Sixline Wrasse... hlth., no data    12/22/08
We have had our Sixline for several months. We also did a recent water change in our 135 gallon reef tank. She looks like she is gasping for air constantly keeping her mouth open. She also looks mottled, has few scales missing and have fine bumps around her dorsal area. Hope you can help we are attached to her. Her name is Elizabeth Taylor.
Soveyda in California
<Sorry to hear the bad news. What is the water quality like? Are any other species picking on the Sixline? Are any other species gasping for air or showing signs of distress/disease?
The fish may have some sort of parasites and may require treatment. If there are any other fish in the aquarium they may be in trouble as well. Honestly there may not be much you can do for the little wrasse (and other fish) unless you can catch her and put her in a quarantine aquarium for treatment. Also it is not wise to treat your aquarium with "reef safe" ich medications since they really are not effective and cause more problems with corals, etc. Happy Holidays, IanB>

Mystery Wrasse Disease 12/15/2007
Hello WWM crew. Your website has given me years of valuable info. I have used the experiences of others on your site for years to learn about this great hobby. Now I have a problem of my own that I would greatly appreciate your help. I came home today and realized that my prize fish, a 4 inch mystery wrasse, has some sort of "disease" covering his mouth. This disease looks like fluffy white whiskers coming out of his mouth. These whiskers appear to be coming from inside the mouth and do not allow him to close his mouth.
<Not good... likely resultant from a physical trauma ("jumping")...>
I am at a loss because I have not seen anything similar to this before. I have had some run ins with marine velvet in the past, but this looks nothing like a parasite.
<Is simple decomposers...>
In my (clueless) opinion it seems like some sort of fungus growing out of his mouth.
<Likely bacterial...>
The tank is a 120 gallon that has been up for about a year. I have finally gotten around to quarantining all new specimens, and have done so throughout the entire life of this tank. Below I have attached a picture of the wrasse.
<Didn't come through.>
 It is not very helpful because the white "whiskers" around his mouth blend with the color of the mouth, but you can kind of see them along the bottom of his mouth. Hopefully this will help you in your assessment. Thanks in advance for your help with this problem, and thank you for all the help you have provided others. This is a valuable resource for all marine aquarists.
<Not much to do here... Perhaps adding more iodine-ide-ate in whatever format you currently use would be of help... Otherwise, waiting, hoping... maintaining optimized, stable conditions is about it. Bob Fenner>

