Help! my favorite fish which is a mystery wrasse seems to be sick. Hes just laying not on his side though in the sand underneath a rock. As for as a know i cant see any kind of ich or anything like that on the poor little guy. This is my first fish that has ever been sick any help is greatly appreciated. Really do not want to lose this fish partly because they are expensive.
Sick mystery wrasse...
- Thread starter moshi1ry
- Start date
I think im going to try prazipro since he shows no signs so it must be an internal parasite? I also wonder about stray voltage but that seems unlikely because the other fish are perfectly fine. Any help quickly please? He seems to be close to death but ill give prazi pro a shot.
How long have you had him? Did you QT or did he go straight into your DT? Is he breathing hard? Can you catch him and put him in a QT for further observation/treatment? I would be hesitant to just dose my DT with Prazi without first knowing what's wrong. If you can catch the wrasse, a f/w dip would provide more immediate relief, and would confirm whether or not he has worms, which require Prazi for treatment.
Thanks bobaBoey for replying really need some help! I havent dosed my tank yet because i didnt want to treat for something that i didnt know what it was. He does seem to be breathing hard and is laying under a rock not swimming at all. He will wiggle away when i put my finger near him but nothing like usual. So sad its the wrasse my favorite and most expensive fish.
Also He has been in my DT for about 6 months i did not quarantine him even though i should have. I watched him for about a month at my LFS and seemed fine. I should have quaranited but didnt i know i know. What could possibly be wrong? I cannot see any signs of ich or anything else he looks perfectly healthy but obviously isnt. Are you sure a fresh water dip is a good idea? Im pretty afraid to dip him because it might stress and kill him. If you can get back to me ASAP i would be very thankful im afraid this fish doesnt have long to live.
Also He has been in my DT for about 6 months i did not quarantine him even though i should have. I watched him for about a month at my LFS and seemed fine. I should have quaranited but didnt i know i know. What could possibly be wrong? I cannot see any signs of ich or anything else he looks perfectly healthy but obviously isnt. Are you sure a fresh water dip is a good idea? Im pretty afraid to dip him because it might stress and kill him. If you can get back to me ASAP i would be very thankful im afraid this fish doesnt have long to live.
Okay i did a fresh water dipped i have noticed that one eye is bulging and the second eye looks to be irritated too. pop eye? The fish did not take well to the fresh water dip and i saw no parasites jump off the fish. What should i use to treat this fish? I have also moved him into a quarantine tank.
Going to pick up maracyn in the morning and treat him with that. Will also try to get him to eat some vitamins even though i dont think he can see. Also after further inspection i think only 1 eye is infected. My girl friend said we buy them nice things like live rock and then they go and injure themselves haha she says we need to pad all the rocks 
. Never really realize how much you care about a fish...
. Never really realize how much you care about a fish...How long did you do the f/w dip for? If it was more than 3 minutes and you didn't see any tiny "worms" fall off or out of him (especially around the gills) then you can probably rule out Flukes.
It's good you have him QT'd. This way you can figure out what's wrong with him and begin treatment without affecting the rest of your tank.
"Popeye" is more of a condition than an actual disease. His eye is "popeyed" either due to injury or infection. If it's injury, you can possibly ease the swelling by adding Epsom salt (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water) to the QT. If this doesn't help after a few days, assume it's an infection and use the Maracyn.
In the meantime watch him closely for additional symptoms: flashing, scratching, head twitching, stringy white poo, white "sprinkles" all over his body. You need more symptoms to make a proper diagnosis.
It's good you have him QT'd. This way you can figure out what's wrong with him and begin treatment without affecting the rest of your tank.
"Popeye" is more of a condition than an actual disease. His eye is "popeyed" either due to injury or infection. If it's injury, you can possibly ease the swelling by adding Epsom salt (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water) to the QT. If this doesn't help after a few days, assume it's an infection and use the Maracyn.
In the meantime watch him closely for additional symptoms: flashing, scratching, head twitching, stringy white poo, white "sprinkles" all over his body. You need more symptoms to make a proper diagnosis.
Alright i went ahead and used maracyn felt like something needed to be done. I could only FW dip him for probably 30 seconds he was not liking it at all any longer and i think it would have killed him. Currently he leaned up against a rock not moving but his left eye has started to look around. Is it okay to use epsom salts with marycyn? He also has a cacoon around him ive never seen this before. Thanks for replying again!
The cocoon is normal for wrasses, it's what they sleep in at night. I've never mixed Epsom salt with Maracyn; Don't think it's a good idea. FW dip for only 30 seconds wasn't long enough to confirm whether or not he has Flukes. It takes a least 3 minutes IME.
Only thing you can do now is wait to see if more symptoms surface.
Symptoms of Flukes is head twitching/stringy white poo. Symptoms of Ich is scratching/flashing and "salt sprinkles" all over the body. Both can be treated with medication in the QT. Let me know how it goes! Good luck!
Thanks i sorta did the epsom salt in between treatments then did a water change and added the maracyn. He seems to be doing better more alert atleast. I wish i could have FW dipped him longer but i really think he would have died. I had no idea about the cocoon because i can never seem him at night. Pretty amazing really! I will keep you updated i am concerned now though because i dont think he has had anything except maybe a little to eat. When should i start worrying about him not eating and what can i do about that. The LFS recommended maracyn 2 if i could not get him to eat but i dont exactly trust his advice. Thanks in advance.
Well, let's just say that your LFS is right... but for the wrong reasons. Using Maracyn 2, in conjunction with Maracyn, is a pretty good idea because that way you're covering a more broad spectrum of bacterial infections. Maracyn covers gram-positive, Maracyn 2 gram-negative. However, Maracyn already contains B-complex vitamins, which is the appetite stimulant your LFS is referring to.
Once a fish stops eating that's a pretty bad sign IME. I once lost a wrasse in QT because I think all he ate was worms in my DT and never would accept the substitutions I offered. Try mysis & brine shrimp to get the wrasse eating again.
Good luck!
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