Uronema, bacterial, or just physical damage.

[thatone08]

Noticed that my wrasse was not coming out,. So, I looked around the tank, to see if it possibly jumped out while I had the lid halfway off for maintenance. Then started looking in sump, overflow, nothing. Then noticed it wedged in the rock work. Figured it was sleeping and let it be next, day samething still in the same spot of the rock. Which I thought strange. The wrasse was an ideal tank mate, left the clowns around, was always out an about. Feeding it ate didn’t bother or chase the clowns from the food.

So I thought maybe he’s stuck, could only see the tail fin. So I grabbed the bone cutters I had and made a bigger opening. Still wouldn’t come out. So in desperation I grabbed tweezers and got him out. There was blue slime. Possibly scales when I pulled him out. Or piece of fin. Was having trouble breathing, and swimming I held him in my hand for a few minutes and he swam off. Breathing normalized and he was hiding in his normal spot. Today he is dead. Not sure if he got stuck in the rock to where it was hurting him. Or if I made it worse, or if he had something like uronema or bacterial infection that made him hide like this. Pictures attached, what are your thought. The red patches and around gills.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Noticed that my wrasse was not coming out,. So, I looked around the tank, to see if it possibly jumped out while I had the lid halfway off for maintenance. Then started looking in sump, overflow, nothing. Then noticed it wedged in the rock work. Figured it was sleeping and let it be next, day samething still in the same spot of the rock. Which I thought strange. The wrasse was an ideal tank mate, left the clowns around, was always out an about. Feeding it ate didn’t bother or chase the clowns from the food.

So I thought maybe he’s stuck, could only see the tail fin. So I grabbed the bone cutters I had and made a bigger opening. Still wouldn’t come out. So in desperation I grabbed tweezers and got him out. There was blue slime. Possibly scales when I pulled him out. Or piece of fin. Was having trouble breathing, and swimming I held him in my hand for a few minutes and he swam off. Breathing normalized and he was hiding in his normal spot. Today he is dead. Not sure if he got stuck in the rock to where it was hurting him. Or if I made it worse, or if he had something like uronema or bacterial infection that made him hide like this. Pictures attached, what are your thought. The red patches and around gills.

It will be near impossible to determine on dead carcass as often scavengers and other fish will cause addtonal damage and fish looks thin in pic

 

[thatone08]

It will be near impossible to determine on dead carcass as often scavengers and other fish will cause addtonal damage and fish looks thin in pic

No clean up crew in there yet. So I don’t believe anything was picking at it. Clowns show no sign of anything abnormal. Maybe he got stuck and stressed. And I just made it worse getting him out.

 

[exnisstech]

Some wrasses sleep wedged in the rock and enclose themselves in a mucus cocoon. This may very well be what your wrasse was doing. I don't know that pulling it out would have been my choice unless I was 100% sure it was already dead. May have made matters worse but maybe not. Now way to know for sure.

EDIT : I may just be lucky but I have had fish injured hitting rocks but have never had a fish get stuck in a rock. Many fish wedge themselves into rocks. Triggers come to mind and they use the trigger shaped dorsal fin to lock themselves in so they can't be pulled out by predators.

 

[thatone08]

Some wrasses sleep wedged in the rock and enclose themselves in a mucus cocoon. This may very well be what your wrasse was doing. I don't know that pulling it out would have been my choice unless I was 100% sure it was already dead. May have made matters worse but maybe not. Now way to know for sure.

EDIT : I may just be lucky but I have had fish injured hitting rocks but have never had a fish get stuck in a rock. Many fish wedge themselves into rocks. Triggers come to mind and they use the trigger shaped dorsal fin to lock themselves in so they can't be pulled out by predators.

Thanks. For multiple days though? It was day 3 when I decide to intervene. The wrasse was always out when I feed. That’s what made me think he was stuck in way he couldn’t get out.

 

[exnisstech]

Thanks. For multiple days though? It was day 3 when I decide to intervene. The wrasse was always out when I feed. That’s what made me think he was stuck in way he couldn’t get out.

The fish may very well have been on its way out and went there to die there's no way to know for sure.
The reason I say I would never remove one in the rocks is because I had a female blue throat trigger a few years back. She wedge herself deep inside my rocks once and stayed there for over two weeks. I think she may have been ill and needed time to recover but that is speculation on my part. I just assumed she went there to die. I would have had to remove rock to get her out so I let her be. If I shone a flashlight into where she was she would move one of her eyes. It was the only part of her body I could see move. One day I got up and came out and she was swimming around the tank and went on the live a healthy life.

 

[MnFish1]

Thanks. For multiple days though? It was day 3 when I decide to intervene. The wrasse was always out when I feed. That’s what made me think he was stuck in way he couldn’t get out.

Oftentimes wrasses go back to the same place each day/night - however, it is odd that you weren't seeing it at all. However 3 days is too short a time. I have had some that didn't come out for weeks. (they must have been coming out, just not when I was looking)

 

[thatone08]

Oftentimes wrasses go back to the same place each day/night - however, it is odd that you weren't seeing it at all. However 3 days is too short a time. I have had some that didn't come out for weeks. (they must have been coming out, just not when I was looking)

Dang. I thought I was helping, but I think I just made it worse. First wrasse I ever had, and the three moNathan I’ve had it, I saw it every day. And always out when lights were on.

 

[MnFish1]

Dang. I thought I was helping, but I think I just made it worse. First wrasse I ever had, and the three moNathan I’ve had it, I saw it every day. And always out when lights were on.

It may very well have been that the fish was sick/dying. I'm not sure anyone would say you did something 'wrong' with any kind of certainty.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Noticed that my wrasse was not coming out,. So, I looked around the tank, to see if it possibly jumped out while I had the lid halfway off for maintenance. Then started looking in sump, overflow, nothing. Then noticed it wedged in the rock work. Figured it was sleeping and let it be next, day samething still in the same spot of the rock. Which I thought strange. The wrasse was an ideal tank mate, left the clowns around, was always out an about. Feeding it ate didn’t bother or chase the clowns from the food.

So I thought maybe he’s stuck, could only see the tail fin. So I grabbed the bone cutters I had and made a bigger opening. Still wouldn’t come out. So in desperation I grabbed tweezers and got him out. There was blue slime. Possibly scales when I pulled him out. Or piece of fin. Was having trouble breathing, and swimming I held him in my hand for a few minutes and he swam off. Breathing normalized and he was hiding in his normal spot. Today he is dead. Not sure if he got stuck in the rock to where it was hurting him. Or if I made it worse, or if he had something like uronema or bacterial infection that made him hide like this. Pictures attached, what are your thought. The red patches and around gills.

Tough to see much in the photos, but there are some fin tears and it has a sunken belly. I presume the fin damage was from you trying to remove it?

Jay

 

[Katrina71]

I would bet the clowns are to blame

 

[ilikefish69]

Don’t beat yourself up too much. You did nothing for you to blame yourself

 

[mrpontiac80]

Sorry to hear that.
For what it’s worth, if you ever get a wrasse that sleeps in the sand such as my Melanorus, they can sometimes hide for at least a week especially if in a new tank or something.

 

[thatone08]

Tough to see much in the photos, but there are some fin tears and it has a sunken belly. I presume the fin damage was from you trying to remove it?

Jay

Tough to see much in the photos, but there are some fin tears and it has a sunken belly. I presume the fin damage was from you trying to remove it?

Jay

I think most of the tears are from me. I’m not sure why about the sunken belly. Feed frozen mysis and tdo pellets. He was always eating.