Picked up a Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse...weee...

Its a gonner. I checked on it last night before going out, and it was the same old same old. I went down this morning to turn the light, and it was laying just outside of it cave on its back on the substrate.

Its got to be something on my end, this is the second wrasse that has not made it though QT in a month. Maybe someone can review my setup and point out something i am not doing.

The QT tank:

29 gallon
30-40 lbs of year old LR
20 lbs of oolite sand
one Koralia 2 pointed at the surface about 3" down the water line
One air pump hooked up to a rigid air line tube that is on the other end of the tank to move water past the heater
standard T5's 10K as lighting (i keep the tank dark for the first 48, then 6 hours a day there after for feeding purposes)
1.024 s.g
0 readings on NH3, No2, and 20-40 ppm on No3
77-79 F temp, it never sways outside of that range


I dont keep copper/other meds in the water. If the fish requires treatment i will add it then, but ive never had to take care of any issues like that.

Any suggestions or ideas?
 
Sorry for your loss.
This is just my personal opinion, but I like to add the wrasses straight to my D/T .
They are stressed enough at it is.
I use an acclimation box now.

IMG_5756.jpg
 
bradleyj said:
Sorry for your loss.
This is just my personal opinion, but I like to add the wrasses straight to my D/T .
They are stressed enough at it is.
I use an acclimation box now.
Click to expand...

I don't want to turn this into an 'acclimate or not?' thread, but you might try skipping the quarantine. After all, you did the QT by the book, it seems to me, so skipping it seems the only reasonable way to improve your procedure.

I agree that new fish are stressed enough, and after years of going back and forth on the matter and trying both ways, I've decided that keeping fish calm and feeling secure is more important than the low chance that some pathogen will be introduced to the tank that is not already in there.

Really, seems you did everything quite conscientiously. Lubbock's are typically very hardy (for a fairy wrasse, anyway) -- perhaps your source for these fish is the weak link? Try a different vendor, perhaps.

Good luck!
 
John Zillmer said:
I don't want to turn this into an 'acclimate or not?' thread, but you might try skipping the quarantine. After all, you did the QT by the book, it seems to me, so skipping it seems the only reasonable way to improve your procedure.

I agree that new fish are stressed enough, and after years of going back and forth on the matter and trying both ways, I've decided that keeping fish calm and feeling secure is more important than the low chance that some pathogen will be introduced to the tank that is not already in there.

Really, seems you did everything quite conscientiously. Lubbock's are typically very hardy (for a fairy wrasse, anyway) -- perhaps your source for these fish is the weak link? Try a different vendor, perhaps.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the words.

The problem i see is that wrasses seem to move very quickly in my area. Which means they are only in stock tanks for 1-7 days before they sell out. I hate buying fish that have just been moved, and moreover i hate buying fish that have not proven themselves in captivity. But i really dont have any other choices since every time i look at the arrival date on a wrasse its less than a week ago.

IF i try another wrasse, ill wait until i can find one that's been in a healthy system for a 2 or more weeks and that is eating (although both of the last ones i bought have been eating well before i brought them home). Then i might just go straight to the DT...depending on how the fish looks.
 
I was back the the same store today, and saw a carpenter that was dated 11-14...but passed in favor of a starry blenny that had been there 3 weeks and a C. Loriculus that had been there even longer.

Im skipping QT with these guys as they both ate like pigs and i was able to observe them for 30 minutes and could not see any visible damage/parasites. Ill go out on a limb here and say i am making the right move this time.

There in bags temp acclimating now. The angel had a pH of 8.0 and a s.g of 1.025, and the blenny had a pH of 7.8 and a S.g of 1.021. My tanks params are 7.9 and 1.025...so this should not be too bad.
 
Starry blennies are decent fish, IMO. Hardy, fun, usually well-mannered. Flame angels are not my favorite -- watch out for ick on yours, not necessarily now (was it in copper at the LFS? I'll bet.) but throughout the next couple weeks. Hopefully yours stays healthy and well-behaved. Good luck!
 
John Zillmer said:
Starry blennies are decent fish, IMO. Hardy, fun, usually well-mannered. Flame angels are not my favorite -- watch out for ick on yours, not necessarily now (was it in copper at the LFS? I'll bet.) but throughout the next couple weeks. Hopefully yours stays healthy and well-behaved. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up on the flame....its fat enough and large enough that i am still on the edge about QT'ing it...i think it would be a good candidate...but as you see I have a bad track record with QT.

