Foxface went blind

[havefun]

Hi all,

For some reason my Foxface has gone blind. His eyes look maybe just a little cloudy, he still moves them around when he swims but he is constantly running into stuff and he no longer can see food to eat. The worst thing he has been getting tangled with is my Curly Que anemone. Ever since I first got him (a couple years ago) he has always done this psyco flinch thing with his fins. He flicks the spiny (poisonous) ones repeatedly and super fast. I don't know if his eyesight loss has something to do with that or not.

Any suggestions? Is he a gonner since he cannot eat?

TIA

 

[melosu58]

Usually for cloudy eyes one of the best things you can do is make sure of excellent water parameters. Every other day PWC`s for a week or two will be a great start. It will clear up on it`s own usually IME

And BTW for the not eating try soaking the food in garlic and see if that helps

 

[JoshsReef]

looking into dosing a little epsom salt into your tank as well. It helps, I can remember how much to dose, but if you do a little online research you will find out exactly how much to use. It really worked well for me.

 

[ccCapt]

Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. I use it to supplement mag. I don't see what that would do as far as disease control.

 

[Innovator]

Epsom salt has been used in the industry for years as a weak treatment for popeye (fluid reduction), swelling, and triggering bowl movements in fish. It is not a fast acting "cure-all," but should not cause any adverse affects. The cloudy eyes may be a symptom of secondary bacterial from being stung and if so should be treated with Nitrofurazone or Minocycline (Maracyn 2). Pics are always helpful

 

[vietcu]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but I have the same problem. I just got a Coral beauty a week ago, and it now has cloudy eyes. Unfortunately I am just starting so no quarantine tank set up yet. Anything I can do, it has only been a week that I have the fish, and the cloudy eyes didn't start until about 2 days ago.

 

[havefun]

Thanks everyone. I will admit that lately "life" has gotten in the way and I haven't had time to keep up with all the water changes I know I need to do. I've got some mixing up right now...
I'll post back if/when anything changes.

Thanks again!

 

[havefun]

I'm wondering if I should put him in QT now? I've done a ~15% pwc yesterday and another ~20% today. His nose/mouth is getting pretty banged up from running into the rocks etc. It must be getting pretty sore because he really "flinches" when he touches it on anything.
I've tried hand feeding him from a sheet of green marine and he nibbles at it but I don't think he's getting much down (maybe his mouth is too sore to eat).
I don't have a qt setup right now but I'm thinking he would have a better chance in there anyway because he wouldn't have the rocks, anomone and current to fight - he could just rest.
I'll try to get a picture tomorrow but I'm not sure the cloudy eye's will show very well.
Should I keep him in the main (75 gal) or qt?

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[roka64]

QT would be the best for him. You have much more control over his environment and can lower the salinity for easier healing and respiration. Plus you can add meds if needed.

 

[havefun]

Well I've got him in qt and manged to get a pic. In the pic you can kind of see the cloudy eyes. Another concern I have is his mouth, as you can see it's pretty banged up. Is there anything I can do to help it heal?

 

[cmor1701d]

Continue with pwc's in the QT to keep the water pristine. Lower the SG over a day or two to 1.020 (or even 1.017). You may want to treat with an antibiotic prophylactically.

 

[havefun]

A question on lowering the sg... My main is at 1.024 and when I put him in the qt I had it (the qt) at 1.023. Today (~24 hrs later) I've got the qt at 1.022. I always thought when adjusting the sg it had to be done very slowly (as in days). Is it safe to drop it that much in such a short time period?

 

[cmor1701d]

It can be done in a day. When doing a hyposalinity treatment for Ich it can take 2 or more days to get down to 1.009. This is fine for a fish in QT.
Here are the instructions for doing that, though you want to stop at step 1.

The salinity must be lowered gradually to give the fish time to adjust to the lower salinity and more importantly ensures the bacteria in the biological filter can adjust. It should take around 2 days to get from 35‰ to 14‰.

Your starting point should be between 1.025 and 1.027. Replace about one fifth of the volume with RO, RO/DI or aged freshwater that has been well aerated. Repeat this 12, 24 and 36 hours later, monitoring the specific gravity along the way. After the fourth water change the specific gravity should be 1.010 or pretty close. Wait a few hours to make the final adjustment to get down to 1.009. Note that you can estimate the resulting specific gravity. If you are changing one fifth of the water and the current specific gravity is 1.025 the result will be:

• ((1.025*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.020 approx.

Then, after 12 hours:

• ((1.020*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.016 approx.

After 24 hours:

• ((1.016*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.013 approx.

After the 4th change:

• ((1.013*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.010 approx.

 

[havefun]

He's been in qt now for several days. I've got the sg at 1.018. I've been trying to hand feed him from a sheet of seaweed (the same stuff he ate in the main) but he is not getting a whole lot. I think he wants to eat but his mouth doesn't seem to be working right (or he's just really weak).
Anyway, I've been keeping the light off. When I walk in the room and turn the room light on he is just sitting there very calm. Then after a minute or two he starts to swim around and gets active again. Should I continue keeping the light off? I think his mouth is starting to heal, it's starting to look much better.

 

[cmor1701d]

I would keep the lights dim, not necesarily off. So perhaps keep the room light on for several hours a day with the tank lights off. The ambient light will let it know that it's daytime.

How are your water pararmeters holding up? Are you doing daily partial changes?
Pristine water seems to help more than anything else.

 

[havefun]

I'm doing a 50% pwc every other day.
I don't like the new test kit I have - it's a Seachem - I have a hard time matching the colors. Anyway they are (just before todays pwc): ammonia = 0 and trite and trate just barely registered. PH ~8.1

I think he may be getting his sight back just a little. He wouldn't let me feed him today. He kept backing away from my hand like he could see it.

Thanks again

 

[cmor1701d]

That's good news. Please keep up with the PITA pwc's. Please also keep us posted every few days on the progress. It would be great if it's sight is restored enough to get it back into the main. Once the healing starts it can go quickly.

 

[havefun]

Well I don't know anymore. He's still not eating, he'll just bump his mouth into the seaweed but doesn't take any of it. He's getting pretty skinny.
One thing I've noticed about his eyes, I don't know if they were this way from the start or not but I'll try to explain. When looking straight on at him (where I can see both eyes at the same time), the clear part looks very clear (but still cloudy from the side). Then, in the middle (what I would assume is the pupil) actually looks like a little round black ball, about the size of a BB. Maybe thats normal, just thought I'd mention it in case it's not.
I've not been leaving any food clipped in there so it doesn't pollute the water - maybe I should?

 

[cmor1701d]

How long do you leave it in before removing it?
It should be fine for at least 6 hours. Mine never lasts that long.

 

[havefun]

In my main I just clip a piece on and it's gone within an hour or two.
Trying to feed the foxface in qt though I've just been doing it by hand. I've not left it clipped on at all.