Pain in my Wrasse!

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Jim C

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Well tonight my flame wrasse died! All fish besides wrasses are doing fine. I don't know what is happening! The only wrasse I have left is a longfin fairy. The flame wrasses' body has wierd markings on it as well.
 

4FordFamily

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melypr1985

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Were the lighter patches on the scales there when he was alive or is that a trick of death and camera? The tail looks chewed up as well. :(
 

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Were the lighter patches on the scales there when he was alive or is that a trick of death and camera? The tail looks chewed up as well. :(

^^ My guess is this fish was either a victim of another fish or a bacterial disease of some sort.
 

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It was eating fine. I guess it looked a little lethargic.
I'm sorry for your losses. They are such beautiful fish. :(

If you can get one shortly after it passes I would encourage you to drop it in fresh water to check for flukes. Since the fish is gone, just a quick dip in a dark colored container of tap water works.
 
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^^ My guess is this fish was either a victim of another fish or a bacterial disease of some sort.
It was previously treated with furan 2. I followed the directions on the box to a tee.
 
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I'm sorry for your losses. They are such beautiful fish. :(

If you can get one shortly after it passes I would encourage you to drop it in fresh water to check for flukes. Since the fish is gone, just a quick dip in a dark colored container of tap water works.
Just tried it and there are no worms.
 

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If it was aggression from the other wrasse, it would be very obvious at feeding time.

Flashing and flaring fins is normal, but to get this kind of result the longfin would be making very fast, aggressive thrusts at the victim, with fast chasing. It will be unmistakable.

What size is the tank? What are the tankmates including inverts? Is there an anemone in the tank? When you found the flame wrasse where there cuc on it?
 

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That could be true, but if I've learned anything in this hobby it's the fact that no two fish of the same species are alike. Textbook knowledge would say feeding time would show aggression but if you feed a lot, aggression amongst one another could be dissipated. And ONLY the wrasses are affected, not any other species in his tank.... Weird right?
I guess only time will tell but if that fairy wrasse stays alive, it's time to point that finger!
 

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That could be true, but if I've learned anything in this hobby it's the fact that no two fish of the same species are alike. Textbook knowledge would say feeding time would show aggression but if you feed a lot, aggression amongst one another could be dissipated. And ONLY the wrasses are affected, not any other species in his tank.... Weird right?
I guess only time will tell but if that fairy wrasse stays alive, it's time to point that finger!
While there can be variance between individuals behavior within a species, most of their responses are hard-wired in place through instinct.

In social fish, such as fairy wrasses, these behaviors are significant, and pointed to get a specific response. It does no good to show aggression if the victim never figures it out, it's just a waste of energy and draws unnecessary attention to the aggressor in the wild, and so gets bred out.

If it's behavior is so far off base from the norm that it is never observed, then the victims wouldn't notice it either.

Also, the op describes the dying fishes behavior as occurring right out of the bag.

It may be odd that it is only affecting the wrasses, but we don't know what else is in the tank, and this is important too.
 

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Op, what do your acclimation procedures look like?
 

Nano man

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While there can be variance between individuals behavior within a species, most of their responses are hard-wired in place through instinct.

In social fish, such as fairy wrasses, these behaviors are significant, and pointed to get a specific response. It does no good to show aggression if the victim never figures it out, it's just a waste of energy and draws unnecessary attention to the aggressor in the wild, and so gets bred out.

If it's behavior is so far off base from the norm that it is never observed, then the victims wouldn't notice it either.

Also, the op describes the dying fishes behavior as occurring right out of the bag.

It may be odd that it is only affecting the wrasses, but we don't know what else is in the tank, and this is important too.
Very true indeed but what gets me is the other wrasses(ones not out the bag) that kicked the can and why? Out the bag fish I was going to point a finger at a Low level of oxygen perhaps? Have to look at every possibility. Change in hardware, surface agitation, pumps? Something's missing.
 

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^^ My guess is this fish was either a victim of another fish or a bacterial disease of some sort.
Completely agree, but with those white patches I tend to lean towards the latter.
If it was aggression from the other wrasse, it would be very obvious at feeding time.

Flashing and flaring fins is normal, but to get this kind of result the longfin would be making very fast, aggressive thrusts at the victim, with fast chasing. It will be unmistakable.
For sure.
While there can be variance between individuals behavior within a species, most of their responses are hard-wired in place through instinct.
Right; the aggression would certainly be obvious during feeding, and occasionally during other times as well. If it were aggression this serious (to the point of killing off tankmates), it wouldn't be random, seeing-red-once-a-day kind of outbursts. It would be very apparent if you watched the tank for a 30 minute period.
Very true indeed but what gets me is the other wrasses(ones not out the bag) that kicked the can and why? Out the bag fish I was going to point a finger at a Low level of oxygen perhaps? Have to look at every possibility. Change in hardware, surface agitation, pumps? Something's missing.
Nothing is missing if it's a bacterial issue. Newly added fish could potentially succumb quickly to it, and those established may have built up some resistance - until some persistent stress from a more dominant tankmate takes its toll on their immune system.
My conclusion is your long fin fairy has changed sex from female to male and has asserted dominance amongst the other wrasses in your tank and basically bullied them to death. I researched it with the below article and is quite an interesting read and possibly might lead you to the same conclusion.

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/articles/cirrhilabrus-the-fairy-wrasses-full-article.htm
As an aside, there's plenty of good information in that article, but there's also a lot of misinformation as well.
 

stevo01

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@evolved , I think you hit the nail on the head with this statement.

"Nothing is missing if it's a bacterial issue. Newly added fish could potentially succumb quickly to it, and those established may have built up some resistance - until some persistent stress from a more dominant tankmate takes its toll on their immune system."
 

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FWIW; encountering a bacterial issue is one good reason to run a UV sterilizer.

A UV does a much better job of removing free floating bacteria from the water than it does free swimming parasites.
I never thought of that, you're right!
 

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