Long E-mail... Sick Six-line... Need for advice. Six Line illness – 07/25/07
Dear WWM Crew, <Hi Randall, MacL here with you tonight.>
I spend hours a day reading various FAQ's and Articles on this site. <Very flattering.> Every morning I print out several pages to read in my spare time throughout the day. I know this may seem like a bit much, but I want to be sure my husbandry is as good as it can be. <Actually, in my opinion, any knowledge you can gain is going to assist you so you should pat yourself on the back for learning as much as possible. Do recognize though that we can only speak from our knowledge and experience and keep that in mind that as you grow in the hobby you may find things that work for you and things that do not.>
Well, let me first explain to you the status of my tank up to this point (I have learned that the more information that I provide, the better, and the more chance I have of knowing all of the problems associated with my tank). This may be rather detailed, but I want to be sure I don't miss telling you anything that you may think needs to be corrected. Sorry, I work in engineering and probably am boring you/providing unnecessary info, but I believe if I send this information it will prevent finding out errors sooner rather than later. <No worries.>
The Tank is a 75 Gallon Reef Tank. I have over 75 lbs of live rock, and about 1/4" of sand in front of the rock for looks only (approximately 5 lbs). This tank was started in January of this year.
Filtration includes two of the Large Penguin Bio-Wheel (Bio-Wheels removed) Filters, (I believe Penguin 400 -$79.95 retail) inlet on the left placed high in the tank, and on the right placed lower. For circulation in the back, bottom, left hand corner of the tank there is a 185 GPH powerhead moving the water behind the rocks. On the other end in the top, back, right corner of the tank there is a 225 GPH PowerSweep helping blast the top of the rocks and reef. In between the two Bio-Wheel filters sits a Seaclone 100 which pulls out 1/2 cup of black skimmate every 3-4 days.
Lighting consists of 6 X 65 W PCs- 2 10k, 2 Actinic, 2 50/50 and Lunar lights. Actinics cut on, 1 hour later 10k and 50/50's cut on, and run 12 hours. Then 1 hour later the Actinics go off, and the Lunars run at night.
I also have a unique set-up on top of my tank as well. For copepod and amphipod production, as well as nitrate reduction, I have a small 150 GPH powerhead pumping water from the top of my tank, into a 5 gallon mini bowfront (on top of my canopy) with overflows/baffles. The actual refugium part of this set-up houses a 1-1/2" sand bed and a large ball of Chaeto (along with cultured tigger pods, mysis, bristleworms, and snails), lit by a 13 Watt 10K Mini-Lamp on a reverse photo-period to prevent PH swings. This overflows into a 2 gallon surge tank that fills about every minute and then dumps into my tank via 3/4" PVC very fast, I would say at a rate of about 500-700 GPH. It's sort of my own cheap wave-maker. The best thing is the flow diverts through a tee and I have it directed towards the reef.
Water is topped off with RO water with added buffer. I perform 13 Gallon water changes (gravel vac) every 5-6 days with Salt water supplied by Fish Safari in (Virginia Beach, VA). GREAT STORE! I feed MYSIS, frozen Cyclops-ees (sp), DT's (1/4-1/2 capful per week) and Dried Nori, and have recently began feeding Formula 2. I have some Zoe on the way to soak my MYSIS.
I supplement Bio-Calcium (This stuff makes coralline go absolutely out of control), Bio-Strontium, Tech I, Tech M (Switching to a powdered Magnesium supplement soon), and SeaChem Buffer. I also use Carbon in my filters.<The only thing about using carbon is that it maybe taking out most of what you are adding in by way of additives. Just a note for though.>
Before you beat me down over the tanks population, just make sure you realize that I often bring in large fish for store credit (Fish Safari gives 1/2 what they will charge for it, if you bought the fish from them). I have 1 Yellow Tang (approximately 3-1/2"), 1 Blue Hippo (Maybe 2"), 2 False Percs (about 1-1/2"), 1 Orange Spotted Goby (3"), 1 Six-line Wrasse (1-1/2"), and 1 Scotter Dragonet (maybe 2"). I consider my tank fully stocked and realize that both tangs should/will be removed when they become larger. My clean-up crew consists of 2 Emerald Crabs, approximately 30-40 Astrea snails, 1 Turbo Snail, 1 Cleaner Shrimp, 20 or so small Hermits. <The thing you should watch for with the tangs is that they will stop growing.>
Corals include various Xenia, Zoos, Montipora Cap., One Small SPS Birdsnest, Sinularia, Green Long Polyp Longitudinal, some mushrooms, and a Wellsophyllia Brain (sorry for the incorrect spelling) that hasn't fully opened lately. Any advice on the brain would be great, he used to open fully and now isn't. I believe this may be related to the Alk so I'm bringing it up now.
Water Parameters-
SG- 1.023-1.024 - just increased recently from 1.021 over a week Ammonia, Nitrite, Phosphate and Nitrate are all 0, maybe some traces of Nitrate Calcium - 410
Alk- about 7-8 DKH (down from 11 about 2 months ago)
PH - 8.3 Day and Night for the last few months.
Magnesium- test kit on the way
I recently set-up my new 40 gal QT (Had to get rid of African Cich tank first) tank but before this I ignorantly allowed a six-line to be placed into my tank without QT. The Six-lines eye was popped out a few days later but being that my yellow tang is aggressive I thought it may have been a wound (on one eye). <Definitely could have been that or multiple other things in an unfamiliar tank. The fish could have run into something even but naughty, naughty for the no quarantine.> Then last night, both eyes were clouded and "popped out", along with one of my Blue Hippos eyes. My Fiancé also pointed out that there was white Stringy material hanging out of the Six-lines gills. <The white stringy stuff sounds like slime coat to me but without seeing it I cannot be sure. Definitely means the fish is in some kind of distress.> My water quality seems good, so I fed Kanaplex and dosed the tank (knee-jerk reaction). I also added my first dose of Melafix (Is this stuff worthless?) and cut my protein skimmer off. These fish are difficult to remove, being that I would have to remove my canopy, the 5-gallon, and all Rocks to catch any fish. I'm wondering if I should continue these treatments and what can I do to help this situation. Should I remove the carbon? What should I do? <Doesn't do any good to dose anything if you have carbon because it takes it back out almost immediately. So definitely remove the carbon. I personally think you need to consider an antibiotic into the tank.>
I also have some BGA (Cyanobacteria) on the sand in my tank that has shown up since introduction of my Six-line, It's only growing on the sand and I am vacuuming it out as it comes. Any advice here? <Only since the six line showed up? Hmmm sounds like you have some tank quality issues. One thing here, while your varied selection of food sounds great that seems to me to be a large amount of food.>
I'm sure you all understand the situation now and can help. I want to apologize for the depth of this e-mail, I just didn't want to miss anything. I seem to have at least compiled all of my current questions into one e-mail, so that makes for less e-mails I guess. Have a great day and hopefully you guys can help out.<Randall I think you have a bacterial infection happening in your tank. Regardless of how the six line got it, he appears to have it and it is spreading. The blue tang in my experience is always the first one to show up with it as it goes through the tank. My personal experience with melafix wasn't good but we have many readers who have found it very successful. Good luck, MacL>
Randall Steele Smith
"A concerned father"

