Please Help! My ram might lose his eye!

[ktluvsfish]

My male ram developed pop eye a few days ago.

I checked all of the water parameters and everything is good:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20

When I noticed, I did a large water change just to be safe, and started treating the tank with Tetracycline. It has been two days, and I woke up this morning to see my ram in even worse condition. His eye actually looks like its detaching from his head (pieces of skin are starting to peel off and there is a small area that looks like it might be bleeding). I am afraid he might lose his eye, and I don't know what I can do to prevent it.

I am thinking that the pop eye started because of an injury from hitting or scraping his eye on something in the tank. I have a lot of driftwood in the tank and him and the female have been chasing each other a lot, so it wouldn't have been hard for him to do. I have also heard of gas buildup causing pop eye, but I'm not sure how to determine whether or not that's the cause. I have also been dosing my tank with Flourish Excel, and I'm not sure if that could be having any effect on him.

The good news is, he's still active and eating normally. If anyone has any insight or suggestions, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Katie

 

[luohanfan]

Epsom salt baths help to draw the fluid out, but your fish seems to have a pretty advanced case..

Put 1/2 gal tank water in a bucket or container, add 2tablespoons of epsom and leave it in there for 5-10 mins, then return it to the tank..
Do this 3 times a day over the next few days if possible.