flame wrasse health question

[belljim]

Hi I've had a pair of flame wrasse for 2 months now. They are beautiful and appear to be in good heath. That said, the male will occasionally scrape himself against the sand. He eats great, is extremely social with me and his tank mates. Is this normal behavior or is it perhaps a sign of something I need to address?

Thanks Jim

 

[b0bab0ey]

Sometimes just like us, a fish has an itch that needs to be scratched. Or sometimes something non-disease related is irritating their skin. The problem is constant scratching can also be a symptom of a wide variety of diseases, with external parasites or Ich being the most likely. Did you QT the wrasses? If so, for how long and did you use any medications during the QT period? Have you ever looked closely at the wrasses to see if they have any tiny white dots on them that resemble sprinkled white sugar? Any head twitching or stringy white poo? Does the scratching seem to target a specific area of the body or head?

 

[belljim]

Sometimes just like us, a fish has an itch that needs to be scratched. Or sometimes something non-disease related is irritating their skin. The problem is constant scratching can also be a symptom of a wide variety of diseases, with external parasites or Ich being the most likely. Did you QT the wrasses? If so, for how long and did you use any medications during the QT period? Have you ever looked closely at the wrasses to see if they have any tiny white dots on them that resemble sprinkled white sugar? Any head twitching or stringy white poo? Does the scratching seem to target a specific area of the body or head?[

Thank you for the reply. No, I did not QT the wrasses, nor have they been medicated. The scraping is very infrequent but it does appear to be directed to the gill area. I have not noticed any white dots, but will look much closer tomorrow. He has not shown any head twitching and the poo is brown as of tonight.

On another note, I had a pair of Rhombiods until yesterday. The female died after a couple days of not eating then a day of swimming erratically and finally what appeared to be complete loss of swimming ability. The appetite loss did not really cause me distriss but when she began to show inability to swim properly, I immedietly got her into a QT of Praztastic. Apparently it was not soon enough as she expired within a day.

I do not know how closely these are related but the chain of events has me concerned.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[b0bab0ey]

Thank you for the reply. No, I did not QT the wrasses, nor have they been medicated. The scraping is very infrequent but it does appear to be directed to the gill area. I have not noticed any white dots, but will look much closer tomorrow. He has not shown any head twitching and the poo is brown as of tonight.

On another note, I had a pair of Rhombiods until yesterday. The female died after a couple days of not eating then a day of swimming erratically and finally what appeared to be complete loss of swimming ability. The appetite loss did not really cause me distriss but when she began to show inability to swim properly, I immedietly got her into a QT of Praztastic. Apparently it was not soon enough as she expired within a day.

I do not know how closely these are related but the chain of events has me concerned.

Thanks again for your help.

The scratching "directed to the gill area" makes me think Ich or Flukes. Both are known to affect a fishes gills. Mind you, I'm not saying 100% that is what's going on here but it's a distinct possibility. Especially with the failure to QT (not trying to lecture you).

You say you treated with "Praztastic"? I'm assuming that's a derivative of praziquantel, which is used to treat Flukes. Did you treat in a QT or in your DT?

 

[belljim]

The scratching "directed to the gill area" makes me think Ich or Flukes. Both are known to affect a fishes gills. Mind you, I'm not saying 100% that is what's going on here but it's a distinct possibility. Especially with the failure to QT (not trying to lecture you).

You say you treated with "Praztastic"? I'm assuming that's a derivative of praziquantel, which is used to treat Flukes. Did you treat in a QT or in your DT?

Yes, it is a exactly as you described, a derivative of praziquantel. I did set up a QT for the female rhombiod and it is now currently medicated with the Praz-tastic. The DT is not medicated.

 

[b0bab0ey]

Yes, it is a exactly as you described, a derivative of praziquantel. I did set up a QT for the female rhombiod and it is now currently medicated with the Praz-tastic. The DT is not medicated.

IMO not much else you can do at this point except wait to see if more symptoms present themselves. Treatment for Ich would require removal of all your fish into a QT for treatment. Flukes can be treated with PraziPro right in the DT. But I'm not 100% sure if the same holds true for "Praztastic".

 

[belljim]

IMO not much else you can do at this point except wait to see if more symptoms present themselves. Treatment for Ich would require removal of all your fish into a QT for treatment. Flukes can be treated with PraziPro right in the DT. But I'm not 100% sure if the same holds true for "Praztastic".

Im not seeing any white spots on the flame, so my fingers are crossed. With respect to my Rhomboid's recent death, what do you feel she was suffering from? Lack of appetite for a couple days, then finally complete inabilty to swim.

Thanks again.

 

[b0bab0ey]

Im not seeing any white spots on the flame, so my fingers are crossed. With respect to my Rhomboid's recent death, what do you feel she was suffering from? Lack of appetite for a couple days, then finally complete inabilty to swim.

Thanks again.

It's really hard to say what happened to your Rhomboid Wrasse just based on those two symptoms. Lack of appetite covers a wide variety of fish ailments, especially near the end. The complete inability to swim could be swim bladder or an intestinal issue, such as internal worms/parasites. Or it could be a fish in the death throes after a long battle with Ich, Flukes or any number of diseases.

 

[belljim]

It's really hard to say what happened to your Rhomboid Wrasse just based on those two symptoms. Lack of appetite covers a wide variety of fish ailments, especially near the end. The complete inability to swim could be swim bladder or an intestinal issue, such as internal worms/parasites. Or it could be a fish in the death throes after a long battle with Ich, Flukes or any number of diseases.

thanks very much for your input on my situation. I guess I will be need to watch closely over the next few days.

again, thank you.