# Help: Upside down erratic wrasse



## joffems (May 2, 2014)

Need some quick help.

I have a melanurus wrasse that has been in QT since Saturday. When I went to check on the tank today, the wrasse was upside down. She is also moving erratically in what appears to be uncontrolled movements.

Based on some reading this morning, this could be a swim bladder disorder. Is there anything I can do to try to help this fish?

Also, there appears to be an irregularity on the fish's skin. I'm trying to grab a photo but the erratic movement is making it very difficult.


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## joffems (May 2, 2014)

Quick update.

Parameters (All tested with Salifert):
Ammonia: < 0.25
Nitrate and Nitrates: Not detectable
Temperature: Was 77. Increasing to 80.

Changes:
- 30% water change
- Added some prime for the bit of ammonia detected in the test.
- Added PraziPro to tank. Based on reading, internal worms and parasites are common for wrasses.
- Added an air pump and stone to the tank to increase dissolved oxygen
- Removed Firefish from the QT tank. Firefish seems fine and is still eating and doing well in separate QT.

Observations:
- Wrasse is predominantly lying on its side on the bottom of the tank, occasionally flipping over and moving a bit. 
- Breathing is relatively calm at this point.

Attaching two photos. The one is of the top of the fish and anomaly on its skin. Second photo is the underbody. I assume that is simply stringy poo.

Any feedback or recommendations are greatly appreciated.


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

You might want to put a small container of sand in for that type of wrasse to sleep in.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


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## joffems (May 2, 2014)

matti2uude said:


> You might want to put a small container of sand in for that type of wrasse to sleep in.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


Thanks. I'll take care of that tomorrow morning.


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

You are doing all the right things. Got to ask, how big is qt tank? Sometimes a small tank with no biological stability just can't carry any load of any kind, and if this is happening now, after 4 days, you are probably getting some bad stuff happening. I had so many issues with small qt tanks, but when I switched up to a 30 gallon, everything was much better. I still loose some fish in qt, but not like before with the small tank.

Temp is fine. I wouldn't adjust it.
Do water changes w RO water.
If their is a lesion on the outside of the fish it might be a bacterial or viral infection. A good option is melafix, (after finishing Prazi) or kanamycin or one of the antibiotics. Follow instructions and don't mix meds.
Good luck, this is stressful.


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

I agree that if fish's breathing is calm it will only need some sand or pvc pipe protection to help it feel safer 
QT is a tough process (for us and our fish) and many of our fish suppliers claim to carry out the QT process before we buy so that may be an alternative for future purchases 
Good luck


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## joffems (May 2, 2014)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Unfortunately, the fish didn't make it through the night. Found her in one of the pvc pipes.



Crayon said:


> You are doing all the right things. Got to ask, how big is qt tank? Sometimes a small tank with no biological stability just can't carry any load of any kind, and if this is happening now, after 4 days, you are probably getting some bad stuff happening. I had so many issues with small qt tanks, but when I switched up to a 30 gallon, everything was much better. I still loose some fish in qt, but not like before with the small tank.
> 
> Temp is fine. I wouldn't adjust it.
> Do water changes w RO water.
> ...


I'm currently using 20 gallon QTs. I had hoped, based on reading, that the 20s would suffice.

For the future, I'm going to grab a small bottle of Melafix. If you were in control, and based on your knowledge, would you have treated with Prazi and then Melafix or would you have swapped the order?



Bullet said:


> I agree that if fish's breathing is calm it will only need some sand or pvc pipe protection to help it feel safer
> QT is a tough process (for us and our fish) and many of our fish suppliers claim to carry out the QT process before we buy so that may be an alternative for future purchases
> Good luck


I wonder what percentage of successful reef keepers skip the QT and trust their supplier. There is a large group of people that say never trust your LFS and yet, there are others that simply place fish right into the tank. My best guess is that you'll likely experience a few casualties with either method.

Moving forward, I'm going to disinfect the tank, let it dry and then get it going again. The firefish is currently doing fine in the second QT. In the future, there will definitely be a bowl of sand for any wrasses in QT.


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## ChiSinh (Feb 3, 2016)

50/50 but its more to do with other fishes in the tank.


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