Massive pop eye

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DaveB

DaveB

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2008
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Miami
Two of the four dats I "rescued" have some pretty massively popped out eyes... way more than any dats I have seen before. At first I figured this might have just been because they were underweight (ie, since they're thin I noticed the bugeyes more) but now after 4-5 days one is looking really bad. It's almost like more of his eyes are coming out, and something whitish is visible around the edge, kind of like a sleeve - as if his eye is coming farther out and pulling on something that's supposed to stay inside him.

I'll try to get pictures but he hides most of the time. It looks really awful. And since it just got worse today I worry about the other one with the bigger eyes, and maybe the others as well. They seemed fine on close inspection when I had them in a QT when I brought them home, and so I'm really scared I screwed up by deciding to put them in the main tank. But they all seemed to be doing fine when I did (they are all pictured in the "the new guys" thread from the other day). So hopefully it's not something contagious?

I grabbed them from the petland because they were doing really poorly there and I guess this is no great surprise. I'd really like to know what's up with him so I can help him. Any ideas?
 
It looks like it has been grabbed and torn most of the way out of his head. I can see blood and insides behind the eye, and it seems cloudy in the normally visible part. It really don't look good, nor does it look repairable. It's so far out I'd be surprised if it ever went back in again.

Part of me wonders if he got bit on the eye or something during the posturing he was doing with one of the previous residents to establish pecking order.

I netted him and dropped him into a hospital tank. He was somewhat feisty but still easy enough to catch with one net. The QT is actually housing a fish from a different tank (a rainbow) and has nitrofurazone in it. Not that I really expect that to help since I don't think it's gram-neg (I just had some laying around), but he looks so bad that if he dies overnight I don't want him getting eaten in the big tank.

I'm calling that petland in the morning and telling them I'm not thrilled to have gotten infected fish (even though I kind of suspected it, since I only got them since I was concerned about their living conditions there). We'll see if they'll do anything about it.
 
salt, high temp, plenty of aeration and do 3 WC per week. Do this for a week or two and see how they are before medication added to the tank
 
flamenco-t;2042339; said:
salt, high temp, plenty of aeration and do 3 WC per week. Do this for a week or two and see how they are before medication added to the tank
Click to expand...

I agree partly with flamenco-t...always go for heavy and frequent WC before trying medicine... the quick reduction in nitrate can often be enough to trigger the immune system to fight back.

BUT, haven't u already had the newbies for over 3 weeks? if so may be time for medicine, and if u got quarantine tank, move it and try medication.

sounds like u got a bad batch. All else was fine in your tank before. does sound like an attack, otherwise, he would have likely lost the eye completely.
sorry to hear Dave.
 
My nitrates are under 5. I'd imagine the store water quality was garbage though, which is why I got them out of there. Ade, I've only had these ones for five days and the others all seem happy (though one other has pretty big eyes too. Just not distorted or gross). This one has just the one eye that looks awful, and it happened suddenly, which is why I wonder about it being an attack. I removed the filter media (because it had carbon) from the hospital tank he's in so I'll be doing daily water changes. There's lots of salt in there too but I do need to crank the temp, since it's on one of those mini heaters that is just set at 79 without an option to change it.
 
5 days ... your prob right about an attack. and injury so severe, medication definately. but don't know what type to advise..hopefully he'll pull through but he may be left with only 1 eye.
 
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