Re: Long E-mail... Sick Six-line... Need for advice, More on the ill six line – 8/19/07
<Hi Steve, MacL here with you again>
Alright, Since the last e-mail below answered by MacL, here is what I have done. My six-lines eyes became popped out and cloudy and my Blue Hippo tang looked as if he had ick. I pulled the two fish out and placed them in my recently set-up QT. The QT tank SG is 1.012 and the PH is 8.2 I'm keeping the temp at 82. I added some clout last night) and some Melafix to the QT tank. I also noticed that both fish looked worse today so I attempted a dip of the Six-line. Since then I have placed him back in QT but both fish are
not looking well.
My question is should I being doing something different. Should I dip the Hippo. The Hippo looked great last night and I'm wondering if it is the water quality of the QT tank that may be bothering him.
In order to control Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite (because I don't have very easy access to Saltwater. No R/O unit) with SeaChem's "Prime". I have been doing two 25% water changes a week.
The Ammonia has crept to 0.25 and Nitrite is 0.1, Nitrate is minimal. What should I do to fix this problem. <Steve sometimes the cure is worse than the original problem. I think tangs have real problems with nitrates in the water and you do need to get them down. Seachem does have some additional products that might work a little better to take care of your ammonia issues. I love prime but I think maybe their other ammonia product might be better for your issues right now. There are several things you can do for your problem now. First, be careful with the MelaFix and the clout. Clout is a very strong product and can do real damage in my opinion to the fish if not extremely careful. Also you didn't say if when you dipped your fish if you kept your ph the same. If not that would stress the fish as well. Tangs usually do well with dipping although they look horrible after being dipped. Especially blue tangs. Usually they will change color, in my experience going to a very funky whitish color and looking bad and often just laying on the bottom of the tank. I have dipped tangs for as long as five minutes successfully but you must be careful with them because they often will attempt to jump out of the dipping area. Are you letting the original tank go fallow for the one month period? How do you plan to clean it of the ick parasites? Honestly Steve, I would consider an antibiotic for the Popeye because often the after effect of the parasites that cause it is an infection. Hope this helped, MacL>
 

Sixline wrasse 1/1/07
Hey, I purchased a sixline wrasse about 3 days ago. My water parameters are all fine.  <Numbers next time, fine is relative.> But anyway, my wrasse is active and eating and seems do be doing well. My problem is that on the wrasse's left side, past the gill,  there is discoloration. I don't know how to describe this, it just seems like a patch of discoloration on the skin. Please get back to me with any ideas of what this could be, thanks a lot,
Mael
<Could be lots of things, physical damage, beginnings of a nutritional deficiency, disease, or just normal genetic variation.  Hard to be specific without more information and a picture.>
<Chris>

