Sick scotts fairy wrasse?

myclang · Oct 27, 2013

5 days ago I purchased a scotts fairy wrasse m/f pair. The female came in pretty rough. Didn't make it 24 hours. Male has been fine, but he is getting a white line around his fins. Is this normal?

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oscarinw · Oct 28, 2013

Does not look normal. The fish is a somewhat hardy fish. There's definitely something wrong. Have you tested your water for ammonia and nitrites lately? How old is your setup and how big your tank? Any tankmates? All this might be able to give us more hints on what is going on.
Good luck with things!

Greenstreet.1 · Oct 28, 2013

Looks like something is picking on him.

The Lord is good.

myclang · Oct 28, 2013

Tank is a 180 gallon I set up roughly 2 months ago. Lightly stocked with a Melanaurus wrasse, 4 chromis, potters angel, and percula clown. A levels 0. No fish picking on him. It's just the outline of his scales. Never seen this and I've Googled heavily without finding anything like this.

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myclang · Oct 28, 2013

Here's a better shot of him. Never seen this before where the tips of the scales turn white. Any thoughts?

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3Twinklets · Oct 28, 2013

He looks like he has been diving in the sand bed. It does not look like it has developed into anything to serious yet. Just needs a little time. His slime coat will improve. I find the Scotts wrasse to be one of the more timid of wrasses.

It is always a good idea to isolate new fish for a couple of weeks but when that is not possible, an acclimation box works. It allows the fish to adapt without being chased or picked on.

myclang · Oct 28, 2013

Ah, so the markings are being caused by the sand on the scales? Never even thought of that. Well luckily I'm running an ats and have no skimmer. I think I'll add some stress coat tonight to hopefully get his slime coat up again.

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Greenstreet.1 · Oct 28, 2013

myclang said:
Ah, so the markings are being caused by the sand on the scales? Never even thought of that. Well luckily I'm running an ats and have no skimmer. I think I'll add some stress coat tonight to hopefully get his slime coat up again.

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Be careful with that stress coat don't over dose.

The Lord is good.

myclang · Oct 28, 2013

You can over dose it? I know if I had a skimmer it would foam like crazy but that was it. Could you please tell me why? Thanks.

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Greenstreet.1 · Oct 28, 2013

Had a member on a next forum that I'm on AA and he used it put to much next day all his fish where dead. If you do a search you will also find info on the over dosing of it and what can happen if over dosed.

The Lord is good.

3Twinklets · Oct 28, 2013

He will recover on his own. The more addatives you add to your tank, the more you upset your chemistry.

myclang · Oct 28, 2013

Greenstreet.1 said:
Had a member on a next forum that I'm on AA and he used it put to much next day all his fish where dead. If you do a search you will also find info on the over dosing of it and what can happen if over dosed.

The Lord is good.

Hey that's good to know. I did end up doing a search for over dosing stress coat. Saw a lot. Thanks for the heads up! I'll leave it be and just wait.

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evolved · Oct 28, 2013

3Twinklets said:
He looks like he has been diving in the sand bed. It does not look like it has developed into anything to serious yet. Just needs a little time. His slime coat will improve. I find the Scotts wrasse to be one of the more timid of wrasses.

It is always a good idea to isolate new fish for a couple of weeks but when that is not possible, an acclimation box works. It allows the fish to adapt without being chased or picked on.

Except Cirrhilabrus don't dive into the sand, and Scott's are typically very aggressive. That aside, I agree with you. But I don't really know what we're looking at here either.

myclang said:
Hey that's good to know. I did end up doing a search for over dosing stress coat. Saw a lot. Thanks for the heads up! I'll leave it be and just wait.

And I think that's a wise decision.

Keep an eye on things, but I bet this is just some collateral damage from transit, and therefore should improve with a little time. I wouldn't necessarily take any action unless things degraded.

Greenstreet.1 · Oct 28, 2013

Anytime bro happy that I can help out. We need each other in this hobby.

The Lord is good.

myclang · Oct 28, 2013

Got home to find the fish dead. Pretty bummed. Both the male and female didn't make it. They're not cheap either. I guess I'll just have to chalk it up to bad shipping. When I got them, they didn't look good in the bags, but I was hoping that they would settle in just fine.

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Greenstreet.1 · Oct 28, 2013

Sorry to hear that and no there most def not cheap at all.

The Lord is good.

3Twinklets · Oct 29, 2013

I am very sorry for your loss.
Perhaps the vendor that you purchased them from has a guarantee? If not there are many that do offer a replacement guarantee.
A little advice on future purchases of wrasses or a good practice for any fish that you purchase.
A quarantine tank is money well spent.
An acclimation box is a great tool for adding new fish to your tank.

Newly added fish, weather a wrasse or not, often do not always act as one expects from that breed. Their #1 priority is to get to a safe place no matter where that may be.
New fish have been through quite a lot of shipping to get to your final address. They are often shipped multiple times with not enough time to rest or eat in between. By the time you receive the fish it is often weak and stressed . There are vendors that take the time to quarentine fish before offering it up for sale. It is worth it to seek these out.