Melanarus died in quarantine

[jejton]

This was posted in the LIRA forum but I figured I should post here too so mods feel free to delete the other one if necessary.

I finally found a really nice H. melanarus at one of the LFS and picked it up a little over a week ago, along with a cyaneo ( spelling?) flasher wrasse. They have both been in quarantine since then and eating mysis shrimp. I've been doing water changes every couple of days to keep ammonia down and slowly bring it to my DT's SG. Last night I noticed the melanarus looked a little off - breathing just a little faster than usual - but otherwise seemed like it was bedding down for the night. A half hour ago I found it dead. The other wrasse is behaving normally and not displaying signs of stress or sickness. The temp is about 75 F, SG is 1.022 ( store was 1.021 ) and ammonia tested 0-.25 on a Salifert kit ( it was white ). Any ideas what caused this? I'd like to rule out any issues with my quarantine tank so even though I'd be upset if I bought a sick fish, at least I'll know I'm doing things right on my part. The only physical signs I saw are the whitish areas where some of the slime and/or scales seem to have come off. I'm not sure if that was post-mortem as I did not notice it yesterday. I really liked this fish and hope to have better luck with a future specimen. The fish is now in a zippie in the freezer in case anyone here does post-mortems.

 

[iamwrasseman]

the wrasse looks a bit tattered ,was he in the same QT tank as the other and did the other show any signs of aggresion twards him ? his tail looks really beat up and his body also looks like he has been beat up .this may be an infection also but i dont think on the tail .very beautiful fish there and if it helps at all i have seen many wrasses just up and die for no reason as far as i can see ,probably stress related .melaneraus wrasses are bad shippers also im sorry to say .some one with some more scientific background hopefully can have a look at you pictures and give you better insight than me .good luck in the future obtaining one ,they are beautiful !

 

[jejton]

The flasher wrasse is half his size and didn't show any signs of aggression. Unfortuntately I cannot recall seeing if his tail was torn when I got him so perhaps that was a problem. One thing I hate about this LFS is that good fish go fast because they are the cheapest place around. The downside is that you cannot wait a couple of weeks after they receive the shipping if you want to make the purchase so there's that risk the fish just is in bad shape from travelling.

 

[iamwrasseman]

yes i hate that ,its unfortunate because its an animals life they and we are dealing with but they usually just want their money asap plain and simple . i have a LFS and one of the owners almost crys when he has a death or even a DOA upon delivery .its kinda funny he gets so upset but on the other hand he will not sell you a fish that he doesnt think is healthy or compatiable with others .

 

[jejton]

I also take it hard when a fish, or any animal under my care, dies because unless I have proof otherwise, I assume its something I did wrong and therefore killed the fish. Which is why I posted the photos. It was a beautiful fish and once the flasher is in the DT I will change to a larger QT and start looking for a new, healthy melanarus. Then I will be done with adding fish to my tank.

 

[iamwrasseman]

i wish you good luck and its great to hear about responsible fish keeping because its kinda brutal what some do to their fish. i always try to properly acclimate and go way out of my way to get live food to get some of thease delicate wrasses to eat and then take the time to switch foods .its really time consuming ,i get up late at night to feed some that are out and i stay up late also .i have one that appears about 11 to 12 pm and i feed him every night then im up at 4.30 also .they are worth it and its our responsibility to give them what they need ,we took them off the reef !

 

[jejton]

Very true. Do you know of any books on aquatic diseases that are good for the non-veterinarian but not total lay person?

 

[iamwrasseman]

to the best of my knowledge there are some disease books out there but they are very vague and not really informative as far as pictures go so its difficult to get a good diagnosis . i am near cornell university and they wont help because they have their own agenda so i have found it very difficult to get this type of information .