Hawaiian Fourline Wrasse w/ white spots  7/23/06
I have a question about my Hawaiian Fourline Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus tetrataenia)... He's been in my reef tank for a little over a year, and over the last few weeks, when the fish wakes up in the morning, he has small white spots on his body and fins, 30 or 40 spots total. These spots resemble grains of salt, and within 3 or 4 hours of the lights coming on, they are all gone.
<Is Cryptocaryon>
  I am wondering if these are just pieces of sand & debris that the fish picks up when he hides or buries himself at night?
<Mmm, no>
If so, I don't know why they would suddenly appear after a year's time?
<A latent, space-infested problem...>
If they are a skin parasite or some sort of infection, then why would they disappear every day?
<Improvement in the diurnal resistance, immune system of the host... the spots are not the parasite... the parasite not the spots... but the resultant irritation marks...>
The Hawaiian Fourline Wrasse it acting normal, and has a healthy appetite.  He is not being harassed by any other fish or invertebrates.
All of the other occupants of the tank appear completely healthy.
Water parameters:
pH - 8.3
Nitrite, Ammonia - 0
Nitrate - undetectable
Calcium - 410ppm
dKH - 11
SG - 1.026
Temperature ranges from 81.7F-83.1F daily
Thank you in advance for any advice,
Steve in Denver
<Could be that you might get by with this "ping-ponging" situation for years hence... Much more likely "something/s" will change to shift the balance in the parasites favor... see WWM re Crypt... what you might do/consider for actual eradication. Bob Fenner>

My 6 line wrasse needs help   2/1/06
I am trying to save a 6 line wrasse I bought about 4 weeks ago.  It had a large abdomen at the time but seemed otherwise healthy.  Over the last
few weeks its abdomen has swelled greatly.  Its now has severe buoyancy problems, it tries to wedge its self to stay upright and flips upside
down if not moving. Its vent is inflamed, and at times a thick ivory colored mass seems to protrude then retract.  I am treating with MelaFix
<Worse than worthless>
in a hospital tank, and suspecting an intestinal worm or other parasite.
<Maybe>
The fish is still eating well.   Is there any thing I can do to help this fish or is euthanasia the best option?
Thank you for your help,
Kim    
<Only if in your opinion the animal is "overly" suffering. I would add a level teaspoon of Epsom Salt per ten gallons of system water here... and see if "this too passes". Bob Fenner>

Re: my 6 line wrasse needs help   2/2/06
Hi Bob, Thanks for the response! I will try your suggestion, I hadn't considered Epsom salt.  
<A very useful, inexpensive, readily available, safe cathartic>
I did use Prazipro last night, which is fish Droncit and ordered Discomed on line last night when no one in town had it.  I gave a brief, 2-3 minute dip, which it didn't seem to enjoy much as it thrashed about, I removed it when its breathing became labored.   But right away worms began being expelled.
<Interesting>
  They were almost ½ inch long, very thin on one end with the thicker part the last to come out.
<Likely either nematodes or acanthocephalans>
One was still alive but died right away. I looked at it under a microscope and didn't see any obvious segments.
<Cutting a coronal section near the distal (head) end and looking end-on may reveal a roundworm definitive triradiate esophagus>
The fish abdomen was much smaller this morning and it seems a bit better able to maintain its balance. Two more questions if I may:
If it survives, I am wondering how I will know when it is "cured" and safe to go into a tank?  
<A few weeks...>
This is my first experience with this problem, so I am also wondering how infectious this type of problem can be?    
<Mmm, as in spreading to other fish species? Not very in general... and all fishes (and humans for that matter) have gut and parasite fauna>
I had hoped the MelaFix would help with the vent inflammation, I take it your not a fan. I will stop using it today.  
<I would (stop)>
Looking forward to seeing you again at the WMC, Morgan tells me he may be coming as well.   It should be a great time.
Thanks again for your help.
Kim
<Will indeed... and twill be a hoot. See you then/there. Bob Fenner>

Re: Much improved but still has balance problems...   2/7/06
The 6 line wrasse I wrote you about is doing much better, the swelling is about gone.  Tomorrow will be 1 week on the dewormer so I plan to
stop that treatment.
<Good>
I have been using the 1 tsp per gallon Epsom salt treatment as well. The only remaining symptom is the balance problem.  This  hasn't gone away.  
<May, with time, or no>
Other than a few more days on the Epsom is there anything else you would suggest to correct this problem?
Thanks, Kim
<Only good nutrition and water quality... and precious time going by. Bob Fenner>

