Eyes Are Going Missing

[danielpalfrey]

Hi everyone, I am new here. I recently noticed that one of my neons had lost an eye, he didnt seem too bothered by it and lived like he always did. but today i noticed another 3 smaller fish with missing eyes.

Are they been eaten or is it likely a desease of some sort?

Thanks for any help here

Dan

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

What fish are in this tank? You need to find out who (possibly multiple fish, but probably just a singleton) is getting nasty.

 

[danielpalfrey]

What fish are in this tank? You need to find out who (possibly multiple fish, but probably just a singleton) is getting nasty.

I will try and remember them all here.
Neons,
Glolights
Black widows
zebra tetra
penguin tetra
kissing gourmat
silver sharks
clown loach
plecs

Now, there is a species in there I am not sure about, I asked for zebras and mixed with the zebras were to small spotty fish that resembled zebras.

I thnk thats all of them.

 

[danielpalfrey]

Are there any warnings that i should keep and eye out for that a fish is getting nasty and maybe the one causing an issue, if it is the problem fish what can I do?

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Probably the silver sharks. They are aggressive fish. If they are the silver shark i am thinking about, you need to rehome them as they need saltwater as adults.

 

[danielpalfrey]

Probably the silver sharks. They are aggressive fish. If they are the silver shark i am thinking about, you need to rehome them as they need saltwater as adults.

We may be on about different silver sharks then, these are adults and love the water there in, I always have them in my tanks and never seem to have a problem. I'll get a picture and post it to make sure though

This is the kind I mean

 

[danielpalfrey]

thats another two with missing eyes !!!!!

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd be inclined to point fingers at the black widow tetras; nasty fish, IME, although the kissing gourami might also be the culprit.

Your unknown fish will be leopard danios; just a colour variety of the zebra.

How big is your tank and do have any water test results?

 

[danielpalfrey]

I'd be inclined to point fingers at the black widow tetras; nasty fish, IME, although the kissing gourami might also be the culprit.

Your unknown fish will be leopard danios; just a colour variety of the zebra.

How big is your tank and do have any water test results?

Water quality is spot on (test every week or two)
It is a 250 litre tank.

I have always had kissing gourmets and black widows in the tank and have never had missing eyes so my next question would be is there any particular reason why they (or one of them) would be doing it now?

Thanks

Dan

 

[dbanner]

Waaaay too small a tank for silver sharks if it's only 250 litres. Rehoming them would be a good option. If not you run the risk of them becoming stunted.

Then you will have another problem on your hands which is not good. How big are the silvers at the moment ad how many have you got? They ideally need to be in groups of around 6+

 

[danielpalfrey]

Waaaay too small a tank for silver sharks if it's only 250 litres. Rehoming them would be a good option. If not you run the risk of them becoming stunted.

Then you will have another problem on your hands which is not good. How big are the silvers at the moment ad how many have you got? They ideally need to be in groups of around 6+

I have 6, the 1 is aprox 4 inch the other 3 inch and the rest about 2 inch. They are in this tank temporarily, I do have a second tank which my friend is having off me and when she has that properly cycled and established the silver sharks are getting rehomed there.

 

[dbanner]

Ah right that's seems ok then. As long as this other tank is 8ft long or more x 3ft wide then they will be fine in there long term. Not many people are able to accommodate for them you see but it's great to come across the few that can. They are stunning fish IMO

Same will apply for the clown loaches. A group of 6+ is needed and a tank of 6ft or more in length and 2ft wide long term. With bigger being better an alternate choice would be zebra loaches as they don't get anywhere as big

 

[danielpalfrey]

Ah right that's seems ok then. As long as this other tank is 8ft long or more x 3ft wide then they will be fine in there long term. Not many people are able to accommodate for them you see but it's great to come across the few that can. They are stunning fish IMO

Same will apply for the clown loaches. A group of 6+ is needed and a tank of 6ft or more in length and 2ft wide long term. With bigger being better an alternate choice would be zebra loaches as they don't get anywhere as big

I never knew that about the clowns. My tank is 4 foot by 1.4 foot and depth is 2 foot this will not be big enough?

 

[dbanner]

No ideally it needs to be 6 foot in length and 2 foot wide. How deep it is doesnt matter so much as they stay at the bottom. They get over a foot in length. Even though they take a while to grow the same applies as with the silver sharks, even though they may be small now they need the extra room to grow and prevent getting stunted. This is where they stop growing on the outside but all their internal organs continue to grow causing deformity and a painful and early death

The sharks will also get to around 14-16 inches long and are very active swimmers. This is why they need tanks of 8 foot long or more. Many members on here even advise tanks of 12 foot long x 3 foot wide for a group of silvers

 

[danielpalfrey]

Ok then thanks, see if I can get them rehomed. and the black widows or a single black widow is the likely course of eyes going missing?

I have had the widows with neons and other small species fish for around 6 months with no issues so what could cause one to start acting up now?