Bloated Fairy wrasse

[Teresa]

Not eating, but still swimming around. Scales around mid section and abdomen are popping out and he has been trying to poop for over thirty minutes. Thinking their might be some intestinal blockage, but no idea what to do if this is the case. Advice wanted!

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[Planeden]

For freshwater fish peas are supposed to help constipation. I have no idea if it is ok for SW, though. also, I've never been able get a fish to eat a pea.

[lenver]

For FW we use epsom Salt

[+etannert]

I know Marc Levenson feeds his fish banana occasionally... how long have you had him? Any chance it's an intestinal parasite?

[Timfish]

My guess would be something parasitic also. This would be expensive but there are two vets here in Austin that will look at fish. As a side note Texas law requires a vet to examine an animal before giving any kind of diagnosis or prescription so don't expect them to say anything over the phone or via an email/txt. The two vets are:

Dr. Alfredo Ortiz, V.M.D.

Vida Veterinary Mobile Services

Vidaveterinary.com

512-900-3664

Dr. Chad Harris, V.M.D.

www.northaustinanimalhospital.com

5608 Burnet Road
Austin, TX 78756
512-459-7676 (office #)

[Teresa]

Thanks for all the replies thus far. We probably won't go to a vet due to finances, but we do appreciate the information.

Well, we have the qt up and running if we decide to medicate. The wrasse is out and about more today than yesterday. Parts of his abdomen are still swollen and scales are sticking out. We'll see if he eats this morning. I have never had any luck treating a fish with medication in the past. The only method that has worked for me has been daily small water changes until the fish is looking healthy again. However, I'm not sure this would have any impact on internal parasites. Has anyone treated fish for parasites before? Are there methods that are less stressful than others? Are there other symptoms I can look for to more clearly identify what is happening?

[Timfish]

Dr. G's line of medicated foods includes one for internal worms but I don't know if any body local carries it. http://www.drgsmarineaquaculture.com

[(Bio)³]

RCA or the dome might carry it. (hydro might have some in the shop freezer also)

Would a FW dip work at all for something like this?

[Teresa]

Fairy Wrasse is still with us. He's out and about swimming - not like normal, but more than before. He's also eating a little. We switched the diet to all mysis (off from a tab food we were using before). More research still needs to be done. Parts of his abdomen are still swollen. I'm nervous to medicate or fw dip without really knowing what's going on. Plus he is either stabilizing or on the mend. If anyone comes across or know of good fish disease identification websites or books, please shoot them our way. I may also call around to fish stores to tomorrow and see if anyone has medicated food.

Thanks!

[mFrame]

RCA or the dome might carry it. (hydro might have some in the shop freezer also)

Would a FW dip work at all for something like this?

I know that the Dome keeps it in stock, worst case you can call.

[Timfish]

These pictures are not great, stupid fish wouldn't stay still and I was trying to get a closeup. Anyway it is a Orange Tail Fiji Blue Devil Damsel that has been bloated for 5 or 6 years. It's not very clear but the it is possible to make out the raised scales in the first picture. The second shows how seriously bloated it is. Also it is the only fish in the tank showing this problem and most of the other fish have been in the system as long or longer than this one and it has not spread. If I could catch it I would but it's in a very established 200 gallon reef tank and the corals are quite frankly much more important. I also would not try medicated food since I do not know how it would affect the cryptic inverts in the system. I did wipe out some micro feather dusters in one of holding tanks but it may have been a combination of things. So anyway while it's obviously not good to have a fish get bloated it's also not necessarily fatal.

[Woods]

Adding or mixing in more of a vegetarian diet with the carnivore diet will help prevent Bloat if that is what it really is. Also Metronidazole is what I use to use to treat Bloat in my FW African Cichlid Tropheus and I have used it in my SW tank for various things without hurting my reef... It is difficult to find sometimes and is a little expensive but does work well on Bloat if caught early in the Bloating process.

[Teresa]

Thanks for the advice. Since the wrasse is still with us and seeming to improve, I think we will continue with small bi-weekly water changes and varying the diet. It is still bloated, but eating and swimming like normal now. I've only had disaster strike when attempting to medicate fish in the past, so I'm very hesitant, if not fearful to even attempt it now. I just wish I knew exactly what it was that caused this change ....