Six-line wrasse in trouble
WWM Guys,
I wish my own GP physician were as helpful, available and funny as the WWM Guys.
My six-line wrasse, who has done so well for 3 weeks, feeding and gliding through the rocks, is suddenly doing barrel-rolls as if he has no equilibrium. The rolling began yesterday. Tank conditions good--90 gallons well skimmed with a Euro-Reef, no ammonia or nitrite, ph 8.4, SG 1.023, temp 78F. Clown, Yellow Tang, Blue Damsel and Heniochus are all well, as are corals, peppermint shrimps, snails, stars and crabs. Just the wrasse. No marks of damage, fins look intact, no bulging is apparent (he has stayed in the rocks and has been hard to examine, but he seems ok). No aggression shown to the small wrasse--even the clown tolerates him in the anemone. No unusual additions to tank--just routine B-ionic dosing weekly Lugol's, weekly 5 gal water change, all (except B-ionic) done 3 days prior to symptoms.
Any ideas of what is going on and how to correct will be greatly appreciated.
<my friend...please accept our apologies for the delay in reply. Bob is still in Australia and I was out of town for several days at a conference. Poor Steve got stuck with all of the mail by himself for several days there. Please do update us about this situation if we can help... although from the description, I suspect it is already dead... dreadful symptoms. Best regards (and thanks for the compliment about our humor) Anthony>

Pyjama/Six line wrasse
Hi Bob
I wonder if you could offer me some advice. I have been reading your website articles since last December when I setup my very first marine tank (I have been a tropical freshwater fishkeeper for about 5 years) and would like to say (like most people do) that I appreciate the time you put into sharing your knowledge. It is very helpful. Back to the tank, here is what I have:
Juwel Trigon 350 litre with internal filter box/heater etc -replaced the standard tubes with 3 Triton HO and 1 actinic
Eheim 2226 canister filter
Eheim 1060 pump powering Remora C Pro skimmer
Vecton UV15 fed from 2226
<Nice gear>
it was cycled for 10 weeks and tested religiously and after that period I bought my first fish:
2 Yellow Clarkii Clowns
1 Pyjama/Six Line wrasse
<Good choices>
The fish have been living in the tank for almost 2 months now and all appear very well and colourful, feeding well, becoming more and more confident and I am very happy with their progress.
I do weekly 10% water changes and water tests and the parameters are so (at each recorded test):
Salinity 1.022
Temp 25c
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrate <12.5ppm
PH 8.3
As I said everything is going well but I have one concern about the PJ wrasse. Although he appears fine in every way I can see he occasionally rubs against a rock. By occasionally I mean like 1-2 times per day, when I am around (normally for 6 of the 12 daylight hours).
<This is normal. Not a worry>
I have inspected all of them (and continually do so) and can see no spots, dust like films or anything out of the ordinary. The only thing I can see on the wrasse is 2 small patches on one side which are very slightly less coloured than the rest of him. These don't seem to get any bigger and could be described as neither ich or velvet symptoms (at least from what I can see). By that I mean they aren't spotty, couldn't really be described as white or gold or even dusty.
<Natural coloration likely>
Do you have any ideas or am I worrying about nothing? I did read the parasite FAQ on your site but couldn't really find anything that fit the bill. I am preparing my quarantine tank to buy my next fish but don't want to buy it until I am sure of the main tank being problem free.
<Your relating shows nothing of danger, error. I would proceed with other livestock additions if you so desire. Bob Fenner>
Thanks
Andrew

Re: Pyjama/Six line wrasse
Hi
thanks for the very quick response and reassuring words. I will monitor him this week and then buy my next fish.
Thanks!
Andrew
<Excelsior! Bob Fenner>

