White "Sack" Hanging From String on Six-Line Wrasse

[tmRoth]

I've had a new six-line wrasse and royal gramma in QT for two weeks (today is day 15). When I brought them home I did a freshwater dip and treated with General Cure per package instructions (2 doses 48 hours apart, carbon + partial water change 48 hours after 2nd dose). After a couple of days of shyness while settling in, both have been very active and have been eating well. I feed frozen mysis shrimp and Omega One Marine Flakes, small amounts several times during the day.

Until today, the RG is out and about first thing in the morning, with the wrasse just poking his head out of his little ceramic cave until the lights come on. This morning, both fish were (and still are) hiding. I was able to get the photo below of the wrasse and he has a white sac hanging off the end of a string from the anus. There is plenty of information regarding the white poop string, but I haven't found any references to the sack attached to it.

Any suggestions for what may be causing this? Do I need to start any sort of treatment?

The RG has left his cave but is in his other hidey-hole, wedged between the bottom of the filter sponge the filter base. I can't see if he has any problems, but it's unusual for him to spend the entire morning (10:00 am as I write this) in hiding. I tried to lure both of them out with some flakes, which they always quickly eat (especially the RG), but neither one has an appetite this morning and remain in hiding.

 

[blaxsun]

#fishmedic

 

[Sharkbait19]

Mysis can cause white poop - it’s possible that the a lot of the poop clumped up to cause that appearance.
Both fish are rather territorial and are both cave dwellers, so there may be an added element of stress from competition depending on how large the qt is.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've had a new six-line wrasse and royal gramma in QT for two weeks (today is day 15). When I brought them home I did a freshwater dip and treated with General Cure per package instructions (2 doses 48 hours apart, carbon + partial water change 48 hours after 2nd dose). After a couple of days of shyness while settling in, both have been very active and have been eating well. I feed frozen mysis shrimp and Omega One Marine Flakes, small amounts several times during the day.

Until today, the RG is out and about first thing in the morning, with the wrasse just poking his head out of his little ceramic cave until the lights come on. This morning, both fish were (and still are) hiding. I was able to get the photo below of the wrasse and he has a white sac hanging off the end of a string from the anus. There is plenty of information regarding the white poop string, but I haven't found any references to the sack attached to it.

Any suggestions for what may be causing this? Do I need to start any sort of treatment?

The RG has left his cave but is in his other hidey-hole, wedged between the bottom of the filter sponge the filter base. I can't see if he has any problems, but it's unusual for him to spend the entire morning (10:00 am as I write this) in hiding. I tried to lure both of them out with some flakes, which they always quickly eat (especially the RG), but neither one has an appetite this morning and remain in hiding.

This looks like feces with excess mucus suggesting you are feeding food such as Mysis shrimp?
Feeding brine shrimp will often soften this. I dont see it as a health issue and often if you approach the fish with a net, it will fly off. Add flake, LRS frenzy and marine cuisine foodwill break this up and you will notice change of feces color also

 

[tmRoth]

Mysis can cause white poop - it’s possible that the a lot of the poop clumped up to cause that appearance.
Both fish are rather territorial and are both cave dwellers, so there may be an added element of stress from competition depending on how large the qt is.

Thanks. Just before seeing this response, the sack dropped off, soon followed by the string, and the wrasse is now swimming around and eating normally. The RG is still hiding under the filter sponge, but I'll give him a little more time. The sack seemed unusual, so I wanted to rule out any sort of emergency.

Yes, I was concerned about the territorial issue at first. The RG would do the wide-mouth thing whenever the wrasse got too close to his hidey-hole under the filter, but when I added the ceramic caves that gave the wrasse a better hiding spot than the PVC pipe I had been using. The RG tries to steal the wrasse's cave now and then, but otherwise they both swim together, hang out together, and don't show any aggression, even at feeding time.

 

[tmRoth]

This looks like feces with excess mucus suggesting you are feeding food such as Mysis shrimp?
Feeding brine shrimp will often soften this. I dont see it as a health issue and often if you approach the fish with a net, it will fly off. Add flake, LRS frenzy and marine cuisine foodwill break this up and you will notice change of feces color also

Thanks. Yes, Mysis shrimp and flake food, but now that I think about it, it's been probably 80% Mysis and 20% flake. I'll dial back the Mysis and add some brine shrimp, and see if I can find the LRS Frenzy locally. The wrasse finally came out of hiding, the sack and string have dropped off of him, and he's eating. Just wanted to rule out an emergency because the sack seemed unusual.