Wrasse Emergency

[DopeCantWin]

My Melanurus Wrasse is lying on the sandbed breathing fast. Is there anything I can do, or is too late? Some background info. I've had him for over a year. For the last few months he's been pretty fat. Yesterday I got two smallish fish, so everybody in the tank was pretty ****ed. He's lying on quite a few pieces of Birdsnest, the sharp one. Not sure if they're the cause somehow or just a coincidence.

 

[mroccoralman]

That very weird is there anythig that could have stressed him out.

 

[DopeCantWin]

My guess it was the additions. He's pretty old. On advice from the LFS, I've turned off the lights.

 

[rssjsb]

I'm not sure I understand - is he on your sandbed or on your corals?

What were the two new fish?

 

[DopeCantWin]

He's on the sandbed, but there are broken pieces of coral there too for some reason.

The new fish are a tiny Longnose Hawk and a small Butterfly. The wrasse is 5".

 

[rssjsb]

I should have also asked how big your tank is.

Longnose hawkfish have been known to get nasty, but I would be surprised if a tiny one could cause the problem you're describing unless it was constant enough that you could observe it. What kind of butterfly and how big?

Are the wrasse's fins damaged/cloudy? When was the last time you saw it swimming around and/or eating?

 

[DopeCantWin]

The tank is a regular 90. The Hawk is maybe 2", but skinny as a toothpick, would have no chance against the wrasse. The Butterfly is a Copperband, also about 2". He was swimming around yesterday, but dove into the sand when the newcomers came. The only damage I see on the wrasse is a single white spot on his side. Maybe a mm in diameter. Seems too big to be itch.

 

[DopeCantWin]

Some good news. I turned the lights on because I couldn't find him. After looking for a few minutes I saw him swim around and then bury himself in the sand.

 

[rssjsb]

Good news indeed.

 

[DopeCantWin]

He was swimming around okay this afternoon. I was sitting watching and a Tang that's been ****ed off since the new additions hit him hard. After that he was on the ground breathing hard again. I instantly turned off all the lights. I'm thinking I'm going to try and take out the Tang with a trap.

 

[humaguy]

leave lights off for a few days...rearrange the aquascaping...