Pyjama wrasse
Hi again Bob
<Hello>
you may remember I wrote about an "itchy" pyjama/six line wrasse the other day. I told you that at the time I could see nothing whatsoever on him apart from some slight discolouration which you believed to be natural.
<Yes>
Since then I have been away on a business trip and returned for my girlfriend to tell me that he had a swelling and raised scales.
<Not good>
On looking very closely, in fact he had a patch (reddish colour, like a blister) which could be described as a lesion (maybe from rubbing against the rocks?) and his scales are a little raised. This patch is about 1/2 inch square on his side. Since then a small white "thing" (technical term :-) ) has grown out of his scales. It is not a spot as in ich or anything like that and from all my site searching (including WetWebMedia) I have concluded that this is Lymphocystis. It appears like a small piece of shell stuck in his side for want of a better description.
<Yikes>
My question is (sorry about the long winded description), am I right with my diagnosis? Also what is the best thing to help him along to recovery? 
<I do suspect this is resultant from a mechanical injury (a bump or bite...)... perhaps some sort of secondary bacterial involvement>
I know there is no direct cure but that good water quality (everything is stable at sg 1.022, ph 8.3, temp 25c, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate <12.5ppm, tested weekly with 10% weekly changes) and feeding antibiotic food additives is helpful. Any specific feeding suggestions? I am based in the UK so any internationally sold brand recommendations would be gratefully received.
<I would likely continue as you are doing... perhaps add a cleaner organism to the system, (see WetWebMedia re choices) augment the food with Microvit, Zoecon soaking, otherwise keep the system stable. Of the "lined wrasses" the hexataenia can be easily lost through manipulation (compared with four, eight... lined species). Bob Fenner>
Thanks again
Andrew

Re: Pyjama wrasse
Wow, once again thanks for the fast response.
I will let you know how I get on with him, at the very least I don't think he is suffering (he has ceased rubbing and is feeding well, swimming well and trying to attract attention when people are present like normal with his amazing swimming patterns!).
I am off to buy one of the medications and will consult the site for a suitable cleaner. Thanks!!!
Just one little question I thought of, do I have to quarantine cleaner shrimps etc or can inverts not carry ich/velvet etc? what do you recommend.
<Please see the site re this issue as well. I don't quarantine, and very carefully acclimate such crustaceans. Bob Fenner>
Sorry to continue to question you.
Andrew
<Study and then apply yourself my friend>

Bloated 12 line wrasse 3/20/03
Please help.  I have a 12 line wrasse that I have had since tank inception in Oct. of last year.  It is a 55 galloon tank, with plenty of live rock. He/She survived a bout with some parasite which knocked off everyone else. He survived for 4 weeks in our quarantine tank as we recycled the big tank. He survived the introduction of other tank members into the quarantine tank, as well.  This guy is usually pretty tough.  
<agreed... a durable species and genera>
Three days ago he bloated up like crazy.  Fins sticking out, the whole nine yards.  
<did the scales distend as well (looking like a pinecone) or was it simply bloated. If it looked like a pinecone, there may be more serious consequences (Dropsy). Either way, please dose the QT with Epsom salt (as from the pharmacy) at the rate of 1 Tablespoon per 5 gallons. Repeat with a half dose on the third day. If no improvement by then, you may need to run a broad-spectrum antibiotic>
It has not affected his eating or buoyancy in the least.  I see no signs of eye popping, either.  I found him sitting on the bottom once in the past few days, but he doesn't seem to need or want to stay there.  As usual, he goes to bed (believe or not) before the other fish (around 9 pm) and comes out to eat around 8 am.  He looks horrible, but doesn't seem to be bothered by it.  
<the main display can be dosed with Epsom salt just the same if need be... its a common element of foods and sea salt (hardens water too)>
We quarantine tanked all of the other members of the tank - two clowns, one Kole tang (who eats like crazy), one long nose hawk, and one fridmani Pseudochromis - before we moved them all to the big tank.  We feed a combination of frozen blood worms, Emerald entrée, Mysid shrimp, brine shrimp (which I recently read is pretty worthless),
<low nutritive value to be sure>
and some seaweed for the tang.  I am concerned about the wrasse, but obviously about the other guys as well.  Any suggestions?  
<do try the Epsom salt and use the google search tool with that word/phrase to search our site for other FAQs on it for perspective>
We haven't moved him back to the quarantine tank because the last time we did that we had to break down the entire tank to catch him.  Additionally, the tang and fridmani are two week old additions and we don't want to freak them out.  Please advise.  Pamela
<the Epsom salt helps many animals (including people... used as a laxative) regulate body fluids. If its going to work, you should see improvement by the third day. The are many causative agents for bloating. Best of luck... and do let us know if it works or if you need more advice. Anthony>

