Sick Mccosker Wrasse

[Ratherbeflyen]

Almost 4 weeks ago I picked up a McCosker and Yellow Wrasse's as well as a couple cardinal's. I prepped my QT tank with seeded media and cheato that usually lives in my DT sump. I put all the fish in my QT tank and immediately started dripping fresh water to salinity of .009 over the next 48 hours.

Initially the McCosker was very lethargic and would lay on the bottom or in the corners and not move or eat. About 2 days into hypo it came to life and started terrorizing the rest of the fish in QT, so I isolated him in an acclimation box/net in the same tank. Then all was well for weeks. Until a couple of days ago, when the McCosker became lethargic and stopped eating again. So I removed him from the acclimation box with no change. Now he just lays under the ball of cheato algae (the only thing accessible to the fish in the tank) all day and doesn't eat. He does move a little bit and is currently pointed almost straight up. His breathing isn't labored. You can hardly see his gills moving at all, but his eyes are moving. It doesn't show up very well in the picture, but there are a couple of faded or pale blotches on his skin.

I'm scratching my head on this one. All the other fish are fine. There is literally nothing in the tank to hurt him except other fish and tank walls. The hyposalinity of .009 should kill or at least really suppress any parasite. Why would it take so long to develop a bacterial infection? I started a furan 2 treatment tonight as I don't know what else to do? Any suggestions or diagnosis?

Here is a picture of the QT tank. It's ~15 gallons and holds ~13.5 gallons of water.

 

[reef lover]

Looks like stress coloring to me.
@ngoodermuth

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

48 hours later, I just finished the 25% water change and 3rd dose of Furan 2. The McCosker is still alive, but his condition is unchanged. He still won't eat and is very lethargic.

 

[reef lover]

@4FordFamily
@HotRocks
@Big G

 

[4FordFamily]

Hypo will do absolutely nothing for velvet, I’ve had velvet wipe out a tank during TTM at 1.08ppm which was when I tossed that treatment in the proverbial trash can.

That does look like stress, hypo is quite stressful for fish. Had it had white stringy poop? Is it flashing or scratching? Breathing heavily?

 

[Big G]

How are the parameters in the QT? Sometimes the pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrates can creep up or down. Especially the pH in hypo.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

Hypo will do absolutely nothing for velvet, I’ve had velvet wipe out a tank during TTM at 1.08ppm which was when I tossed that treatment in the proverbial trash can.

That does look like stress, hypo is quite stressful for fish. Had it had white stringy poop? Is it flashing or scratching? Breathing heavily?

I know that hypo is not a cure all, but no one treatment or additive is.

I have not seen the fish poo, but does not scratch or breath heavily. I barely moves at all. I keep checking to see if it's alive by moving the cheato ball. When it does move, it definitely has the ability to move fast when if it wants to.

How are the parameters in the QT? Sometimes the pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrates can creep up or down. Especially the pH in hypo.

Ammonia, nitrate, and phosphate are all undetectable. The PH is somewhere around 8 with a crappy test strip. (The DT has a probe, that I wont put in the the QT, and therefore don't have a better test kit.)

I just added the 4th dose of furan. It doesn't seem to be having any affect. I also started increasing the salinity with yesterdays water change and removed the fresh water auto top off. It's sitting at .11 now and I'll keep upping it.

 

[4FordFamily]

I know that hypo is not a cure all, but no one treatment or additive is.

I have not seen the fish poo, but does not scratch or breath heavily. I barely moves at all. I keep checking to see if it's alive by moving the cheato ball. When it does move, it definitely has the ability to move fast when if it wants to.



Ammonia, nitrate, and phosphate are all undetectable. The PH is somewhere around 8 with a crappy test strip. (The DT has a probe, that I wont put in the the QT, and therefore don't have a better test kit.)

I just added the 4th dose of furan. It doesn't seem to be having any affect. I also started increasing the salinity with yesterdays water change and removed the fresh water auto top off. It's sitting at .11 now and I'll keep upping it.

Copper + metro kills everything except flukes, some bacterial infections, and internal parasites. Add general cure in food (with focus) and dosed in tank during metro+copper 2x 5-7 days apart and you’ve covered all of your bases but for some bacterial infections.

Of course human error can play a role or you can have Prazi resistant flukes but this will take care of business 99% of the time.

 

[ngoodermuth]

I agree that the white-blotches are stress markings, likely from being in hypo. In my experience, flasher and fairy wrasses are a bit more sensitive to low salinity. I've had to abort freshwater dips a handful of times with them...