Shipping Stress in Wrasses

[pupfish]

I just ordered a female P. McCoskeri from LA Diver's Den section last night and put in the notes, basically, "Please - big bag & lots of O2". Is it just my bad luck, or have others witnessed the same behavior once acclimated in QT: the fish basically just goes into a corner lays there and dies within a few days. It's almost like the wrasse has literally "gassed out".
I've heard other people describe the same thing and all I know is that the best shipment I ever had on a wrasse was a 1.5" male blue flasher, the fish was in a bag that one would ship 3-4" pygmy angel or butterfly in, with just a little less water and lots of O2. I was so impressed and shocked at how frisky he was that night after acclimation, that when I found out they had female McCoskers' available I ordered 3. These were shipped in much, much smaller bags. The bags were limp and none of the fish survived more than a week. They all exhibited the same behavior mentioned above. Is tricaine out of the question when shipping wrasses (or even Methylene Blue)? I'm just wondering how to reduce mortality rates. BTW, I'm glad to see that SOMEONE has figured out that female fairy & flashers are marketable!

Meredith

 

[DFS/LA1]

Pupfish,

Thank you for your interest in this beautiful wrasse. Our Aquacultured coral and marine life facility has found that the McCosker’s wrasse is very prone to light shock during the acclimation period. It is best to introduce this fish to your quarantine tanks in the dark. It is also imperative there not be any light on in the room or in the quarantine tank, for at least 24 hours or they may not survive. We have found that light shock accounts for most McCosker’s wrasse mortality within the first 24-72 hours.

You can certainly request we ship your specimens in larger bags. We have had a good shipping success rate for the size bags these fish are shipped in. We determine the size of the bag based on the size of the fish. The bag is normally 2-3 times the size of the fish. We also take into consideration how active the fish is and size the bag accordingly. Methylene blue is typically used in our freshwater shipments to help prevent bacterial and parasitic infections. We have not found methylene blue to be beneficial for saltwater shipments. Please let us know if you have any other questions about this gorgeous specimen.

Kris W.
LiveAquaria Supervisor
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[pupfish]

Wow, If I may, can I repost your response in the fairy/flasher wrasse thread here on RC? I think many will find that info useful. (Btw, last time I checked, it was a very large thread ) Hopefully, one day we can domestically breed these wonderful fish.

Thank you very much for the information!

Meredith

 

[DFS/LA1]

pupfish,

You certainly may repost this information. All the information we provide on our threads is meant to be used for education purposes. Please let us know if you have any more questions for us.

Jaimie A
Customer Service Manager
LiveAquaria

 

[pupfish]

Hi, I just want to clarify about acclimation and photosensitivity with flashers (in your experience, just P. McCoskeri?), before I go posting.

We are talking about WAY beyond the usual practice of just lights out in the tank for the first 24 hours and not subjecting them to more than average (or a bit below) ambient room light, correct? (I think most people just keep the room light down a bit, and then keep the lights off in the QT tank for the first 24-48 hours after acclimating a fish.) I ask, first, to clarify acclimating procedures, and secondly, to inquire about something that happened when the McCosker I ordered arrived:

When opening the bags (thank you for the size I requested), the 2 inner bags had leaks at the bottom. Naturally, a jet stream shot out of them. I had to (gently) turn the bags over. The wrasse became visible (the bags are black bottomed in the quadruple bagging process - for other folks who are reading this - resulting in the flasher wrasse being in a totally darkened environment). She looked okay in the bag as I got her ASAP into the acclimation container (also completely blackened - via a lawn bag wrapped about a pitcher).

Here's the thing: There were no lights on, I closed all the shutters in the QT room, I even taped black lawn bags around the QT tank (is this going too far?); however, early in the acclimation process I peeked into her pitcher. Although there was very little ambient light in the room, I could make out the dreaded markings I've seen in flasher wrasses that didn't make it - pink base, but with strong whitish VERTICAL barring. Is this a classic symptom of photoshock? And if so, has it been seen in other wrasses?

I saw this on the 3 that died, mentioned in a previous post. There was no black bottoming of their bags. Since it was a GB they were taken out and subjected to loads of light as people tried to identify them (I got lost and was late.) The male from the previous order - same wholesaler (not QM), btw - was shipped in a large black bottomed bag. Didn't give the difference much thought until I asked you guys about shipping concerns - always figured the vertical barring pattern and hiding in a corner 'til death was a result of general shipping stress. The idea of photoshock never entered my mind.

Any answers and insights would be appreciated, since with flashers becoming such a popular fish, special guidelines for proper acclimation should become SOP with these little beauties.

Sincerely,
Meredith

 

[dfs/la2]

Pupfish,

Thank you for your inquiry. We feel that if the bags were picked up a number of times to verify the specimen inside, it was probably very stressful on the fish. However, we will check with our Aquatics Director for additional information on acclimation and what may be causing the markings on the Wrasse. We will repost with any additional information.

Gwen S.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[pupfish]

Yes, I'm sure the manhandling was very stressful on those particular 3 wrasses, which were NOT LA/Diver's Den fish. The bags did not have black boots (I've been referring to them as "black bottomed").

The fish I ordered from Diver's Den was only picked up from the box once for acclimation. My hope was to put her innnermost bags, with the black boots on, into a large pitcher and perform drip acclimation without removing her from the bag. The leak prevented this from happening and I was forced into turning the bag over since it was spraying quite a stream (y'all pack well - the bag still had a lot of pressure from the O2 inside). THAT'S when she was exposed to ambient light. I had to rush quickly - grab a black lawn bag, wrap the pitcher then rush over to the sink, tip the bag back and snip the bag open, empty some of the water and then rush back and put the remainder of what was in the now dripping bag (water and flasher) into the pitcher for acclimation. She was exposed to low levels of light for less than a minute. She still barred up, and I hate to say it, is giving the exact same behaviour I've seen before - hiding in a sheltered corner, not coming out (I finally removed the bags surrounding the tank today).

I also witnessed the same barring pattern in a Lubbocks' fairy wrasse when it was hiding after being attacked by a trigger (not my tank, btw - at a dealer's!) The poor thing had its entire pectoral ripped out, leaving a socket in the side of the fish. So, although this was due to physical trauma, I was wondering if fairies and other flashers exhibit the same patterning and behaviour due to photosensitivity. And yes, I've noticed the first 72 hours seem to be the most critical, although I'm very concerned for this fish.

Thank You,
Meredith

 

[dfs/la2]

Pupfish,

Thank you for your inquiry. Yes, Fairy and Flasher wrasses all exhibit vertical barbing when stressed. They also will have this pattern of coloration if they are resting. These wrasse respire rapidly so generally speaking shipping is more stressful for them. The handling of these wrasse during shipment is a factor along with time in transit. In our facility we pack these fish late in the afternoon so their transit time is as short as possible. Also, when acclimating we would suggest following our acclimation procedure included in all shipments to dim the room’s lights along with leaving the quarantine lights off for 24 hours. Please let us know if you have further questions.

Thank you,

Jaimie A
Customer Service Manager
LiveAquaria