- Sixline Problems -
Hello gents, everyone out there had a wonderful Thanksgiving. <I did, thank you for asking.> I've had a six-line wrasse in QT for about 3 weeks now.  It's eating good and seems to be active.  The problem he has developing is that his mouth is receding back on his top jaw. <Likely from an injury.> It is an increasing thing, he still can and does eat very well, but I know from having one before that is not how they look, clearly not the normal pointed snout that this wrasse should have. Does this sound like anything to you guys and do you have any remedies for it, thanks <It could be either an injury, which will heal in time or it could be a genetic defect which happens from time to time, and won't heal - you'll just have a unique-looking six-line wrasse. As long as it is getting along and eating well, I say no worries.
Cheers, J -- >

- Sixline Problems, Follow-up -
Thanks, I would probably agree that it is a genetic defect, but it has gotten worse from the day I got him, he almost has no upper mouth lip. <Well, again... as long as this fish is eating and staying out of harm's way, this will/should heal - it sounds to me more like a wound, but had to throw out the genetic defect because these things do happen often enough. Still, these fish are pretty tough customers for their size and should fare well given a good diet and enough quiet time to recuperate.
Cheers, J -- >

Sixline Wrasse Questions (6/2/04)
Hello- <Steve Allen tonight>
I just got a sixline wrasse a few days ago, and I noticed that my Firefishes tail has been pretty well chewed up a bit. I was wondering if the sixline wrasse was going to create a bigger problem for my Firefish? <Sixlines can be rather aggressive at times, and Firefish, being shy, are easy victims.> The strange thing is, I haven't seen them fight each other, they seem to kinda ignore one another, so I don't understand why this happened. <You never know what they're doing the 23 hours per day you're not watching them. You may need to watch for longer periods ad different times of day and in different light conditions to know what's really going on.> Another thing I noticed on my wrasse was one small white dot. could this be ich? <Unlikely if only one spot, but watch or more.> My other fish doesn't have anything on it. The white dot is on the tail and seems to have come loose a little bit, it kinda moves when the wrasse moves-I-s this ich, or something I should be concerned about? <Could be Lymphocystis--read about this on WWM & look at some pictures.> Thanks, Heather <Hope this helps. Steve Allen>

Sick Sixline Wrasse? >I recently purchased (6 days ago) a sixline wrasse. I have been waiting for months for my LFS to get one in, so I jumped at the chance to get it. I was in a rush this particular day, otherwise I'd have set up a QT Tank, which I have used before with great success, and now I think I'll be kicking myself for not doing it this time! >>You and me both, eh? >Anywho, The fish is acting and eating normally, but I sometimes see some white patches on its left side (and ONLY the left side) sometimes they appear to come and go, I think they may POSSIBLY, look a little raised from the rest of the fish but I cannot validate this for sure. >>Probably moving too quickly about, which is a general sign of health as long as he's not spending an inordinate amount of time flashing. >Also its mouth looks to be white as well. I don't see any "cysts" on the fish, so I'm thinking it could possibly be velvet. >>No way, not affecting one side only, and NOT if the fish is behaving normally!  Also, something as virulent as velvet (and often Brooklynella) will kill within a day or two of first onset of symptoms.  Do look at our velvet and marine parasitic disease articles and FAQs for more extensive descriptors. >Also on the top fin, I think some of the tissue between the rays is missing. Overall, the fish does not look to be in terrible shape, but who knows when it could take a turn for the worse. I've already set up my Eclipse 6 QT just in case he needs to be pulled and treated. I already know, I may not be able to return him to the display for up to 4 weeks. >>4 weeks is a minimum, not a maximum.  When quarantining or hospitalizing any fish, the standard protocol is 30 days *disease free*. >Sorry for picture quality, but this little guy can move! Any ideas? >>Not really helpful ones.  Though I have no idea whether "sidedness", a preference for one side or the other, is present in fishes, I would say that if it were any other animal that I think he's "worrying" himself.  Watch his swimming patterns, if they're constantly repeated, like a horse pacing its stall, then the fish may be feeling cramped or otherwise stressed.  This could also be an individual coloration issue - the pictures seem to show what looks like about an 1/8"x1/4" stripe or patch located just under the dorsal fin on the  midline.  Whitening or darkening of colors could indicate stress, aggression, mating call (doubtful at this point), any number of things.  Also, you give no water parameters, and without that I can't offer up anything more.  Marina >Thanks again for everything you do for our hobby! I'd still be an "un-ethical" fish keeper if it wasn't for you! Daniel

