Popeye?

[calaxa]

Just wanted to confirm with you guys. If only one eye is puffed up while other is perfectly fine, it's most likely mechanical trauma and not bacterial, correct?

 

[panmanmatt]

It could be either or both. A mechanical injury can lead to a secondary bacterial infection.

 

[calaxa]

Matt,

It's on a new fish I acquired. He was healthy when I placed him in QT 2 days ago and today I noticed one eye was cloudy. When I came home today, it looks like it is popped out slightly but cloudiness is disappearing. Filmy stuff is coming off of it. I don't want to administer antibiotics unnecessarily. What would you suggest?

 

[panmanmatt]

For right now I'd say keep the water pristine and try adding some vitamins to his food. And keep a close eye on him. You can also try lowering the temp to about 73-75 degrees.

 

[calaxa]

Not quite eating yet. I will just observe a day or two. If it worsens, I will start dips/bath treatments.

 

[JRWOHLER]

I had it happen to my hippo(just wants to drive me crazy) out of nowhere....one eye is "caused" by trauma but then can create other issues such as infection. All the precautions Matt said are good too. Mine went away after a couple days thankfully.

 

[calaxa]

Well it must have been something cause it looked like the eye was doing better before I left for work and when I came hom, the powder blue was dead. Don't think I could've done much since death came so fast.

 

[JRWOHLER]

Sorry to hear it. Doesn't sound like there was much you could have done like you said.

 

[justchad]

A few months ago, I had two fish that had what looked like popeye in the begining then i noticed marks on them. Thinking they had fluke, I gave them a fresh water bath in a clear acrylic tank and watched the fluke turn grey and fall off.I watched a fluke come off one of the fishes eyes. If you use a clear QT it is easier to actually see the fluke. They fell off in the QT, I treated the tank with fluke tabs and did a water change 48 hours after and they have been fine.

 

[calaxa]

Doubt it was fluke cause the QT was already hypo. Fish ate day 1, popeye on day 2, and dead day 3. I'll invest in a microscope at a later point so I can actually analyze what happened instead of speculating.