Knife Fish Update / More Help?

finchfarm

Fish Fanatic
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
155
Reaction score
0
Location
Florida
Late last year I posted a thread regarding my African Knife Fish. One day he was fine and the next day I noticed his eye was extremely cloudy and where the pupil was there was a red spot that was like blood. All my other fish were, and continue to be, perfectly healthy. After coming here for suggestions, I removed the Knife to an isolated hospital tank and took him through two treatments of Tetracycline under the suspicion of him having Cloudy Eye or Pop Eye. The treatment didn't seem to do much.

His eye is no longer cloudy and it no longer has the bloody spot in the center. However it is dark colored and doesn't look like his other eye at all. My friend described it as looking like scar tissue. It is not protruded any.He does still have his eye. Due to his behavior when I'm cleaning the tank or when he knows I'm there, I'm under the suspicion that he can no longer see out of that eye. Whenever he knows someone is there he always turns is good eye towards the person or object in the tank and doesn't like anything getting on towards his other side with the bad eye, though I know Knife's are supposed to have bad vision in the first place.

But were do I go from here? Was he misdiagnosed and has something else? Do I need to try another form of treatment, or is it possible his eye became injured somehow, causing the cloudiness and bloody red spot. A side note of my injury theory: In the community tank he pretty much lived 24/7 in a plastic log with a Sailfin Pleco. I've heard that plecos have sharp spines on their dorsal which they will erect if they feel threatened. I don't know if its possible if the Knife got in a fight with someone else in the tank, tried to eat a smaller fish of mine that fought back, or plerhaps startled the pleco and got nailed.

It's actually my friends fish that she has in my tank, and she wants me to put him back in the big tank with my fish right now, but I'm a little hesitant since his eye doesn't look normal.

I'd really like any opinions on what you think this could be and what my next step should be.
 
Hi, in this case, i think a pic would be good tbh

What is the light like in the tank? if it was quite bright when the fish was suffering from the previous eye problems then it may have had an adverse effects on its sight.
Also what are the water stats like in the tank? Again if any of the stats weren't spot on then further infection may have been caused on top of the cloudy eye.

From what your saying it does sound like your fish has now become blind, However if the eye is clean from infection, is eating, and is acting normally then there is no reason it can not live a close to normal life in your tank.
 
It sounds like it was just damage from swimming into something or being stuck by something (another fish's fin-ray perhaps). Either way the fish appears blind in one eye and will keep this side to the glass so it can see what is happening in the tank with its good eye. There is nothing else you can do about. If the other fish are pleasant natured then it could go back in with them but if there are agro fish then it might be better off in a tank of its own. A fish that is blind in one eye should be able to live a long normal life in most aquariums.
 
Unfortunately, I don't have any digital camera in order to take a picture of the fish. But I'll see about getting my father to taking a picture with his cell phone and e-mailing it to me the next time he stops by so I can post it.

The tank is actually kept very dark due to my Silver Dollars, who absolutely hate the tank light being on. The only light the tank gets is from natural light from a window a good 6-7 feet away and once or twice a week when I need the tank light to see while I am running the gravel vac and doing a water change. I haven't done any recent water changes in the big tank where he came from, but at the time of me noticing his eye problem I tested the tank and got the following, to my memory:

pH: 5.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrates: 0
Temperature: 80ºF
 

Most reactions

Back
Top