Acei Cichlid Has Pop Eye! Help!

[BrookeLea]

Yesterday we bought our first three fish for our 55 gallon cichlid community aquarium. Three Aceis. Last night I noticed that the one I believe to be male had a cloudy-ish eye. Tonight he has a bubble grown over it. I think it's pop eye. What should we do? We don't want the other two fish to become sick or the aquarium to become infected. I'm assuming we bought a sick fish, as I don't think he could have caught an infection or something from our tank overnight and already have the pop eye symptoms.

Just checked him again and noticed that his other eye has a much smaller bubble over it.

We have a couple extra 10 gallons laying around. Should we quarantine him? Should we use new water or water from the tank that he's currently in? Should we do a water change in the 55 gallon? How much water should we change out?


Just saw this in another post:

"My ember came up with popeye 3 days ago, all I did was 2 water changes and its all ok now Then again, I know mine was caused by small sand particles floating around seeing as I just added more sand and the water was still cloudy."

We did just add more sand yesterday and there probably were some particles floating around. Could this be the culprit?

I'm really worried! I know I've only had this fish for 24 hours, but I've become attached! Someone please help?

Stats:
temp 86 - Oh my! I don't know how that happened.. It stayed steady at 80 all day yesterday and this morning.
nitrate - 0
nitrite - 0
ph - 8.2

 

[BrookeLea]

I'm getting no replies and I don't know what to do. I have done nothing yet for fear of doing the wrong thing. I have read the link that Wilder has posted in other threads about pop eye, but I'm not even sure if that's really what my fish has. Here are some pictures of him that I took just now.

Just seeing these pictures really bothers me. I feel so bad for the little guy and I just don't know what to do. Someone please help.

 

[WILDER]

How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

Cloudy eye is a symtom of a desease not a desease in its own right.
Causes.
Bad water quality.
Stress.
Old age.
Poor diet.
Parasites.
Bacterial.
Irratation.

So the eyes are not bulging out.
Is only one eye affected or both.
Do the lfs catch the fish roughly and damaged his eye with the net.
Any signs of flicking and rubbing.


If not of the above I would issolate and try a bacterial med.

 

[BrookeLea]

Thanks for the reply, Wilder.

In the 55 gallon aquarium are 3 small (maybe 2") Acei Cichlids. The afflicted fish is eating, swimming, behaving normally. He's even being a little aggressive towards the other two (which was his character at the store as well). No signs of flicking or rubbing. The eyes are not cloudy, but they are bulging out. I think that the "cloudiness" I saw the first night may have been my imagination. It started with one eye and a few hours later the second eye had bubbled as well. I don't think the fish store did any damage to his eye when netting him.

Water Stats:
Temp - 76
Nitrates - 0
Nitrites - 0
PH - 8.2

Just realized that I'm out of ammonia testing supplies. I will pick that up later today, along with some Melafix in the event that it is pop eye.

Did you see the pictures? I think it looks like pop eye.

 

[WILDER]

If the eye is bulging out he needs a bacterial med like maracyn.
The pink mark near the tail is that normal or is it just the light.
Can you issolate for treatment.

 

[BrookeLea]

Should I get Maracyn or Maracyn-Two?

The "pink" spot on his tail is actually a white spot. It's just his coloration. He has some white spots on his fins and a couple more on his body as well. The spots have not moved, grown, gotten smaller or changed in any way. It just looks like a result of impure breeding to me, not a fungus or anything.

I have an extra 10 gallon tank that I could treat him in. Would that suffice?
Should I fill it with water from the tank that he is already in, or should I just add treated tap water?
Do I need a filter for the "hospital tank" or can I just use an air stone or two?
Should I do a water change on the 55 gallon? If so, how much?
Is pop eye contageous? Should I treat the other two fish in any way?

Thank you for your help!

 

[WILDER]

Ok. Never kept that type of fish so couldn't say if it was markings.
Any redness to the spots.

Use the tank water to fill the 10 gal.
You will need a heater.
Don't always have to use filters but you have to keep an eye on water stats. If you have to do a water change just add the correct amount of med back to water removed.
You need an airstone as med reduce 02 in the water.

I would just do some water changes on the main tank. About 30% for a few days.
Popeye is not very contageous.

 

[WILDER]

If the eye socket burst it could infect others,.
That's why it's best to issolate.

Exophthalmia (a.k.a. Pop-Eye)



Symptoms:

Fish with exophthalmia will have eyes that are abnormally enlarged and protrude from their sockets. In severe cases the eyes may actually burst from the socket, leaving the fish eyeless. Eye swelling is caused by a build up of fluids in or behind the eye.



Cause:

There can be any number of causes for this condition. Possible causes include poor water quality, bacterial infections, viral infections, eye flukes or other parasitic infestations, or piscine tuberculosis. Even though the fish may recover, the protruding eye may remain that way. This should not adversely affect that fish.



Treatment:

Since there are so many possible causes a broad-spectrum antibiotic is recommended, such as Tetracycline, but this treatment cannot obviously guarantee success. Be sure to keep water quality in good condition.

 

[BrookeLea]

Thanks so much! No redness to the markings. I've been watching them closely to make sure that they are just markings and nothing else.

I'll get the 10 gallon set up now with the heater and air stone. Should I keep the temp on the higher end?

About how long do you think he will need to stay in the hospital tank? I'm heading out of town on Wednesday and my husband will be left in charge of caring for the fish until I get back probably on Sunday or Monday evening.

I'll start water changes on the big tank tonight, after I pick up the Maracyn (or Maracyn-Two?) and move mr pop eye to the hospital tank.

 

[WILDER]

I would do the fiirst round and see if there any improvement. You might need to do another round of meds.
Keep the temp the same.

It's hard to say how long he will be in the hospital tank as it depends if he responds to the med.

In that articles I left in says flukes can cause popeye. Eye fluke signs are white specs behind the lens of the eye.