Popeye treatment for cichlids

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kenny69

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Hi team, one of my new pulican cichlids has popeye. Is there a sure fire remedy for this fir cichlids or is it the usual Epsom salt fix as for any type of fish???? Would pimafix help this condition? It's only the one fish affected in a 100 gal tank, with 19 other tank mates.
 
No Epsom salt for this one. You need aquarium salt. QT the fish if you can, but either way you need to do a combo of the salt, plus maracyn. It takes about a week for it to heal, but a QT will help relieve the stress put on the other fish in the tank from the salt/meds, and keep the other fish from poking the injured fish's eye.
 
Hi team, one of my new pulican cichlids has popeye. Is there a sure fire remedy for this fir cichlids or is it the usual Epsom salt fix as for any type of fish???? Would pimafix help this condition? It's only the one fish affected in a 100 gal tank, with 19 other tank mates.

Is the popeye in one or both eyes?
If it's one eye, it's most likely caused by an injury and it can be cleared up with just Epsom's salt.
If it's both eyes it's most likely bacterial and any medication with a Kanamycin base can cure it.
But even if it is bacterial, you should still do the Epsom's salt. It will help relieve the fluid pressure and help prevent the eye from actually popping.
I've had 2 cases of popeye. One with a Gourami and one Electric Blue Cichlid. Both are still doing great. And all I used was the Epsom's salt, on both.
First no matter what kind of popeye it is, you need to isolate the sick fish. It may only be from an injury but even if there is a 5% chance that it's bacterial, you don't want to spread it to all you other fish.
The Articles that I've read on using Epsom's salt for injury induced popeye, recommended 1 tablespoon Epsom's salt for every 5g of water.
Starting with a 50% PWC the add the Epsom's salt. I used 2 Tablespoons of the Epsom's salt for every 5g of water, and the popeye was gone in 3 days. The longer the eye is swollen the more damage is done. Using 2TBS instead of 1TBS didn't cause any negative affects to my cichlid in anyway. It in fact saved his eye.
Then repeat the PWC every day and replace the Epsom's salt for 3 days or until the popeye is gone. You don't need to worry about the Epsom's salt burning your fish like salt does, it's not sodium, it's magnesium.
Good luck
 
WendiDell said:
Is the popeye in one or both eyes?
If it's one eye, it's most likely caused by an injury and it can be cleared up with just Epsom's salt.
If it's both eyes it's most likely bacterial and any medication with a Kanamycin base can cure it.
But even if it is bacterial, you should still do the Epsom's salt. It will help relieve the fluid pressure and help prevent the eye from actually popping.
I've had 2 cases of popeye. One with a Gourami and one Electric Blue Cichlid. Both are still doing great. And all I used was the Epsom's salt, on both.
First no matter what kind of popeye it is, you need to isolate the sick fish. It may only be from an injury but even if there is a 5% chance that it's bacterial, you don't want to spread it to all you other fish.
The Articles that I've read on using Epsom's salt for injury induced popeye, recommended 1 tablespoon Epsom's salt for every 5g of water.
Starting with a 50% PWC the add the Epsom's salt. I used 2 Tablespoons of the Epsom's salt for every 5g of water, and the popeye was gone in 3 days. The longer the eye is swollen the more damage is done. Using 2TBS instead of 1TBS didn't cause any negative affects to my cichlid in anyway. It in fact saved his eye.
Then repeat the PWC every day and replace the Epsom's salt for 3 days or until the popeye is gone. You don't need to worry about the Epsom's salt burning your fish like salt does, it's not sodium, it's magnesium.
Good luck

Good info many thanks. It's in both eyes and as I only got the fish yesterday I can only assume that he got it in the bag on the way home. All other fish that were in the bag are fine. My water is excellent, well I hope so lol. I will do the Epsom salt as I have also read that it does the trick, cheers for your help!!
 
Good info many thanks. It's in both eyes and as I only got the fish yesterday I can only assume that he got it in the bag on the way home. All other fish that were in the bag are fine. My water is excellent, well I hope so lol. I will do the Epsom salt as I have also read that it does the trick, cheers for your help!!

If the swelling isn't noticeably less after 24hrs., you should start the Kanamycin sulfate. And watch the other fish closely over the next week for signs of popeye. If none of the others get it, it was an injury induced popeye.
The good thing is, Cichlids are very hardy fish. When you catch illnesses early on, they have a better chance of survival than a lot of other fish.
 
If the swelling isn't noticeably less after 24hrs., you should start the Kanamycin sulfate. And watch the other fish closely over the next week for signs of popeye. If none of the others get it, it was an injury induced popeye.
The good thing is, Cichlids are very hardy fish. When you catch illnesses early on, they have a better chance of survival than a lot of other fish.

Okay, I have him in a QT and have dosed it with epsom salt. Fingers crossed......
 
WendiDell said:
Sounds good, let me know how it goes. If you have any questions fell free to ask. I'm here most every day.
Good luck to you and your Cichlid.

He's a gonna, I think he also has dropsy, he just got worse and worse as the day went on. He is still alive but it isn't looking good. I might put him out of his misery soon I feel. Sometimes it matters not what you do as it's to late. Thanks for your help guys.
 
He's a gonna, I think he also has dropsy, he just got worse and worse as the day went on. He is still alive but it isn't looking good. I might put him out of his misery soon I feel. Sometimes it matters not what you do as it's to late. Thanks for your help guys.

I'm so sorry he tuned out to be so sick. If he's that bad and no chance of recovery, euthanizing may be your only option. It's a tough thing to do, so sorry.
Didn't you just get him from the FS? Did you mix the fish you got today with any that you already had? Or are they all in QT?
Either way you should contact the FS and get store credit at least.
Although, if they are selling fish with dropsy or even just the popeye, I'm not sure I would ever trust their livestock again.
Next time you may want to try a different FS.
 
WendiDell said:
Didn't you just get him from the FS? Did you mix the fish you got today with any that you already had? Or are they all in QT?
Either way you should contact the FS and get store credit at least.
Although, if they are selling fish with dropsy or even just the popeye, I'm not sure I would ever trust their livestock again.

I will be calling them for sure. All the other fish are perfect but I will keep an eye on them. They are all in the main tank. This is a one off from this lfs, they are probably the best store in Sydney, no doubt. I guess that sometimes it is pot luck when it comes to fish. Mostly I don't have any problems getting new fish, only ever had one bout of white spot before, but occasionally they just die. Shame though as he has great colours.
 
I will be calling them for sure. All the other fish are perfect but I will keep an eye on them. They are all in the main tank. This is a one off from this lfs, they are probably the best store in Sydney, no doubt. I guess that sometimes it is pot luck when it comes to fish. Mostly I don't have any problems getting new fish, only ever had one bout of white spot before, but occasionally they just die. Shame though as he has great colours.

Again I'm really sorry, I wish I could have done more to help you and your fish. But it sounds like it was to late, before he left the store.
We do love our fish, even if it's only for a short time.
 
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