Black Moor with possible pop eye and fungus?

[Amlyel]

Hello! I have 2 sweet little black moor's and one is in need of some assistance. I already had a thread going under the coldwater fish which helped me get my tank sorted out. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f135/newer-tank-with-fish-who-need-help-259676.html

Sorry, I don't know a better way to put a link on here other than copy and paste. I don't mind retyping info but that really has all my info in that first post and I can suppy updated water parameters now that my tank is under control.
8.0 PH
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrites
20 Nitrates

I also have a few pictures I will try to upload as well. One shows Mr. Peepers abnormal eye and the other 2 are shots of his tail. Both Moor's had a spot of fungus and the little one's spot went away. Mr. Peepers spot seemed to get smaller but now theres a whiteish looking film? around the base of his tail and down one side. I tried to get the best picture I could. I haven't done any treatments other than getting my water under control. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated by me, Mr. Peepers and Diesel (his little brother). Thank you!







http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f135/newer-tank-with-fish-who-need-help-259676.html

 

[Amlyel]

Also today Mr. Peepers is sitting on the bottom a bit more but gets up right when I come up to the tank.

 

[Amlyel]

Checked my water again today and all are good.

8.0 Ph
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrites
20 Nitrates

It's a little hard to tell but it seems like Mr peepers eye is even bigger. I have Melafix and I haven't used it but I'm wondering if I should or something else and if I new to move him? I only have a 5 gallon bucket. Any advice is appreciated!

He's still eating like a champ and combing through rocks like his life depended on it!

 

[jlk]

I honestly would not be overly concerned as long as he active and healthy. How long have you had him? He appears to have more fluid filled eyes and its possible one may simply have been injured resulting in a lopsided appearance due to the loss of fluid. They do not appear unhealthy or cloudy. As he endured high toxin levels, the white areas on his tail may be the result of ammonia burns that are healing and it may also be a factor in his inactivity. Make sure they are getting a good diet of appropriate sinking foods and daily veggies.

You can try something simple (beyond lots of healthy water) to help aid in his tail healing and to prevent infection. Pick up a bottle of methylene blue and give him a bath in the 5g bucket 1-2x a day (1tsp per 3-5g for 20-30mins). Make sure the bath water is properly conditioned and temperature matched. Any decent lfs will carry it though chain stores will not. Its also available online from any aquatics retailer or amazon. The most common brand is Kordon's. please ask if you have questions!

 

[Amlyel]

Thanks for the advice I will go to my local store tomorrow and check out their stock. As far as his eye losing fluids to create a lopsided appearance, the smaller eye is most definitely his normal appearance. The fluid built up over night in his "big eye". Also it has a nice jiggle going when he swims around due to the extra fluid. He never had that before. I've had him for a little over a year but he's only been in this new tank for 2 weeks, with lots of stress for the first week and a half. I'm trying to take all of these changes into account. I just don't want him to lose his eye, or worse. I feed veggies and am going to invest in a proper sinking food. I just recently learned about them eating food from the surface! I'm now sinking their flakes. They still look for their food at the top but we'll break the habit. This website has been an immense help and learning experience! Thank you!

 

[jlk]

Keep us posted and do not hesitate to ask questions! Lets see how he does with his baths and if you notice any improvement. If not, we may have to consider additional treatment.

 

[Amlyel]

Thanks! He had his first bath this afternoon and didn't love it, but I was able to distract him when he was done and back in his tank with peas. He's been happy since then.

 

[jlk]

Keep us posted! Good job giving him a snack upon return- he will look forward to his baths if he knows food is involved.

 

[Amlyel]

I have a quick question about the methylene blue baths. Wouk it be better to just take tank water out for his baths and just refill a few gallons in the tank? Also if I give 2 baths a day do I need to remake the bath water each time? I've been doing that so far. And one more. My other Moor is acting funny now. He's eating and was fine earlier but he started being very anti social to me and swimming with those little jerky bursts of energy. Normally when I come to the tank he's right at the glass all happy but now he goes and hides in the back. I put a little food to test him and he ate well and stopped hiding from me. Weird? I guess I'll keep an eye on him. I don't even know if I have a question for that its just never happened before. BTW all my levels are still normal (same as last time) but I'll be doing a water change tomorrow since its been a week. Thanks!

 

[Amlyel]

Also the one that was just ignoring me and stopped just had a white stringy poo. I haven't seen him "go" since I've had him here at home. Should he get the bath too? I'll look it up but I remember reading something about that type poo possibly being trouble.

 

[jlk]

Ok, its the other moor acting strange and having strange poop now? Increase your water change schedule for starters. Offer them lots of veggies daily such as cooked deshelled peas, spinach and broccoli florets. You may as well give them both baths as the effects of toxin exposure can manifest itself weeks or even months later and Mb does help with this.

Yes, you can use tank water for the baths but make sure you add back conditioned water to the tank. And, unfortunately, new baths should be made each time. Mb is a strong oxidizer and its ability to help fish has the most potential when they are freshly made. Lets see how things go over the next few days.

