My wrasse got sick and died?

[andersh]

I recently purchased two wrasse fish and they both started acting weird about 1 month after buying them i called up the store and asked them my fish are rubbing up against rocks and just acting weird. They said they are diseased and to remove them and my other fish(Maroon clown,2 chromis) into a seperate tank with PVC pipes for hiding i applied the treatment to the water and about 3 days after my carpenter wrasse died and the day second day after than my pinstripe wrasse died. they guy at the store told me to have the water in the tank at about 84-85 degrees so i was thinking that they may have died do to the heat of the water sence there is no return policy at the store i am scroooooood but does anyone know why the might have died or if wrasse are more sensitive to hotter water then the other fish thanks.
-Anders

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by AndersH
I recently purchased two wrasse fish and they both started acting weird about 1 month after buying them i called up the store and asked them my fish are rubbing up against rocks and just acting weird. They said they are diseased and to remove them and my other fish(Maroon clown,2 chromis) into a seperate tank with PVC pipes for hiding i applied the treatment to the water and about 3 days after my carpenter wrasse died and the day second day after than my pinstripe wrasse died. they guy at the store told me to have the water in the tank at about 84-85 degrees so i was thinking that they may have died do to the heat of the water sence there is no return policy at the store i am scroooooood but does anyone know why the might have died or if wrasse are more sensitive to hotter water then the other fish thanks.
-Anders
Welcome to the boards!!!! I am sorry to tell you that your LFS gave you some bad advice. All saltwater life needs very stable water parameters. Raising the temp works to speed up ich's life cycle (if that is even what they had) but in saltwater it is more dangerous to the fish than to the parasite. What chemical did he tell you to treat with? How is the maroon clown and chromis' doing? Are they still in the QT? Please tell us more about what happened and about your display and qt tanks.

 

[andersh]

The medication they told me to use is called Cupramine i have a 20 gallon tank and about 9 PVC pipes in the tank and that is all the maroon and chromis are doing great but i just dont understand why the chrmois died the carpenter wrasse was the first to get the disease and the pinstripe wrasse was fine and i woke up to check on them and he was dead so im thinking that the wrasse are more sensitive to water changes then the other fish.
-Anders

 

[sepulatian]

More sensitive to copper. Do you have a copper test kit? It is very important to maintain thereputic copper levels (the directions on the bottle). Too high it becomes toxic, too low it is not effective. Chromis are tough little guys, however he may have had a weaker immune system than the other one. How long have you been treating them?

 

[andersh]

i have been treating them for five days and tests said everything is fine so i dont know ??

 

[andersh]

anymore advice on if i should continue to get more wrrase i have a 24 gallon nano reef with a bulb anenome a tree coral polyp and have 19 pounds of live rock i dont know what other fish might be good for this tank? and suggestions
- Anders

 

[sepulatian]

Those kind of wrassies are fine, but you have to quarentine your new fish. You can't just put your new fish right into your reef. I am sure that you were never told this. Most LFS's do not share this information with their customers. When you purchase a fish, it has to be quarentined for at least 3-4 weeks to be sure that it is not carrying any parasites that will enter your display. I know it sounds like a pain, but believe me, it is well worth it.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by AndersH
i have been treating them for five days and tests said everything is fine so i dont know ??
What tests are you using?

 

[firefish_48]

Oxygen levels at 84-85 are alot lower than say 80. This could have played a part in the death of the fish. Sorry about your loss.
Mike

 

[andersh]

when u say to have them qt do u mean just to watch them for 3-4 weeks or qt and medicate them before puting them into the tank. Also the test kit i had i lost when moving and i need to buy a knew one any good ideas

 

[andersh]

Cause i just feal this is so unfair how the fish store can just sell you a fish with no guarantee and have it die the next day when it could have been on its last limb but looked completley normal at the store and they said they qt them before the put them in there tank aswell before selling

 