Opinions while its still in the bag?

EDIT: Just called the LFS, they said they have not run copper in that system in over a year. And with the amount of water changed out he said it will probably test positive, but not enough to really be affective on treating anything.
 
Since it doesn't have an active external parasite infestation right at the moment, I think you ought to continue acclimating directly to the DT.

My habit with new fish that are prone to ick (angels, tangs, clown gobies) is to mix Metronidazole into the food for the tank every other day for a week or so. I've used this as an adjunct to FW dips for treating active infestations of ick, and it seems to help. I understand this isn't a standard treatment, but there's plenty of evidence of Metro's efficacy in treating other protozoan infections, too.

Whatever you do, just keep an eye on it (I'm sure you will...).
 
John Zillmer said:
Since it doesn't have an active external parasite infestation right at the moment, I think you ought to continue acclimating directly to the DT.

My habit with new fish that are prone to ick (angels, tangs, clown gobies) is to mix Metronidazole into the food for the tank every other day for a week or so. I've used this as an adjunct to FW dips for treating active infestations of ick, and it seems to help. I understand this isn't a standard treatment, but there's plenty of evidence of Metro's efficacy in treating other protozoan infections, too.

Whatever you do, just keep an eye on it (I'm sure you will...).
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

How is it that a antibiotic aids in the treatment of protozoan infections? Does it help the fish fight off secondary bacterial infections that weaken it during the battle with the first infection?

P.S. The angel is in, and looks to be doing well. Its already picked at a few rocks, met the clowns and kept picking at rocks.
 
Sounds like the angel is happy already. Nice.

My understanding is that a bacteria and a protozoan are pretty similar things. Someone could certainly educate me on this matter, though. Whatever the case, Metro is an considered an antiprotozoal agent (I've heard it called an 'antibiotic', too, but consider that a machine gun is an antibiotic of sorts) by both aquarists and the medical profession. Aquarists use Metro most commonly to treat the protozoan Hexamita in Discus. Metro is a moderately decent treatment for malaria (a protozoan infection) in humans. Oh, and it is used to treat intestinal protozoa in reptiles, too. So, if it is actually effective against ick as I think it is, it is directly effective against the ick parasite.
 
John Zillmer said:
Sounds like the angel is happy already. Nice.

My understanding is that a bacteria and a protozoan are pretty similar things. Someone could certainly educate me on this matter, though. Whatever the case, Metro is an considered an antiprotozoal agent (I've heard it called an 'antibiotic', too, but consider that a machine gun is an antibiotic of sorts) by both aquarists and the medical profession. Aquarists use Metro most commonly to treat the protozoan Hexamita in Discus. Metro is a moderately decent treatment for malaria (a protozoan infection) in humans. Oh, and it is used to treat intestinal protozoa in reptiles, too. So, if it is actually effective against ick as I think it is, it is directly effective against the ick parasite.
Click to expand...

Good to know! I just lumped it into the "Antibiotic" treatment and dismissed it as that. Ill have to pick up a little bottle of it next time im out.
 
Reporting in:

Both of them are eating brine, so long as they dont bring in a disease....i would call this a success.
 
Pics at last:

Ugly the starry blenny
DSCF1880.jpg


And 'as yet to be named by wife' C. Loriculis
DSCF1879.jpg


The angel is getting a little picky about what it eats. It samples a lot, but rejected everything i saw it take into its mouth today (brine, mysis, krill bits...but i had some nori on a clip all night....could it have filled up on that?)

The blenny goes nuts for H20 foods Fish & Reef #2. Great fish!
 
1DeR9_3Hy said:
The angel is getting a little picky about what it eats. It samples a lot, but rejected everything i saw it take into its mouth today (brine, mysis, krill bits...but i had some nori on a clip all night....could it have filled up on that?)
!
Click to expand...


What exactly was it eating at the LFS? Try that.

I think that fish that are rock-pickers can satisfy their hunger enough with what they find on the live rock until they (a) eat everything off the rock that is palatable to them, and/or (b) figure out that even though frozen mysis doesn't taste as good as live amphipods, it does fill the belly. And your angel could well have eaten a bunch of nori.

If it was eating well at the LFS, I would just offer it food regularly until it gets comfortable in your tank.

Nice name for the starry, BTW:)
 
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