Spider Webs Around My Fish In the Mornings!

[MAZE4321]

Hello I have never posted on a forum before so I am hoping someone may help me. I have done all the research possible on this matter and even drove over an hour with my pictures to be told wow never seen that before. (sorry i don't know that much about computers to load them up).

I have a wonderful 55 gallon tank and my fish mainly my fair wrasse is waking up in what I call a bubble that never touches the fish but completely surrounds them. It resembles a spider web and I worry it might be one that is slowly killing my fish. It attaches to the substrate and live rock around where he sleeps. He has been sleeping in New locations too and the same effect results in the morning. I have spent this weekend spotlighting my tank and saw no bug just a spider web that seems to get bigger every hour I checked. I lost my flame hawkfish last week and now the problem has spread to my wrasse and I will not lose him. If someone could tell me is this a bug, fungi, or parasite it would really help. I know it's an overview but my water is perfect. Thank you to anyone who may be of help.

[blazeyreef]

I have no idea of what it could be???? BUT you may want to post your tank specs to help those of more knowledge (they will ask you for it anyway's hehe) ! ie. stocking levals, water parimeters ( I know you said its perfect but), lighting, and/if corals, what type of filter/skimmer, or sump all will be helpfull!

[MAZE4321]

Halides and octenants Oct- 11 hours , Halides 6 hours
Ammonia- 0
Nitrate- 0-12.5
Nitrite- 0
Ph- 8.4
Phosphates- 0
Calcium 320- I buffer
SG - 1.024
I Built my Sump and skimmer off of the stores design holds about 20 gallons and skims great always dirty and I empty my reserve about every other day full of black gunk

2 Skunk cleaner shrimp
3 peppermint shrimp
3 turbo snails
5 hermit carbs
1 serpant star
1 sandsifting star fish
1 emerald crab
1 yellow watchman goby
1 green clown goby
1 cardinal blenny
1 orange spotted goby
1 domino damsel ( I Know I'll take him out when he is bigger!)
1 Esquisite fair wrasse
Also Many alga eating sea slugs

Red musshrooms
Pulsing Xena (Almost growing on the glass)
FlowerPot Coral (Green Glow)


Anything else and will post after work I will even call my computer buddy and try to get pics up I really care about my fish and don't want to lose them.

[Fluff]

If it's only your wrasse, do not worry. Wrasses will build a protective "cocoon" around themselves while sleeping. If it's on your others fish, we really need a photo to help. Something doesn't sound right. Welcome to the forums!

[squawkbert]

Originally Posted by Fluff

If it's only your wrasse, do not worry. Wrasses will build a protective "cocoon" around themselves while sleeping. If it's on your others fish, we really need a photo to help. Something doesn't sound right. Welcome to the forums!

I was going to mention that parrot fish tend to do this, I didn't know if any wrasse species did it too.

[melosu58]

I believe I heard that wrasses do create a protective mucous or something around them when they sleep.

[roka64]

I agree some will use this as a defense mechanisim. I have seen parrot fish do this at nigh on a few SCUBA trips. Wrasses will do it also.

+++EDIT+++

WELCOME TO AA!!!

[MAZE4321]

I believe that the wrasse can make a cocoon for protection. I just don't understand how. I tried to look this cocoon up through google and could not find an article could one of you maybe point me to some literature on the phenomena. Thank you all so much! Also my friend added a picture of my wrasse and the coccon around him while I was at work. Sorry my cell phone camera is not the greatest but you can see the web around him. My friend said it was in my gallery i just looked at it myself.

[Devilishturtles]

Well, it's not a full article, but it starts to explain it.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi...1991.tb04370.x

Interesting, but I'm not sure it's worth the 39.00 to read the article.

HTH

[Fluff]

I haven't been able to find any real articles on it for you. It's just mentioned in snipets here and there where you read about wrasses. Here is one article. You may also find some info on wetwebmedia.com.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...hcs3/index.php

[newfound77951]

the "mucus cocoon" is usually mentioned in reference to parrotfish but some wrasses make one too. It is used to mask the fish's smell when it sleeps at night so that predators can't find and eat it. Usually the fish will eat it in the morning to get back the energy used in making the cocoon. I don't know if it comes from their skin or not, but i would guess it does. It is normal for these kinds of fish, my 6 line does it too although not very neatly. He sleeps in a hole in my LR with the feather duster, it's kind of cute.

[dsmlrussell]

My red fairy wrasse does the exact same thing.

[paganini]

I just bought a cleaner wrasse to clean up the ich on my copperband butterfly. It does the same thing too.

[nicksgirl]

A-MAzinG!
But what about the Flame Hawkfish? In the original post Maze says he thinks the mucus was on that fish too. Could the Hawkfish have gotten caught up in the Wrasse's mucus and been injured?

[roka64]

Hmmm, to be honest, I doubt the caccoon had anything to do with the hawkfish's death.
Looking at the OP's stocking list:
"Also Many alga eating sea slugs ", what kind? If one of them dies, it could have fouled the tank.