What's That Spot On His Wrasse?
Hello,
<Hi! Scott F. here today!>
I have a small sixline wrasse, maybe 1.5 inches in length. When I got him he seemed fine, then I noticed a small white, raised dot above the false eye on his tail fin. A day or two after, he and the clowns with him got ich.
<Grr...Frustrating. Did you quarantine him upon purchase? Be sure to do this in the future if you aren't engaging in this practice now, okay?>
Well, I treated hyposalinity for 6-7 weeks, the clowns and wrasse cleaned up nicely, except for that one spot which seems to disappear sometimes, but always returns to the exact same spot . I have raised the salinity in the hospital tank from the hyposaline 1.007 to 1.015, and will be moving it up further to transfer my clowns back to the tank. However the spot on my wrasse remains, although he is eating well and looks very healthy otherwise. So my question is, is this spot actually ich or just a raised coloring of some kind? I've noticed the same spot on other pictures of sixline wrasse.
<Funny you should mention this. I had a Sixline for years that always had a similar bump on this spot. It never went away, and never got worse. Does that mean it was nothing? Probably not. On the other hand, it was not contagious, nor did it annoy the fish in any way. I'd keep a close eye on the fish anyways, just to make sure that things don't decline>
Anyway, my plan is to maintain the hospital tank at full salinity for another week or two with just him in it, and see if he develops ich, if he doesn't then I will transfer him back to the main tank.
<I won't argue with that strategy. Better to be safe than sorry, and certainly better to make sure that the fish is, indeed ill before "treating" him>
Do you have any ideas or suggestions regarding this spot?
<As you are doing: Observe carefully, and treat only if it becomes a problem. Take care! Regards, Scott F.>

Mysterious 6-line wrasse death
Hi Crew,
<Greg>
I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season!
<Yep, lots of projects, visitings...>
  During my vacation, I took the opportunity to purchase a 6-line wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) and two firefish for my 180g reef.  These fish have been in my 20g QT for 2 weeks and all appeared to be doing well (all eating flake food well) – that was until this morning when I discovered the wrasse was dead.
<Mmm, well, one thing... flake food of any sort is not "that" nutritious...>
Yesterday I did notice the wrasse was very still (but still very alive), under a piece of PVC tubing.
I do not understand what would have caused this fish to die.
<Stress is easily a component here as well>
  It had no visible spots, fungus, worms, etc. and it had a good appetite.  It had no nipped or cloudy fins (or eyes) and it did not appear at all emaciated.  Do
“special” considerations need to be made for 6-line wrasses in QT?
<Best to supply with a bit of live rock, some live and/or meaty food>
This is a bare-bottom tank with only a few 1” PVC pipe fittings and some red Gracilaria for cover.  Although the firefish did occasionally swim at the
wrasses with its mouth open, I never noticed actual contact and they would typically even share a flake of food.
I would really like to add a 6-line wrasse to my reef tank to control flatworms and because I really enjoyed watching this fish in my QT but I am
concerned about the cause of this death after two weeks in QT.  A secondary concern is the effect this fish could have on the ‘pod population, since I
already have a mandarin in my main tank.
I do have a 50g refugium (5” DSB +
LR. + Caulerpa & Gracilaria) attached to the 180g tank to help with ‘pod stocking.
<This size system and refugium can easily support both/all these fishes>
My main tank also contains about 200 pounds of LR. and 2” of aragonite.  Considering this, do you think it would be a problem to add a
6-line wrasse to my main tank (assuming I can get it through the 4 week QT period)?
<I am inclined to suggest an extended bath/dipping procedure in lieu of actual quarantine. There are other folks here that are staunch four weeks or heck re quarantining, but I am of the opinion and experience that many smaller, shyer species of fishes are worse off for the experience... gobies, blennies, small wrasses included>
Lastly, I would also like to add a H. chrysus or a H. iridis.  Would either of these fish live peacefully with a P. hexataenia in my reef tank?  
<Yes, both these Halichoeres species are fine here>
Would
two wrasses begin to cause the ‘pod supply to dwindle for the mandarin?
<Would put a dent in it, but I say go ahead>
As always, thank you (in advance) for the terrific advice!
--Greg
<Happy to proffer it. Bob Fenner>