six line acting funny

[thefurrywarrior]

Hey I have had my six line for about 3 weeks now and I am reasonably new to the hobby(5 months). I have had amazing luck so far and had nothing die. However, my six line is acting very odd. He is swimming with mainly the fins on his side, almost no use of his rear fin and it seems as if he is struggling to maintain balance. However when I feed him he darts across the water just like he used to. It is almost like he wants to drag his fin downward. But like I said he has a great appetite. All of my other fish are doing fine. Any ideas on what the problem could be?

 

[gweston]

A six-line doesn't use their rear fin much. They swim mostly with their front fins and they move darn fast. That sounds pretty much normal. But, I'd keep an eye on the buoyancy/balance problem. It should be darting around without balance problems.

I'd just keep feeding it well. Supplement it with vitamins in it's food. Give it some variety, flake, frozen, etc. It may just be 'new fish' syndrome. Six-lines can be rather sensitive to transport/handling.

If it continues to lose balance, consider treating it for dropsy/bacterial infection. Something could be causing problems with it's swim bladder. Maracyn-2 is a great gram-negative bacterial treatment. Pricey as it is, it is excellent stuff. If you suspect a swim bladder/bacterial problem, start treatment as soon as possible. Look for oddly colored sides. Swelling. Possibly red-streaks below the skin. May become more apathetic. Will probably stop eating, which leads to a fast decline.

 

[thefurrywarrior]

He is quite off balance, I will try changing diet up a bit.If he doesn't get better in a day or so, is the treatment safe to use in a reef tank?

 

[gweston]

Maracyn-two is an antibacterial. Even tough it states it 'won't harm good bacteria' in a reef, it is an anti-bacterial and there is a risk. Your tank depends on it's 'good' bacteria to control ammonia/nitrite levels. I'd treat in a separate quarantine tank if you want to try maracyn-two or something similar.

You could check for medications that could applied as a bath/dip rather than in the display tank. But I suspect most meds need to be applied over a period of days rather than minutes or hours.