Knight goby eye issues.. need suggestions (picture included)

[Corey]

45g brackish (~1.005)
2 figure 8's/2 knight gobies
pH: ~8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: negligable, ie. ~ 2ppm

Several weeks ago my male knight goby had exopthalmia of one eye (pop-eye-ish... it bulged out a LOT, got cloudy and looked like it had blood behind it).
After a day or two it seemed to get better on its own. I added some Melafix anyway and it cleared up for the most part, but remained with what could be described as a relatively thick opaque film over it. It appeared a little hazy and I suspect he is blind out of that eye.

Blind or not, he has been doing fine, except the other night - his other eye is showing the same symptoms - bulged, hazed and appears to have blood behind it.
Here is a picture. You can see the obviously bulged eye as well as the hazy "bubble" around his other eye.

I think he can still see, at least a little. He's getting around alright but his colors are a little dull.
None of the other fish are showing/have shown symptoms.

I'm not sure what's going on - whether its an infection, disease, or he's picking fights with the puffers or what (his fins are tattered from time to time so the latter is a possibility).

I moved him to a 20g QT tank along with Bio-spira and am treating him with Melafix.

Any ideas on what this could be/how I should treat it?
Any suggestions are appreciated,
Thanks.

 

[lmw80]

It looks like either popeye or that he maybe hit his eye somewhere. I would treat him for bacterial infection - popeye usually doesn't have such a great outcome, and if his eye was already like this once it makes me think it might be a cut that got infected....does he have any other physical signs of disease?

 

[Corey]

Good, I'm treating him with Melafix right now in QT.

No other physical signs that I could say are a result of an infection - his top "show" fin is almost completely gone (I'm assuming the puffers wondered what it tasted like), and his coloration as you can see in the picture isn't as white and colorful as it should be, but I'm assuming that's stress related.

I'm really beginning to wonder if he doesn't know better and is picking fights with the puffers.
It's commonly regarded as risky to have other species in with puffers, but mine seem fairly docile and the only aggression I really see between the species is goby-instigated.
The female knight goby is pristine - beautiful coloration, no tattered fins, signs of stress, etc., and if the puffers were being aggressive I would think she would recieve some of it too.

Maybe he bit off more than he can chew, and a puffer retaliated and gave him a bite that has become infected?
If he goes blind, is there any hope for him in a tank with other fish, or even by himself?

 

[lmw80]

if it's dwarf puffers you are talking about, they probably went after him...they are very aggressive and territorial.

 

[Corey]

Nope, Figure 8's - this is a brackish tank.
I wouldn't put anything in with DP's... nasty little buggers.

 

[lmw80]

Nope, Figure 8's - this is a brackish tank.
I wouldn't put anything in with DP's... nasty little buggers.

just checking!!

So, it does seem as it might have been a cut...how does it look now?

 

[Corey]

Looks like some of the blood behind the eye has subsided, but now its got some green gooey looking substance on it... any ideas?