill, but more info and photos will help determine.

 

[s70]

Not much to see. Just laying there. Sometimes gets up for a minute.
it’s not playing.

 

[s70]

Trying to an acclimation to QT tank.
I’m going to drop kids soon and can come back.
what do you need besides pictures

 

[threebuoys]

Have you seen him eat since you got him?

Are there other fish in the tank with him?

What food are you using?

Have any of the fish in the tank displayed signs of parasites or illness?

Describe his behavior over the days you have had him.

Do you see signs of slime or mucus on his body and around his gills?

Do you notice any fine white spots on his body?

Have you added other fish recently?

Have you had any fish die recently?

What is the salinity of the water?

Do you have invertebrates in the tank? What?

Does the tank have enough sand to allow the wrasse to burrow?

Check out the link below on how to ask for disease diagnosis help.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sorry, this fish appears moribund. The laying on its side is likely just a broad symptom of it dying. If it brought a communicable disease into your tank, what other fish were exposed to it?

Just a side note - that specimen container seems to be solid. If so, it won't allow for water flow and the fish won't survive in there for more than an hour or so.

Jay

 

[s70]

Have you seen him eat since you got him?

Are there other fish in the tank with him?

What food are you using?

Have any of the fish in the tank displayed signs of parasites or illness?

Describe his behavior over the days you have had him.

Do you see signs of slime or mucus on his body and around his gills?

Do you notice any fine white spots on his body?

Have you added other fish recently?

Have you had any fish die recently?

What is the salinity of the water?

Do you have invertebrates in the tank? What?

Does the tank have enough sand to allow the wrasse to burrow?

Check out the link below on how to ask for disease diagnosis help.

Have you seen him eat since you got him? No

Are there other fish in the tank with him? Sailfin Tang, Algae Blenny, 2 clown fish(these 2 have been in tank about 3 weeks)

What food are you using? Brine Shrimp, Mysis Shrimp, a little pellets

Have any of the fish in the tank displayed signs of parasites or illness? No

Describe his behavior over the days you have had him. Hiding most of the time but has been out at times and seemed fine. Thought he was shy and getting used to the tank.

Do you see signs of slime or mucus on his body and around his gills? No

Do you notice any fine white spots on his body? No

Have you added other fish recently? This one, the Tang and the Blenny all on Saturday

Have you had any fish die recently? This is my first issue

What is the salinity of the water? 1.023 I'm in the midst of bringing it back up to 1.026. LFS told me to match salinity within .02 for transfer. Just set up QT tank on Saturday as well for going forward.

Do you have invertebrates in the tank? What? 15 Blue Hermits and 15 Red. 6 Trocus snails (One did die yesterday). 2 emerald crabs

Does the tank have enough sand to allow the wrasse to burrow? Probably an 1-1.5 inches

Check out the link below on how to ask for disease diagnosis help.

CURRENT QT PROTOCOL LINK

 

[s70]

Sorry, this fish appears moribund. The laying on its side is likely just a broad symptom of it dying. If it brought a communicable disease into your tank, what other fish were exposed to it?

Just a side note - that specimen container seems to be solid. If so, it won't allow for water flow and the fish won't survive in there for more than an hour or so.

Jay

It is now in the QT tank. There are a couple other fish. I couldn't handle waiting 90 days to put in my first fish. Already set up QT for the ones going forward.

Will I have to clean out and start over on QT tank since he is in there now?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

It is now in the QT tank. There are a couple other fish. I couldn't handle waiting 90 days to put in my first fish. Already set up QT for the ones going forward.

Will I have to clean out and start over on QT tank since he is in there now?

Not if you are doing what is called an "active quarantine" - are you treating the QT with copper? If so, you don't need to do anything except perhaps extend the length of the copper. If, however, your QT is just holding fish with no preventative treatment, they have been exposed to anything the wrasse may have had (but so have the fish in the DT).

It is possible/probable, that the wrasse has some non-contagious issue, I hope that's the case.

Jay

 

[threebuoys]

It is now in the QT tank. There are a couple other fish. I couldn't handle waiting 90 days to put in my first fish. Already set up QT for the ones going forward.

Will I have to clean out and start over on QT tank since he is in there now?

Nothing unusual is obvious in the information you provided.

When setting up a display tank, you may add fish as soon as the ammonia cycle has completed. Several methods are outlined in other threads on the forum. Many can be accomplished in a few days. A QT tank may also be established quickly. See the link below for more information.

With regard to you current situation, if I understand correctly, all of your fish including the wrasse were in you display tank. That's where the potential issue is. I assume none of those fish were QT'd before going into your display tank. If any of them had parasites such as ich, velvet or flukes, then all have been exposed. However, if that is not the diagnosis for the dying fish, we don't really know what the cause is for the death.

If parasites are suspected, the recommended treatment would be to QT all of your fish, treat appropriately with copper and prazi which would take about 5 - 6 weeks, and simultaneously allow the display tank to be fallow (fishless) for 6 -8 weeks.

If we were certain none of the fish carried parasites, including the dying wrasse, you could forgo the fallow period. But, the problem is we do not know what caused the death or if any of the other fish are carriers. The life cycles of the parasites of concern are such that they can survive for an extended period without a host (6 - 8 weeks). If hosts (fish) are present, mild infections can exist indefinitely without obvious signs until the fish has a weakness that allows the parasite to aggressively reproduce and infect the fish.

I agree with @Jay Hemdal that the wrasse appears moribund. Continue to observe to see if anything becomes more apparent while you decide how you want to proceed.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Agree with Jay, some steps were taken but overlooked such as specimen container which offered no flow or oxygen ( drill a series of holes in it for future use as an acclimation box).
Couldnt wait (90 days way too long- 45 days adequate) and in this hobby we spend a lot of time waiting - its worth it.
Moribund as Jay mentioned is similar to coma state in which fish will not eat, gain strength and deteriorate. Hope for the best but expect the worse in this situation.
I cant say its anything on your part but a fish in distress. Give it as much oxygen as possible for best chance of recovery

 

[s70]

He did not make it. I do see a spot on its side but that could be from how it was laying for a while post mortem.
Any thoughts?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

He did not make it. I do see a spot on its side but that could be from how it was laying for a while post mortem.
Any thoughts?

Sorry - I can't see anything of note in those photos.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

He did not make it. I do see a spot on its side but that could be from how it was laying for a while post mortem.
Any thoughts?

While photos are dark, I too cant see much and sorry to hear. As you were assured, fish was moribund which is similar to a comma like state and survival at this point always uncertain