Sail fin Molly has a huge eye....popeye?!

[Krissy]

Hi all!

I have a Sail Fin Molly that usually likes to show he is boss around the tank but has been hiding a lot over the weekend. I managed to get a glimpse of him tonight and his left eye is huge!! It looks like a clear bubble around his eye. Is this signs of popeye?

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrates - 10

If it is popeye....how can I cure? Is he likely to recover? :-/

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!!!

Krissy

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[Krissy]

I have had a look on Internet as no response on here and a lot of people have said that water changes and leaving fish in a tank alone (stop others pecking at it) is the best cure if popeye.

Almost 10 days later and it's looking a lot worse Please see pics....can anyone suggest any specific treatments I can get in the UK to help?

It looks so painful for him

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[Krissy]

Honestly guys...it's really awful I'm hoping somebody has a solution?!?!

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[Homedog98]

Oh god! Get some aquarium salt in there FAST! 1 teaspoon per gallon, 2 25% water changes per day until you start treating! You can pick whether to leave him in the community tank, or QT him, but if you have a QT, definitely use it. Don't bother cycling another tank if you don't have a QT, all your other fish should be ok. Just to be sure though, what else is in there?

[anarekist]

whoa, i hope someone could chime in and help you.

[Krissy]

Homedog98 - thank you so much for responding!!

I've got 5 other mollies and 3 zebra danios. No sign of any of the others being ill.

I'm in the UK so can't get any aquarium salt until tomorrow morning can't believe it's gotten so bad. Have taken advice from websites but doesn't seem to help. Will try the salt though.

Feel so awful watching him. He must be in so much pain!

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[Homedog98]

It's ok, he should pull out of it if you get it fast. He's hiding because of stress, pain, and confusion, since he can't see out of that eye. Your other fish should be fine if you just leave him in, less stress anyway. Mollies can be acclimated to salt water anyway, and zebra danios can put up with a lot.

[Krissy]

Thank you so much. Have asked my brother to grab me some salt first thing as I'm at work. I just hope it hasn't gone too far. Pretty concerned he may lose his eye!

Thanks again!

You've been a superstar!

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[Homedog98]

Your welcome, keep us updated, or if you have anymore questions!

[Krissy]

Will do!

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[Homedog98]

Hey, one more thing I forgot to mention. Parasites can also cause popeye, can you get your bro to pick up some anti-parasitic food, maracyn, and maracyn two while there? the aquarium salt should help sterilize the water, and the maracyn and maracyn two will help your little guy. Also compared your fish with some other images of fish with popeye, and that's definitely the problem. That was the main reason I only recommended aquarium salt in the beginning, cause I wanted to double check, so as not to treat the wrong ailment!

[Krissy]

I'm extremely pleased to report that 'Popeye' (his oh so original nickname now) is officially no longer suffering with popeye. I'm so surprised his eye is back to normal. I really thought it was beyond repair but hey....I'm very pleased with the results.

Thank you so much again for your help! You helped save the little chap!!

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[Homedog98]

Great! What did you wind up using to treat it?