popeye

[Vicshaw]

My molly has got pop eyes. What can I do aboutm this and how do I know if he's in pain or not?

 

[lmw80]

Well, first thing to do is to put him in a quarantine tank and treat him with some medicine. What are your water parameters? Pop-eye is usually caused by poor water perameters. One of my gouramis got popeye after I had been struggling with water problems for a week or so. Less common is popeye to be caused by an internal parasite.

 

[Allivymar]

*nods and agrees with Imw80*

First line of defense with popeye is fresh clean conditioned water. In the case of popeye, there are a number of things which might have caused it: poor water parameters, bacterial infections, viral infections, parasites. By making sure the fish is in water with proper parameters (no ammonia, no nitrites, low levels of nitrates, correct levels of salt in the case of mollies and the right temps), you can reduce the level of stress and help improve the fish's immune system. Generally broad spectrum antibiotics are the best treatment; they will obviously not affect a viral infection. There is also no guarantee the eye will reduce once the cause is removed; however, bulging eyes do not seem to affect the fish's quality of life once the cause is gone.

 

[Vicshaw]

My water is fine for the fish. I don't know what has caused this, he is quite a scratty fish anyway. His fins are torn and he has orange eyes that have popped, he also chases all the other fish and thats why hes called chaser.

 

[Allivymar]

Just to clarify, what are your water parameters (ammonia nitrite nitrate levels)? If you don't have tests, take a sample to the lfs and ask them to test it for you (then buy your own while your there *grin*).

His fins may be torn because hes a scrapper, but I would wonder if he had fin rot; especially since he appears to have signs of disease (popeye). Do the ends of the torn fins look like they are lined in white?

Of course, popeye can also be caused by physical injury; he may have walloped it on a tank decoration. Either way, fresh clean water and a broad spectrum antibiotic should help.

 

[lmw80]

If his fins are torn, it could definitly be fin rot. Also, if he is scratchy, it could be a sign of an internal parasite. Definitly quarantine him, treat him and keep a close eye on him.

 

[Vicshaw]

he does not scatch. The nitrate levels are 0.3 at the moment. He dosnot have white lined fins, instead they are a grey/green sort of colour. He has sort of like white patches on his body. I think it may be velvet or a fungi.

 

[Guest]

He has sort of like white patches on his body. I think it may be velvet or a fungi.

You need to get him out of that tank Vicky! It sounds to me like an older fish, succceptable to infestion, and now he's got mutiple infections. Get him into a Q tank and medicate with a general anibiotic to start. If he starts to improve, pehaps we'll have more to say, but for now, get him away from the other fish ASAP. You don't want the whole tank infested.

 

[Vicshaw]

I dont have a Q tank though! I treated the whole tank earlier with some white spot stuff. I might just kill him later if thats gonna be the case

 

[Allivymar]

No need to kill it if you can save it; what your fish needs is a broad spectrum antibiotic. You are probably going to have to treat the entire tank anyway; what I think your fish has is a disease called columnaris. Its sometimes called mouth fungus but its actually a bacterial infection, and its very infectious. Its symptoms include white patches that look like fungus and finrot.

Give a local vet a call, explain the situation and see if you can get some tetracycline or one of the other broad spectrum antibiotics (I know you can't get them over the counter there). The stuff for ich (white spot) won't do anything for columnaris. But if you don't, your taking a chance on ALL your fish, not just that one.

 

[Vicshaw]

I got sum stuff 4 him 2day. Cant rememba wot its called but its 4 treating everything! Hope this works well.
Fanx 4 all the advcie