Cirrhilabrus cf lanceolatus

eugene2011

Member
Hi folks,
I have a splendid dwarf pintail fairy wrasse that might have swim bladder compression due to injury.

The reason I suspect this is because I have a hang on back lifereef overflow, and while cleaning; the wrasse got pinned between the hob and glass of the tank for about 5 or 6 secs before I eyed it and relieved the fish out of there.

Now there is a bruise on the right side of the fish...
A faint reddish blotch that extends from pectoral fin down to anus.
The only sign of disturbance is the fish tends to favor swimming nose down, slightly.

Other than that, he's rather active and seems to be feeding fine but I'm debating if I should feed at all for the next 3 days?

Should I treat this as a normal bladder infection, even though it's due to issues stemming from injury?

I'm rather attached to the little guy, I hope some of you can ease the worries I am experiencing right now...
Thank you in advance.

P.S.
Parameters are in check. This is a mixed reef...
 
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Here are two comparison shots
First is left side
Second is the injured right side
 

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There's no way to say for sure if the swim bladder (or any other organ) was damaged during the incident. So, I would continue to feed normally and hope for the best. IME; a healthy fish usually bounces back from these sort of things, provided the injury isn't too severe.
 
I'm glad the picture shows the injury, was rather hard to get a good pic!
Thanks for the response humble fish
I appreciate it...

I am conflicted if I should treat this as an infection (preemptive), or leave it be and let nature run it's course.
I know there is bruising, I'm concerned about an infection taking place now?
Everything I've read, and I read a bunch before I started this thread; points to infections.
I'm sure at this point, that is not the case.
Should I be concerned later down the road?
I'm rather flummoxed by this as I feel responsible for his injury!
:(
 
If you wanted to treat for a possible infection, I would advise doing so in a QT using antibiotics. But antibiotics can be harsh on the fish and have side effects (mostly appetite suppression). As much as I advocate using them, I generally only do so if I feel the fish's life is in danger.

You could try soaking his food in vitamin supplements (i.e. Selcon, Zoecon, Vita-chem, even Omega 3 fish oil), and hope that gives his immune system enough of a boost to deal with this without the use of antibiotics.
 
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