My salt water fish

Question
Hello my salt water fish (looks like a gray colored gourami) has health issues.  First he or she got popeye, possibly from digging thru sand face first.  Now, after treating twice the pop eye is gone, but i dunno.... The fish stays at the surface, vertically, his or her vision seems to be really impaired AND the left pectoral fin is not moving at all.  With all that said, do you have any ideas why the fish is now staying at the surface, vertically?  And how can i treat him or her?

Answer
Hello Ken:

Popeye can have several underlying causes - most often it is either related to physical trauma, bacterial infection, or a fungal infection.  I am not sure what treatments you have tried so far but the one below is often recommended.

You could start by treating for a bacterial infection:  The fish should (if possible) be moved to a quarantine tank and given an appropriate antibiotic such as Maracyn two for saltwater fish.  If no improvement is seen in four or five day you could begin treatment with an anti-fungal medication such as one containing Nifurpirinol.  During this time maintain high water quality and provide highly nutritious food.

If it has suffered a traumatic injury there may unfortunately be nothing that can be done to help the situation.

It is sadly possible that given the description of your fish it may be too far gone to save.

-Brian.