 

[Amlyel]

I will definately condition any water added back into the tank, that's always been a must. I am getting ready to do the next bath so I'll go ahead and do both. I feed peas every day, but I will get a different variety of veggies at my next shopping trip. I was only thinking water changes once a week because of my levels being normal, do you think 2x a week is good, or more? I have no problem doing more.
It's really weird because after I put some food in to see if he would eat (the other Moor, Diesel) he started acting fine and hasn't been weird since then. It's almost like it was a ploy for food but I don't think they'd do that like my cats would! Also could you recommend a proper sinking food for the Moor's? I try for variety but since I've never done a sinking food and you know so much...can I send you a present for all the help. You deserve one!

 

[jlk]

No presents allowed, lol! Just get them healthy and happy! If your seeking a good food, you may want to try some different brands to see what they like the best. Some popular ones are Hikari Saki or Lionhead, NLS (new life spectrum) or Pro-Gold. If you want to try some gelfood, theres Repashy or Mazuri as well as homemade recipes.

 

[Amlyel]

Update

I just figured I'd give a little update as it's been a few days. It seemed that everything was going really well. I've been doing the baths each day, 2 a day on Sat. and Sun. and one during the week. They seemed to be responding really well. The pop eye situation is pretty much the same, but it seems like the "white" on Mr. Peepers tail was a little less prominent. He also had stopped sitting at the bottom of the tank at night. (At least while I was awake) For some reason though today when I came home both of my Moors have been sitting on the bottom. Really excited to see me but once I'm doing something else they seem to settle back to the bottom. They are eating fine, with veggies everyday. They do get up and swim around but for a little bit at a time. They seem completely normal otherwise. Diesel's tail has what looks like a couple of small rips? in it, maybe it got stuck on something? All my minnow's are acting normal. I got 3 more plants yesterday, that's the only thing that changed. All my levels are still great. PH-8.0 Ammonia-0 Nitrite-0 Nitrate-20. I checked those today. Also every time I give them a bath I use tank water and than replace the tank water with new conditioned water to try to make it easier on them, with temp matches, etc. So they've been getting 2-3 gallons of water changed out everyday. Last big water change was Sun. about 40% and I was planning another one tomorrow. I'll keep an eye on them and see how things go over night and the next day, I don't know if maybe I should take the plants out? Also thanks for the food suggestions I got some NLS sinking food and I'm looking into the gel food, I'm very interested in that! You've been so helpful!

 

[Amlyel]

Also..not sure if this matters but my temp has been sitting at 75 degrees, I got rid of the Scissortails and lowered it to 70 but the weather has been weird so I can't seem to get it down. Should I leave the lights off for longer periods? I've been leaving it on for about 8-10 hrs a day.

 

[jlk]

Just keep an eye on the temp. You can consider setting the tank on a timer so it's on for couple hours in am then off for 2-3hrs midday then back on again. This may help keep temp a bit lower.

Did they seem improved after the wc or the same? How are they today?

 

[Amlyel]

I finished their water change about an hour ago and they are swimming like champs. They love when I move stuff. I did their bath and changed the water while they were in the MB. They enjoyed spinach after. The temp dropped a few degrees and I left the light off during the day until I got home so I'm sitting at 72 and it'll probably continue to go down since its gotten cooler here. Thanks for the suggestion with the timer, I have one already just need to plug it in! I'll be watching them tonight and tomorrow to see if they start sitting again but right now they have to many rocks to go through. They were sitting when I came home but haven't since with all the action. I'll update tomorrow.

Also I guess my tank is cycled? I kept waiting for a nitrite spike but it never happened. I did already have a little water in the tank when I set it up with used filter media from the previous owner. I am checking at least every other day my water levels. But since that initial ammonia issue and my weekend of water changes I've had no water issues. Yay I guess.

 

[Amlyel]

Lol sorry I don't know why my posts are getting longer!

 

[jlk]

Even though your numbers have been stable, I would work on doing big wcs twice a week or anytime you see them acting strange. Your kit is a fairly new kit, right? I am just wondering if perhaps theres something amiss on the tests because this would explain odd behavior. Anyway, keep up the good work! If the eye is still problematic or theres anything else suspect in the upcoming week, we can look into other options for treating them.

 

[Amlyel]

I wondered myself with my kit, but it def. worked with the ammonia and I also used it on my tank at work since I had never used one there before and I got different numbers on my nitrates and ph.(work has a different water source and tank has been running over a year). I could go out and buy a nitrite kit to double check. That was still a 0 for me at work. I'm planning water changes for twice a week from now on and today I took out about half. Sunday will be the next one unless something happens. And as I look over at the tank Mr. Peepers is sitting on the bottom staring at me and Diesel settled into his spot he likes. I guess I'll do another half change tomorrow and go buy the nitrite test. Someday this will be better!