Sick Wrasse?

[kpris]

Being the ditz that i am i completely forgot what the name of the wrasse was but i had bought it about a week ago. The body shape being similar to all typical wrasses and it's patterning being similar to that of a scooter blenny but a bright earthy red instead of a dark brown. Definitely not a shy fish but didn't seem to actively bully any of the others, would chase another wrasse out of it's space occasionally though. Seems to be more active at night and won't shy away from your hand either.
So this morning i woke up to find that it had turned all white. Still hanging around it's usual spot but definitely less active. It popped out for a little bit this morning while feeding but ran off pretty quickly. Seemed perfectly fine last night though, he even swam around close enough to touch when i put my hand in to drop in some shells for the crab.
Water conditions are immaculate as always, the only thing that's different is that yesterday my brother added a few fish (completely without my permission and knowledge i might add) but they're harmless enough and don't seem to be bothering any of the others except for the clown who's a little upset over the sudden invasion of his space. Again the wrasse didn't seem to have a problem with any of them, hardly seemed to notice.
Anyway the new fish are a bird nose wrasse, a small talbot's damsel and 4 blue chromis. And the stock before that was a pair of firefish, skunk clown, scooter blenny, the current wrasse in question and another random wrasse (... again i forgot the name... but it's a fairly small pinkish guy, very curious and again not shy but doesn't actively bully anyone). Also it's a 75 gallon tank.
Any idea what's going on?
Is it just sleeping? as in is it nocturnal? I've never actually seen it sleep but did notice it was alot less active during the day, the blenny also turns a bit more pale just before it sleeps and when it wakes up i noticed but not completely white.

 

[seffieuk]

Have just nipped off and had a look around the net - found two things:

Cleaner wrasse will envelope himself at night in a mucus like sack
Some wrasse when they get excited or stressed turn white

I'm afraid I don't know anything myself about wrasses' but am sure someone will be along soon who does - it was however interesting doing the reading about it on the net

Seffie x



ps hope your brother got an ear bashing - is it your tank, if so get that brother of yours to return the fish

 

[Colin_T]

The birdnose wrasse could be bullying the others. But I'm not sure what the actual question is? Is it you are concerned about the colour change of the fish at night? If so then it is normal for many fishes to change colour at night. Most fade and go pale but some species get darker. Many wrasses will sleep in the sand but some like cleaner wrasses will produce a mucous sleeping bag each night. This sack is often seen floating around the tank first thing in the morning and will break down in the water.

 

[kpris]

It's definitely not a cleaner wrasse. And i'm fairly sure it's not sleeping... I didn't see it swimming around the place at night and when i woke up the guy looked extremely thin. He's completely wasted away over the period of a day and a night! Practically bone and still white. None of the other fish are bothering it though.
I'm starting to think some kind of internal parasite? What could make a perfectly happy fish completely deteriorate in such a short space of time?

p.s. @ seffie: he did indeed get quite an ear bashing! but they're harmless enough fish and all very small still and getting along with all the current inhabitants, also he begged me to let him keep them as a birthday present... T_T
he's in love with the bird nose wrasse and my sisters are in love with the talbot's damsel and i actually wanted the chromis'. They add lovely colour and activity to the tank. Just didn't want to get them all at once... haven't detected any kind of spike though so that's alright.

 

[Colin_T]

it certainly sounds like an internal problem. Perhaps the fish is suffering from cyanide poisoning, or has a bad case of worms. It could also have coccidiosis or hexamita.

is it eating anything?

 

[kpris]

Yea it has been eating although not as much as it would normally. Does get a good couple of mouthfuls though before it stops.
It's now in quarantine and seems to be a bit more comfortable, didn't put up too much of a fight when trying to net it which is a bit of a worry.
I'm thinking i might try to feed it 3 times a day just because it won't eat much at one time. It's also begun breathing heavily too =/

[edit] actually... he's now not eating anything. Seems to have trouble staying upright now too. Completely freaking out! Whatever it is, it's escalating really really quickly. Don't think he's going to make it... T_T

 

[Colin_T]

There probably isn't much you can do at this stage besides wait and see what happens. It sounds like the fish has a serious internal problem and these are notoriously hard to cure. Keep it isolated and see how things go.

 

[seffieuk]

How is he doing?

Seffie x