Cory with red-eye (?)

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S

Sab_Fan

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Sep 15, 2008
2,332
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66
Delray Beach, FL
tried asking in the "catfish" section, went nowhere, so . . .

I have an older cory cat who has suddenly developed a strange red infection (?) or something around one eye . . . I have a picture below; does anyone know what this is and what I should (or shouldn't) do about it?

thanks

Cory_Redeye.jpg
 
That is totally Popeye. I'd throw a broad spectrum antibiotic at it in a quarantine tank.
 
I would also greatly increase your frequency of water changes and gravel vacs. What is your maintenance routine like now and what are your parameters?
 
Check params. also -- illness is often brought on by non-optimal water conditions, and it's possible this guy is just the first affected. I agree that it is pop-eye.
 
thanks . . . I'll give params later tonite, let you know if anything is out of line . . . last checked this weekend, was 0-ammonia, 0-nitrite, <5 nitrate . . . it is a heavily planted tank, so I typically dose nitrates, they are next to none otherwise . . . the water is medium-soft, neutral Ph . . .

I do water changes every week, about 15-20% on average . . . do not do a heavy gravel vac, because I don't want to disturb the plant beds . . . i've maintained this routine for several years, but this is the first sign of a problem

thanks for feedback . . .
 
is all of your substrate planted? i would do teh antibiotics too, its just weird that this occurred spontaneously. Have you had new additions to the tank recently?
 
majority of the substrate is planted; amazons and crypts mostly . . . also have several pieces of driftwood, with java ferns and anubias . . . I brush the siphon over the few open areas, but no heavy vacuuming

I did add a male carpintis and a female convict, about a month ago. both had been living in my other two tanks, so they were not strictly "new" . . . I also removed four other fish (gymnos) when I did this . . . based on the relative sizes of the fishes, this was a bio-load neutral change . . . this is a 90G tank, by the way

I've read a few online articles; it sounds like it is very difficult to pin-point a cause for popeye; it may be bacterial, may be due to injury, or some other unknown cause . . .

after I check params tonite, I'll do a large water change just to be safe, and of course the cory will be QT'd and hit with some meds; I believe I have some Maracyn and/or Maracyn 2 at home
 
as expected, water parameters are where they should be: ammonia = 0, nitrite = 0, nitrate <10 (and I dosed it yesterday) . . . Ph is neutral and GH is medium hard, and these parameters have been consistent for months

other than the cory - - who is now QTd - - there are no other indications of trouble, just a tank of hungry, active fishies . . . I'll keep an eye on the main tank, but for now all looks good

thanks for the quick diagnosis on the popeye; now that I've seen pictures of it on-line, it's pretty clear you guys were spot-on with that one . . .
 
just an FYI update, after five days of treatment (Maracyn & Marcyn 2), any signs of infection are gone, cory looks great . . . he'll spend a few more days in QT, but should be back in the tank this week

thanks again for the quick diagnosis help
 
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