What’s wrong with my yellow wrasse?

[Notsolostfish]

I have exquisite wrasse, and a christmas wrasse, and my yellow wrasse. But lately i noticed my yellow wrasse looks beat up? Like the fins damaged, and swims wobbly, and i see the white patches on both sides of his body. Iv had that wrasse for couple months. Eating fine. I just dont see anyone bullying him.

Anyone can see anything on the body?



Salinity:1.025
Nitrate:12
Phosphate:0.32
Temp:77F

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have exquisite wrasse, and a christmas wrasse, and my yellow wrasse. But lately i noticed my yellow wrasse looks beat up? Like the fins damaged, and swims wobbly, and i see the white patches on both sides of his body. Iv had that wrasse for couple months. Eating fine. I just dont see anyone bullying him.

Anyone can see anything on the body?



Salinity:1.025
Nitrate:12
Phosphate:0.32
Temp:77F

That has all the hallmarks of tankmate aggression. You may never see it actually happen - fish often don't fight when you're in the room. Even if they do, it can take just one or two "hits" in a day to cause this amount of damage after a few days (since new damage is occurring faster than the old damage can heal). One trick is to set up your phone to video the tank and then leave the room. Watch for fish displacing other fish (again, you may not see a physical hit) but watch for this wrasse moving away from certain other fish as they pass by.

Sometimes, fish with flukes will look bedraggled and sort of "beat up". However, that doesn't really cause tears in the fin edges, and then, other wrasse in the same tank would have symptoms. I can't rule it out 100%, but I don't think this is flukes.

 

[Notsolostfish]

That has all the hallmarks of tankmate aggression. You may never see it actually happen - fish often don't fight when you're in the room. Even if they do, it can take just one or two "hits" in a day to cause this amount of damage after a few days (since new damage is occurring faster than the old damage can heal). One trick is to set up your phone to video the tank and then leave the room. Watch for fish displacing other fish (again, you may not see a physical hit) but watch for this wrasse moving away from certain other fish as they pass by.

Sometimes, fish with flukes will look bedraggled and sort of "beat up". However, that doesn't really cause tears in the fin edges, and then, other wrasse in the same tank would have symptoms. I can't rule it out 100%, but I don't think this is flukes.

Poor guy. Hope he makes it

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Poor guy. Hope he makes it

A tank divider will limit the chance of any aggression. Acclimation chambers can also isolate a fish, but wrasse don't do well in those small containers. You could also move the fish to another tank....