Seticemia and Popeye.

[fishfan67]

I have a 40 gal stretch Hex w/ 5 fancy goldfish in it. Tank has been set up for over a year although it was moved into a new apt. 5 months ago. About a month ago the goldfish were displaying some vigorous breeding behavior and banged each other up pretty good. Started noticing some red streaking in the tail of my red cap oranda, and then my black moor started showing signs of popeye. I treated the tank with erithymycin(sp), ( assuming the streaking was septicemia ) and purchased some anti-biotic food. It has been 30 days since the treatment and I have been feeding the medicated food at least once a day. The oranda's tail is still showing the streaks and the moor still has the popeye. Both fish are eating and otherwise seem healthy. Do I need to retreat or does it just take time for these things to go away? BTW I do a 25% water change every week. Water parameters are all in check.

 

[Rikesh]

I'm not an expert with illness, but my betta recently developed popeye. I treated it successfully with methylene blue.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

From what I remember about reading up on popeye is that once the eyes are popped, they're like that for good, I don't think it goes away.

 

[jsoong]

You shouldn't have to treat bacterial diseases for 30 days. If it was bacterial septicemia, the fish either would have been cured or gotten worse.

Pop eye is caused by so many different things that it is hard to generalize. I would expect a bacterial cause to be reversible, but others like fish tb, flukes, etc. may be permanent.

However, with a month long symptom & the fish still acting lively & normal, I would think bacterial infection is low on the list. I would stop the antibiotics & observe the fish to see if anything else develop.

Red streaks on the tail may be from other causes, such as high ammonia, or viral infection (like carp pox or lymphocystis.) If the later, you would expect to see blisters or small white spots on the tail.

As for the pop eye, try to look in the eye & see if there are flecks, which may indicate flukes. It may be worthwhile to treat with a course of Praziquintal on spec. However, in a previously uninfected tank, it is unlikely to have fish showing parasites all of a sudden. The popeye might simply be the lasting effect of trauma. If the fish si otherwise normal, I would tend to leave well enough alone.

 

[Rikesh]

popeye can be cured. There are indeed many reasons for appearing of popeye. The two main reasons are: bad water quality and a bruise in the eye.

 

[fishfan67]

Thanks for the info. The water quality is good. No flecks in the eye. The streaks in the tail look like the veins are showing through. That is why I thought septicemia. Doesn't look like ammonia burns. I am not aware of Carp pox. How is that transmitted. There are no blisters or spots on the tail. Is it possible that he has a case of vericose veins? LOL. As for the popeye, I thought it was a build up of fluid behind the eye, and when the fluid is absorbed the eye would return to normal. Had not considered trauma or bruising as the cause. I will just watch and see as you suggested.

 

[jsoong]

Carp Pox & other viral diseases in goldfish are transmitted from fish to fish. They are generally non-life threatening, although they may slow growth in young fish. Typically the virus shows up in spring time, as white fuzzy or maybe waxy spots. I have also seen red veins leading from the base of the tails to the spots. The spots tend to disappear during summer (maybe temp related) only to come back next spring. There is no cure. Some goldies fancier will QT fish for 6 months or more to avoid introducing virus into the tank, but I think this is overkill for the average pet goldfish.