[andersh]

when im placing the fish into the qt before they go into the reef tank what should the temp be at and should it just be water with the PCV pipes and medication or non?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by AndersH
Cause i just feal this is so unfair how the fish store can just sell you a fish with no guarantee and have it die the next day when it could have been on its last limb but looked completley normal at the store and they said they qt them before the put them in there tank aswell before selling
Well, unfortunately that is what alot of fish stores do. They could care less. They get the sale of the fish, then they get the sale of all of the meds they tell you to use and then if the customer has no alternative source of information they get to BS them into buying something else. Not all stores are like that, but alot of them are.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by AndersH
when im placing the fish into the qt before they go into the reef tank what should the temp be at and should it just be water with the PCV pipes and medication or non?
No meds. It should just be a plain tank with pvc a filter, thermometer, and heater. Keep the readings the same as the display. All things should be qt'd not just fish. If you are not planning on adding any more rock, corals, or inverts then you can keep the qt you have now. Unfortunately none of the afore-mentioned things are safe in your qt anymore because you put copper in it. Ich or other parasites can ride in on corals and such while they (the parasite) are in the dormant stage. ALL things should be qt'd. 3 weeks for corals and inverts, 4 weeks (min) for fish.

 

[andersh]

i think im going to stay away for wrasse for a while i forgot to mention i have a royal gramma also. i was reading about the maroon clown being the most aggressive clown would it be aggressive to other maroons if i was to add a mate. and is there anyway to tell if the maroon is male or female thank
-Anders

 

[andersh]

sence the fish that are being qt are in 84-84 temp and my reef is set at 76 near the end of the qt should i slwly decrease the water themp by like 1 degree every hour or so because i know if i just throw them in in almost 10 degrees colder something could go wrong i think anyone know what to do?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by AndersH
sence the fish that are being qt are in 84-84 temp and my reef is set at 76 near the end of the qt should i slwly decrease the water themp by like 1 degree every hour or so because i know if i just throw them in in almost 10 degrees colder something could go wrong i think anyone know what to do?
Are you even sure you had ich? If you had ich in the display then your fish have to be in the qt for 6 weeks to be sure all ich are dead in the dt. Slowly lower the temp a degree each day.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by AndersH
i think im going to stay away for wrasse for a while i forgot to mention i have a royal gramma also. i was reading about the maroon clown being the most aggressive clown would it be aggressive to other maroons if i was to add a mate. and is there anyway to tell if the maroon is male or female thank
-Anders
Clowns develop their sexuality as they get older. The larger one would be the female. If you want a mate, get a smaller one. Yes, maroons are the most aggresive clown. Grammas can be nippy guys as well.

 

[andersh]

im not sure what disease it was forsure a parasite and i was told it starts from the inside of the fish and will work its was out from the gills and it also spreads like fleas constantly looking for a new host for it children it just spreads like crazy also have you bought anything off this website and if how was it

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by AndersH
im not sure what disease it was forsure a parasite and i was told it starts from the inside of the fish and will work its was out from the gills and it also spreads like fleas constantly looking for a new host for it children it just spreads like crazy also have you bought anything off this website and if how was it
Ich does not come from the inside. Do fleas come from inside your dog? Did they ever show white spots on them?? You may have put your fish through copper for no reason. At the top of the disease and treatment forum there is a post from Beth called "diseased fish" she has pics of all kinds of diseases in there. Ich is one of them. Please take a look at this post. Your lfs may have had you treat and kill these fish for nothing at all. Yes, once the fish have ich it will infest, but it does not come from inside the fish, nor does it come out of the gills. Please look at the disease thread and let us know if your fish even had ich.They could have been scratching from ammonia. Being your tank is new and the lfs guy steered you wrong this far. If he had you cycle with fish they would ineed rub from the ammonia of the cycle. Take a magnifying glass and look VERY closely at your fish after you read the post. Look very closely at the fins and tail as well as the body. Fins and tail are usually where ich shows it's ugly self first.