reef_ranch
Well-Known Member
I'm having a hard time diagnosing and treating the erratic swimming behavior of an Earlie wrasse. I bought the wrasse about three months ago. I observed him for two+ weeks in a separate tank where he fed well and showed no sign of disease. Then I put him in an acclimation box in the main display. After three or four days in the box I released him. He was harassed pretty badly by a couple of smaller damsels but found a safe place under a powerhead after a couple of hours. He ate fairly well but I noticed that he was not a strong swimmer and would get blown around by the powerheads whenever he wandered into the flow. After a week to ten days of not fitting in with the other fish and continuing to swim weakly, I took him out and put him back in the observation tank along with three small anthias. He did well with them, eating well and swimming fine but again not strongly.
After a month his swimming has deteriorated such that he can't maintain an upright position, is swimming in a corkscrew or tight circle, frequently upside down or on his side and without much strength at all. The odd think is, he's not skinny and so long as I blow food (I feed mainly frozen) near his moth, he gulps it down. His coloration is good, fins a clear and intact.
I'm thinking he either has a spinal injury or a brain injury. If anyone has any experience with this and a possible treatment plan, I'm all ears.
After a month his swimming has deteriorated such that he can't maintain an upright position, is swimming in a corkscrew or tight circle, frequently upside down or on his side and without much strength at all. The odd think is, he's not skinny and so long as I blow food (I feed mainly frozen) near his moth, he gulps it down. His coloration is good, fins a clear and intact.
I'm thinking he either has a spinal injury or a brain injury. If anyone has any experience with this and a possible treatment plan, I'm all ears.
