Puffer has cloudy eyes

[Madame_X]

I noticed last night that my puffer has developed cloudy eyes.

His behavior is completely normal. He's active and eating, but he has been under some stress lately due to being picked on by the brichardis. I'm moving them into my 10 gallon QT tank this morning until their new home is ready. Hopefully this will eliminate the stress in the tank.

Can this be caused just from stress? Is it possible it may clear up on its own once his environment is back to normal?

BTW... ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrates about 10. PH is stable at 7.8. Did a 20% water change last night even though water parameters seem fine...

 

[Allivymar]

The first 2 causes of cloudy eyes are water parameters and dietary issues. I doubt either are the cause in your case; you're always on top of your water parameters and I know your guys get a varied diet.

So I tend to agree; its either stress or the result of an infection brought on by stress, especially since its both eyes (otherwise it might be the effect of a wound). Keep a close eye on him; if things don't start to clear up in a few days, a round of antibiotics might be in order.

 

[Madame_X]

I think we've figured out the cause...

The little puffer likes to "surf the glass", running up and down and around in his little corner. Since he has little bulgy eyes (not unusually so, just puffer-like), I think he's rubbing his eyes against the glass when he hugs it and swims around.

I know that the behavior can be a result of boredom to some degree. I think that since he was being picked on, the behavior pattern became a little more frequent and maybe even aggressive, as he couldn't swim freely about the tank. The brichardis kept him pretty much corralled into a corner of the tank. I think he may have injured his eyes in the process.

I moved the brichardis into a 10 gallon tank until the 55 is set up (probably next weekend). He seems to be moving around more freely now, swimming the entire length of the tank (although he still surfs in his corner). His coloring is good and his belly is bright white--these are good signs in a puffer. I'm still not noticing any unusual behavior. I guess I'll keep a close eye on him for a few days and see how things go. I think I'll do more frequent than usual water changes too, just to make sure things stay extra clean.

Hopefully I'm right and this is all it is, and hopefully things will fix themselves now that the brichardis are out of the tank.

Fingers crossed!