Eye Problem - Peacock Cichlid

[perryqhill]

Hello. Yesterday I saw one of my two female (blue?) peacock Cichlids had one eye which looked like an injury or pop-eye, I done a rather large water change and planned on getting some treatment today.

Just no I've looked in the tank - and it's eye isn't even there anymore, just a gaping hole

I really dont know what to do - the fish is swimming around almost normally, but it's now attracting the attention of the other fish.

Can anyone help please.

 

[dthoffsett]

What is your tank size, stocking and current ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels? Have you seen any aggression in your tank lately? Any other fish showing symptoms of pop eye or other disease?

In fights cichlids will sometimes go for the eyes, easier to attack someone if they can't see you coming. While a fish is perfectly capable of living with just one eye, in an aggressive set up it probably won't last long as it won't be able to see oncoming attacks. I'd suggest moving the fish to a quarantine/hospital tank if possible to allow the wound to heal and then move it to a more peaceful tank.

If it was Pop-eye you may have some more problems. Pop eye is really a symptom of an underlying problem, usually bacterial (I believe) and caused most often by poor water quality. Have there been any new additions that weren't quarantined?