Sick Melanurus Wrasse and Yellow Tang

ngoodermuth

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Update: I was able to find General Cure locally and had Furan-2 on hand. Going to have to Amazon the kanaplex and PraziPro for the display tank. The wrasse was still alive when I got home, but buried himself while I was dosing the QT.

If he comes back out, or he’s in a spot where you think you could reach to gently coax him out... I’d still try to move him to the QT with the GC and Furan-2 if you can. You can always add the kanaplex in when you get it.
 
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If he comes back out, or he’s in a spot where you think you could reach to gently coax him out... I’d still try to move him to the QT with the GC and Furan-2 if you can. You can always add the kanaplex in when you get it.
I was able to find him. He surprisingly looked much better than earlier today, I was surprised he was still alive when I got back from the store. Both fish are now in the QT with Furan-2 and General Cure. Everything else is on its way from Amazon plus some GarlicGuard and Focus.
 

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Hope your wrasse pulls through, he appears to be on the edge of starvation. Makes me think internal parasites.

It sounds like your taking appropriate action. Be sure to choose either Prazipro + metrandizole or general cure, as GC contains prazi and it is possible to OD prazi.

Aggressive feeding of nutritionally rich food at least twice daily would be indicated as well. My melanarus goes absolutely crazy over fish / oyster eggs, so that might be thought if he doesn't want to eat.
 

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Hope your wrasse pulls through, he appears to be on the edge of starvation. Makes me think internal parasites.
.

Good point, wouldn’t be a bad idea to food soak GC or metroplex as well, using Focus as a binder. Feed at least twice daily for 10 days.
 
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The wrasse looked pretty lethargic yesterday, I don’t think he is going to make it. There appeared to still be flukes on him but they look whitish now. Is it possible the died without falling off?

Should I try another freshwater dip? They seem really stressful on the fish and I’m reluctant to put such a weakened fish through that.
 

ngoodermuth

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How long has it been since your first GC dose? They would need a second dose 5-7 days after the first...
 
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How long has it been since your first GC dose? They would need a second dose 5-7 days after the first...

The GC instructions said to dose again after 48 hours and a 25% water change. I’ve been following that schedule.

Today will be dose 3 of Furan 2 and dose 2 of GC and Kanaplex.
 
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What are you feeding these fish? PE mysis? reef frenzy? Some other highly nutritious food?

A mix of PE mysis and marine flakes. I tried some medicated pellets for internal parasites but I don’t believe either fish was interested in them even with the garlic soak.
 

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The wrasse looked pretty lethargic yesterday, I don’t think he is going to make it. There appeared to still be flukes on him but they look whitish now. Is it possible the died without falling off?

Should I try another freshwater dip? They seem really stressful on the fish and I’m reluctant to put such a weakened fish through that.


Can you get a pic of the spots? I just went through something similar
 

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Wrasses are quite sensitive to the prazi in GC, so I would not continue dosing every 48 hours (if you've already dosed more than once). Instead, for flukes you need only two doses, 5-7 days apart. The kanaplex and metronidazole are fine every 48 hours, but not the praziquantel.
 
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In researching wrasse life expectancy I’m starting to think he might just have gotten old, which allowed him to susceptible to the flukes. He was an adult when I got him and I’ve had him for 4 years. Other threads I found described them as getting thin and just looking old and tired before they go. Sad for sure but it actually makes me feel a little better. And maybe him getting sick is what got the tang sick. I think the tang is going to make it.
 

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Ah, that would explain him looking thin too. I’ve always thought they only live 6-7 years, though I think @evolved wrote a life expectancy post not too long ago that put halichoeres living quite a bit longer. Maybe he can confirm :)
 
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Looking at the pictures that were posted, both of those fish are starving. The pinched look above the head is the main indication of starvation. I would question whether they were being fed enough while you were away. My melanurus is about the same age as yours and is very fat and healthy. The halichoeres don't have the same life span as the fairies and flashers. My understanding from what I found is that the fairies and flashers have a life span of up to 8 years while the halichoeres can go much longer. At this point, you have no choice but to treat them with general cure to get rid of the infections, but if they survive, you need to feed them. Feed every day, multiple times a day. My yellow tang started to wither from me only feeding every other day. Both of these fish are constant grazers looking for anything to eat. Grow some algae in the tank and use that to feed the tang.
 
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I was home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I noticed the fish were not eating vigorously. I attributed it to the fish being spooked because they were not used to seeing people anymore. Looking at how things progressed I can see that was not the case. I think the fish are starving because they got sick, not that they got sick because they are starving. The wrasse seems to have declined again and I will have to think about euthanasia when I get home from work.
 

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Is it eating at all? Where you able to try any medicated feed? I’m sorry he’s not doing well :( May just be too far gone, but if he is eating at all I wouldn’t give up without trying to get a few bites of medicated food in him.
 

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Internal parasites are common in wrasse. They can often live with them for years but they eventually start to wear down the fish in time, particularly with other ailments such as flukes. I feed all of my fish medicated food to hopefully curb this so they can live longer. General cure is a good med to add to their food, and seachem focus to bind it to the food.
 
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Is it eating at all? Where you able to try any medicated feed? I’m sorry he’s not doing well :( May just be too far gone, but if he is eating at all I wouldn’t give up without trying to get a few bites of medicated food in him.
He did not eat today and alternating between swimming around weakly and sitting on the bottom. The tang continues to eat. The wrasse seems to have more visible spots on him, perhaps the GC is making the flukes weaken and become opaque? I could try another freshwater bath (very worried that will kill him at this point) or do an acriflavine bath tomorrow when my API Fungus Cure arrives. I'm leaning towards the latter if he is still alive.
 

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If he’s that weak, I’d skip the fw dip for sure. I’m even a little hesitant for the bath. The flukes that were on him should have come off and died in the first treatment, I think what you are seeing is actually infection. Antibiotics are very slow-acting in fish...hopefully he can hang in there a bit longer. What antibiotics are you using currently? Just the kanaplex and general cure, correct? Do you have furan-2?
 
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If he’s that weak, I’d skip the fw dip for sure. I’m even a little hesitant for the bath. The flukes that were on him should have come off and died in the first treatment, I think what you are seeing is actually infection. Antibiotics are very slow-acting in fish...hopefully he can hang in there a bit longer. What antibiotics are you using currently? Just the kanaplex and general cure, correct? Do you have furan-2?

Furan-2 was the one I had on hand so that was treatment 1 this past Wednesday. Treatment 2 was Furan and GC on Friday. Treatment 3 was Furan, GC and Kanaplex on Sunday. Treatment 4 was Furan and Kanaplex on Tuesday. 25% water change with each treatment.
 

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