My peacock has gone blind (Leopard Macropharyngodon meleagris)

MarineLunatic · Mar 15, 2023

One day I was feeding my tank and all seemed normal, then I didn't see my peacock wrasse for a few weeks(in which I thought he had died randomly) and then when he would pop out(a few weeks at a time). he would swim into rocks and everything causing him to circle on the sand bed and then dive back into the sand, it's been a good month if not longer I hadn't seen him and I saw him today briefly, maybe for 5 mins doing the exact same thing and then dived back into the sand. I've had a look at his eyes and they aren't cloudy, when this happened first I did a freshwater dip with a few drops of methylene blue but I've only done this once. is there anything I can do to fix him or help him it's sad to watch him like this he was the protector of my reef.(I've had him over 1 year prior to this issue)

the picture below him sleeping in the sand with his tail out

SaltyT · Mar 15, 2023

Sorry to hear this. Hopefully the [HASH=60110]#fishmedics[/HASH] can help.

Sharkbait19 · Mar 15, 2023

Does the fish react to food at all?
Is the lack of coordination the only issue or is there anything else (fast breathing, lethargy, etc.)?

homer1475 · Mar 16, 2023

Had a leopard do this a few years back. Ended up being a broken beak from hitting the sandbed to hard. Literally could not eat, and wasted away until it eventually died.

Is it eating?

MarineLunatic · Mar 17, 2023

firstly thank you all for commenting I really do appreciate it @homer1475 @Sharkbait19 @SaltyT

I haven't seen him eat for about 3 weeks, whenever I even feed him he never comes out of the sand, and when he does he bangs into a few rocks then starts to circle the sand in the tank and dives back into the sandbed. Today I've seen him sleeping close to the glass so I will post a video he does look like he's breathing heavily. Is it possible for a peacock wrasse to last 3/4 weeks without eating and just constantly sleeping to save its energy?

MarineLunatic · Mar 17, 2023

homer1475 said:
Had a leopard do this a few years back. Ended up being a broken beak from hitting the sandbed to hard. Literally could not eat, and wasted away until it eventually died.

Is it eating?

how long did he survive

Sharkbait19 · Mar 17, 2023

Can’t get the video on my end - could you link it through YouTube?

MarineLunatic · Mar 17, 2023

Sharkbait19 said:
Can’t get the video on my end - could you link it through YouTube?

sure thing ill upload it now

MarineLunatic · Mar 17, 2023

Sharkbait19 said:
Can’t get the video on my end - could you link it through YouTube?

Sharkbait19 · Mar 17, 2023

Breathing that fast is concerning - velvet can be ruled out due to the timetables, but flukes are possible.

MarineLunatic · Mar 17, 2023

ive done a fresh dip before

Sharkbait19 said:
Breathing that fast is concerning - velvet can be ruled out due to the timetables, but flukes are possible.

shall I do a freshwater dip again with a few drops of methylene blue I've got other fish and they are all perfect such as my clown and my aptasia-eating filefish

(my setup so you know is two gyre pointing towards the surface making some crazy aeration and I've got a skimmer which is a pretty good tunze made for double my tank size)

MarineLunatic · Mar 17, 2023

if this doesn't work do I have to put it down :'( i don't want it to suffer he's been like this for at least one month

Sharkbait19 · Mar 17, 2023

Methylene blue isn’t too effective for saltwater fish - flukes would likely affect most fish as well.
Are you able to get this guy into a separate qt for closer observation?

MarineLunatic · Mar 17, 2023

Sharkbait19 said:
Methylene blue isn’t too effective for saltwater fish - flukes would likely affect most fish as well.
Are you able to get this guy into a separate qt for closer observation?

I don't have a QT as i get all my fish QT'ed but ill catch him in a container and take another video of him tomorrow

MarineLunatic · Mar 20, 2023

MarineLunatic said:
I don't have a QT as i get all my fish QT'ed but ill catch him in a container and take another video of him tomorrow

I've been trying to catch him the last few days as he's gone under a rock and just waiting for him to move from that spot so i can catch him and then send you a video

MarineLunatic · Mar 21, 2023

I found him today upside down and breathing heavily I slowly picked him up and when I looked at him again he wasn't breathing and had died from looking at him his eye was clear and didn't have a spec on his scales I would think he had gone blind and stayed alive as long as possible without eating (he did look skinny) thanks for all your help guys I really appreciate it but today is a sad day for me and my wife