Eye popping?

[TropicalFishFanatic]

I have a young discus (about 2 months old) and one of its eyes is bulging out? Any ideas on what it is? Have 5 others in with it and they are fine.It is eating but has a hard time (zeroing in) on the food.

[mikel]

Hay, if you fill the following questionaire out carefully and in detail, the good people of this forum will be better able to help you with your fish problem...

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started





2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/ white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds)






3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.





Tank/Water

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish



5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?



6 Parameters and water source;

- temp _____

- ph _____

- ammonia reading ____

- nitrite reading ____

- nitrate reading ____

- well water ____

- municipal water ____

7. Any new fish/plants added recently

[TropicalFishFanatic]

1.The fish started swimming in circles and is having problems eating, after closer examination notice that the right eye is enlarged and starting to bulge.
Started swimming odd about three days ago.
2. Other than the bulging eye and the balance in swimming problem , it has no other symptoms
3. Havent tried any meds yet,just put it in a bare 10 gal. by its self.
4. It was in a 55 gal. tank with 5 others,it is the smallest of them all at about 1 1/2 inches, the others are closer to 2"
Also have 2 bristlenose plecos in with them and they are close to 2".
5.Gravel bottom tank with live plants and driftwood,tank has been set up for 5 months and the fish have been in there for 2 months.
Change 1/3 of the water 3 times weekly and I don't age the water.
6. Water temp is at 82, ph is 7.5, ammonia,nitrite and nitrate level are all at 0 .
It is well water run through a conditioner.
7.No new fish or plants.

Thanks for the tip and I hope someone can tell me what this is and how to treat it.

[TropicalFishFanatic]

The only thing that I have done different lately is I went from feeding Hikari cubed frozen bloodworms to the flat packs which I have to handle more.They are also being feed Tetra Bits.

[judy]

I don't think the change in food would do it. Try dosing API Fungus Cure, which contains formalin that can handle both popeye and flukes as well as some surface infections, in the hospital tank and then do large daily water changes for a week or so. If it is the same age as the other fish and started out the same size but is now so much smaller, it could well be stunted. You may also want to treat for worms if its poop shows any signs of them, but maybe best to see how the Fungus Cure works first.

[Discus Origins]

Pop eye is usually a bacterial or fungal infection that causes gas to build up behind the eye......the problem is finding out exactly what caused it. Putting it in a QT is a good first step, providing it with clean water would be the second. If the fish is eating I would try giving it some anti-bacterial flakes and see if that helps. Treating with antibiotics is an option and I would also add aquarium salt at 1 tablespoon/5 gallons to keep fungal infectino from developing.

Good luck!

[ZX10R]

I had a fish get HITH during this his eyes buldged out of his head really bad. I treated the HITH with metro different subject I know but I was told to use Kanamycin for the possible bacteria infection causing the eyes to pop out. I had to order the Kanamycin so while I waited for that to come in I treated with Maracyn II. By the time the Kanamycin came in the Maracyn II had already taken care of the job. I also added salt to the tank as Mark talks about.

[seanyuki]

I think Judy meant AP Quick Cure that has F & MG and API Fungus Cure has MG & acriflavine.

[mikel]

Once you take care of the pop eye, you may want to reconsider your current set-up. Having young discus with plants and gravels might look nice, but you will more likely deal with diseases, and the chances of you growing your fish out to their max size will be less likely.

Juvies need high quality clean water and greater availability of varied and good quality foods....both of these requirements are inconsistent with each other in a gravel planted tank. So the inconsistency is expressed in these infections and health issues, which will ultimately stunt or otherwise prevent your young discus from ever reaching their potential sizes. Best of luck. mike

[judy]

I think Judy meant AP Quick Cure that has F & MG and API Fungus Cure has MG & acriflavine.

Oops, yup, thanks!!

[TropicalFishFanatic]

After 2 days of salt and quick cure it is swimming better and I can't really tell if the eye has gone down any but I think I am on the right track! Thanks everyone!

[ZX10R]

After 2 days of salt and quick cure it is swimming better and I can't really tell if the eye has gone down any but I think I am on the right track! Thanks everyone!

It took my fish 3-4 days of treating before I really started to notice his eyes going down.