wrasse with lumpy gut

[salty joe]

My red coris wrasse has had a lumpy gut for a month or two. I've had for about 2 1/2 years. I feed pellets in the morning and whole shellfish in the evening. It seems fine but I'm concerned. It's not quite as bad as this picture shows it to be.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

salty joe Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

• Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
  • How long have you had the fish with the condition?
  • Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)
• Current water quality measurements
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[salty joe]

I did not treat any fish with anything.

I've had this wrasse for about 2 1/2 years, he's had that lumpy gut for maybe a couple months.

Ph 7.8-8.0, temp 77-79, salinity 35 ppt. I have not checked alk or calcium or mag lately, I don't have corals yet. I can check if you want me to.

The wrasse seems fine but the lumpy gut concerns me. All other fish, lieutenant tang, purple tang, copper band butterfly, foxface, flameback angel, pair of adult blue ring angels, three clowns and a diamond goby all seem fine. 700 gallon tank with tons of hiding spots.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I did not treat any fish with anything.

I've had this wrasse for about 2 1/2 years, he's had that lumpy gut for maybe a couple months.

Ph 7.8-8.0, temp 77-79, salinity 35 ppt. I have not checked alk or calcium or mag lately, I don't have corals yet. I can check if you want me to.

The wrasse seems fine but the lumpy gut concerns me. All other fish, lieutenant tang, purple tang, copper band butterfly, foxface, flameback angel, pair of adult blue ring angels, three clowns and a diamond goby all seem fine. 700 gallon tank with tons of hiding spots.

I can't tell from the picture, is the lump lopsided? That is, does it show more on one side than the other? If so, this could be a tumor. If it is more symetrical, then it may be from eating too much (gorging) or possibly constipation/impaction.

One observation - the wrasse still has its juvenile coloration - that seems odd after 2 1/2 years, I'd think that it should have begun the transition to the intermediate color phase - with some blue highlights around the tail, are you seeing that?

Jay

 

[salty joe]

The lumpiness is symmetrical.
It has a bit of blue at the tail but it has for months. It was tiny when I got it, not much longer or thicker than a small willow leaf, and the white ran top to bottom.
I also wondered what's taking so long to transition, I did read on R2R about a red coris that took 4 years! He thought it died because it suddenly disappeared, then after 3 or 4 days it came out and transitioned.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The lumpiness is symmetrical.
It has a bit of blue at the tail but it has for months. It was tiny when I got it, not much longer or thicker than a small willow leaf, and the white ran top to bottom.
I also wondered what's taking so long to transition, I did read on R2R about a red coris that took 4 years! He thought it died because it suddenly disappeared, then after 3 or 4 days it came out and transitioned.

O.K. with it being symetrical, it probably isn't a tumor or an abscess. There is not a lot you can do for constipation/bloating in marine fish. You'll hear all sorts of things like adding Epsom salts or feeding the fish peas. These are freshwater fish remedies, and do not work for marine fish.

The swelling here looks lower down, where the fish's intestines are. That's what is leading me down the path of thinking this is gorging or a blockage in the gut. There are two other causes of abdominal swelling - ascites (fluid in the belly) and edema (fluid in all tissues). Both of these are caused by liver or kidney failure and are not treatable.

The best I can tell you is to withhold food for 24 hours and see if the swelling subsides. If so, then the fish is just gorging on food for some reason.

 

[salty joe]

OK thanks, fingers crossed.

 

[salty joe]

My wrasse still has a swollen gut, so probably organ damage or blockage.

Is this from poor diet? I feed New Spectrum and TDO pellets in the morning and whole shellfish in the evening. I dose 1 1/2 liters phyto daily, there is a fair amount of bugs and worms. I occasionally feed live white worms. I also feed nori but I've never seen the wrasse eat nori.

The wrasse is acting normally, flipping over shells looking for bugs, etc. If the problem is constipation, do you think feeding oily food might help?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My wrasse still has a swollen gut, so probably organ damage or blockage.

Is this from poor diet? I feed New Spectrum and TDO pellets in the morning and whole shellfish in the evening. I dose 1 1/2 liters phyto daily, there is a fair amount of bugs and worms. I occasionally feed live white worms. I also feed nori but I've never seen the wrasse eat nori.

The wrasse is acting normally, flipping over shells looking for bugs, etc. If the problem is constipation, do you think feeding oily food might help?

Typically, froze adult brine shrimp is a good "laxative". Fatty foods like mysids can make the issue worse.

 

[salty joe]

Thanks, I'll try frozen brine shrimp. I'll let you know how it goes.