Blue ram with pop eye??

[ramgirl1228]

Hey guys. Went on vacation for a couple weeks and came home to one of my blue rams with what appears to be pop eye. Never dealt with this before. I've gotten such contradictory advice online. Do I isolate him? Dose with maracyn? Add salt?? Any advice is appreciated. I have no idea when it started. My inlaws were taking care of them while I was gone and can't tell me when they noticed a difference. Grrr. But that's another story

Thanks

 

[jlk]

How do the parameters in this tank look? I am guessing if you were on vacation, wcs were likely not performed. Is it only one eye or both eyes? How is his behavior/appetite otherwise? Any other symptoms? Some more info will help us to help you better!

 

[ramgirl1228]

They went two weeks without a wc. I usually do one every week. It is only one eye. His behavior kinda goes up and down. Sometimes he will just sit still and hang out and then other times he's acting completely normal. Except for swimming into things. Checked parameters yesterday when I got home cause I read that could be a cause. Ammonia was 0.25 nitrite was at 0.5 and nitrate was at a 60. Higher than my usual weekly readings.

 

[jlk]

Swimming into things is to be expected as his vision in this eye is likely quite limited. You really need to do some good wcs along with good gravel vacs to bring this tank back into order. Lets see if he improves at all with lots of healthy water. If he doesnt improve or his health deteriorates, then he will need to be qt'd with meds.

 

[ramgirl1228]

I did a 50% PWC last night combined with a really good gravel vac job. Getting ready to do another 50% in a few minutes. I wish I knew how long ago he started showing symptoms but there's no way to know since they can't tell me. Poor guy has been thru so much with me. I hate to lose him to this.

 

[jlk]

Sounds like a plan. Lets give him 24hrs or so and see how he does. Do you have the means to qt him? What do you have for meds?

 

[ramgirl1228]

I have a 2.5 gallon that I can use if Ireally need to qt him. I've got a box maracyn and a bottle of maroxy on hand. I also have some aquarium salt. I've got an extra air pump I could put in tthe 2.5 if I have to put him in there so at least he would have some water circulation.

 

[jlk]

You dont want to treat the tank unless absolutely necessary so a qt is a better option. No aq salt as this may make fluid retention more severe. Epsom salt as a bath or tiny amount in the tank can help with fluid retention. I would opt for regular maracyn or a maracyn/maracyn2 combo. Maraoxy will not be of much help here. Keep us posted!

 

[ramgirl1228]

Well got home tonight and he looked pretty bad. His whole body had darkened in color and his appetite was gone so I set him up in the qt tank and dosed with maracyn 2. I have an air pump and a mini heater in there to try and regulate temp. Nitrates read 100 tonight. Ammonia and nitrite are down to 0.0. Did another PWC and plan on doing another tomorrow. Could I possibly do too many?? Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it. Will keep you posted on how he's doing. Everyone else looks great in the main tank but I know those nitrate levels have to be affecting them too. Again thanks for all the advice.

 

[jlk]

I wish you luck and hope he can pull through! If possible, I would add regular maracyn to your treatment if your using maracyn2. Petsmart carries it. You will likely need to do wcs daily. Try to do them around the same time every day so the meds are in the tank for a full 24hrs before a wc then redose. Expect to treat for atleast 7 days but 10 days may be necessary. If you see no improvement after seven days of the combo, you may have switch to another med.

If your tap has no nitrate, a 50% wc should drop your tank down to 50ppm. Wait an hour (or a few hours) and do another 50%. This should bring them down to a reasonable 25ppm. I would test before starting in case they are higher than 100 when you start. As long as you temperature match and properly condition the new water, you should be fine. Please ask if you have questions!

 

[ramgirl1228]

Sad to report that my ram did not make it. Came home tonight and he had died while I was at work today. Good news is that my main tank appears to be back in safe range. Ammonia and nitrites at 0 and nitrates down to 20. I've lost fish before but this is a hard one. I've had him for a couple years and he's gone thru a lot with me. He's survived lack of electricity for over a week due to a hurricane and terrible water conditions immediately after that. Ended up basically doing a fish in cycle with him. Him and the female were the only ones to survive all that. This was him when he was healthy thanks for all your advice and support