Help with my maroon clown fish

salt newbie01

salt newbie01

Reefing newb
My clown has something wrong with his rt eye. Some days it is only a small white spot on the bottom of the eye, and other days the bottom half of his eye is swollen and sticking out. On the bad days the eye is a little milky looking. Could it be some type of fungus? None of the other fish seem to have anything wrong with them. I just wish I could get whatever it is to go away. I don't want it to get worse and end up killing the fish. here are some pics. the first is a good day and the other ones are from a bad day.

gsmeye1.jpg


gsmeye2.jpg


gsmeye3.jpg


The bad day photos don't show how swollen the eye gets. I will try to get some more pics.
 
Looks like popeye, (It's an infection name, I'm not trying to be funny) for information on cause and treatment, you can look
here.

Make sure you read the entire article though...
 
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Ya looks like popeye. Its very treatable but hard to get reef safe medicine, try some metronidazole in a food soak for a week. usually it progresses quickly, also feed like theres no tommorow, a fat fish is a healthy fish. good luck, I can bring some metronidazole if you need some
 
Thanks guys - yeh from what I have read it does look like pop-eye. Brian do you know if the metronidazole would be more effective than tetracycline? The tetra. that petco sells says reef safe. I thought I would do a food soak like you suggested. I just didn't know if one would be less harmful for the reef?

Thanks again
 
my modo has always been never treat the water, I dont care if its reef safe or not! I wiped out my first reef tank by treating it with a reef safe medication and swore never again. I have always used metronidazol but only as a food soak as it isnt reef safe in the water. The amount that ever enters the water is so small it doesnt hurt anything. but the food is so full of it that the fish gets a better dose and its taken internally. I cant comment on tetra. cause i havent tried it! there is a medication called Ampicillex which is designed more for popeye and could be used as a food soak but is also not reef safe. I would try the metronidazole first but its your tank!
 
Well I caught the maroon clown tonight and put her into a QT. It was easier than I expected. A BIG THANKS to Bryan for a fish trap. It took about 60 sec - the clown was in the nem feeling safe and I slowly moved the clear cylinder close to her and guided her with my free hand. I am supposed to pick up some maracyn II tomorrow from Michael's. If that falls through I got another type of antibiotic from Bryan to have as a back-up. I'll let ya'll know hoe everything turns out.
 
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Well I got the clown into 10 gallon QT on sunday night - Added first dose ( 2 tabs) of maracyn II monday night. The water turned bright yellow from the medicationand this morning the water looked cloudy also. Is this normal with the medication? I tested the water tonight and all is well. there is a little ammonia and a little nitrate but not much.
I planned on doing a 2-3 gallon water change before dosing the tank tonight. I thought this might help keep the tank within normal parameters. Does this sound like a good idea or should I do something else? I have never treated a fish in QT before. any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks
 
I havent used maracyn so I cant help, but I would follow the directions exactly. if you do something different it might not work well and extend the process, further stressing the fish. Just my opinion
 
use bio bandage from hikari its a dosage treatment where it can be topical medicated potions to add to the fish
 
Patrick:

If you have a sponge or something similiar from the display you could put in the QT to help seed it with a bit I think it would help with the ammonia etc... other than that I'd do as bryan stated.
 
I don't have a sponge that will fit in the QT filter - Icould put one of the inserts from the emp 400 in the tank. But from what I have read the meds will kill a good bit of the beneficial bacteria. I guess I will just monitor the ammonia levels since they are the first to spike. If they start to go up then I will do a water change. That's all I am trying to do is prevent the little tank from going into a quick cycle and killing the fish. Have any of you guys treated a fish in QT for several days? If so did you do any water changes or did you just leave it alone?

Thanks yup yup -

Thanks for the input guys
 
i did once.. put i pulled water from the main tank to put into the QT and put the new water in the main tank.

After all the trouble I put it back in the main display and it iched right back over. I then decided that I would feed as much as I could if i noticed a fish getting sick and keep the water quality high. Your scenario is a little different though as your not dealing with ich.

I recently did the medicated food to cure a yellow tank with pinched stomach in the main display and am pretty sure it helped remove an internal parasite.

BV
 
hey pat, are you not using tank water for the QT? You need to do like brandon said and use already cycled water. yes the meds will screw with the bacteria but it takes time and you wont be using the QT that long. if your using fresh mixed water you may be stressing out the fish on top of his current situation.
 
Yes I filled the QT with water from the main tank. I should have been more clear. So with that info, if the fish is only in QT for 5-7 days do you think it will start to cycle?
 
All the good stuff you need isn't just in the water itself. It could have cycles after the fish is in the tank. I don't think, however, that the short amount of time that the fish will be in there could cause any nitrite or nitrate spikes. Hope that helps Patrick.
 
I agree with Anthony. The water itself is good to come from the tank basically for matching salinity, PH, etc... The cycle is not in the water itself, but rather in the surface area of the rock and items in the tank, sand, etc....

I would test everynight though and do small water changes as needed.
 
I was thinking like Anthony and David. That's why I was concerned about the water going through a cycle. I didn't know if anyone had any experience with how long it would take to start going into a cycle. I am just testing the water 2-3 times a day. So far so good. The ammonia has gotten to a detectable level but it is not bad. I may do a small water change from the main tank before a dose tonights meds. The swelling is going down, so I think it is working.

Thanks for everyone's help
 

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