View Full Version : New question about popeye and lighting
So I have started treating my gourami for popeye using maracyn 2 tablets. Something wierd I have noticed is that the gourami's eye actually gets bigger as the day goes on. In the morning it is almost normal but then just starts to expand. I thought it might be due to the light in the tank so I shut it down and after a few hours the eye get a bit better. We had just added a new lgithing system and went from 1.5 wpg to 2 wpg. I didn't think this was a big change but obviously it seems to be affecting his eye somehow. Has anyone come across this problem?
NatakuTseng
01-11-2004, 9:06 AM
The increase in lighting shouldn't have caused any problems TKO. The biggest thing that I can think is that possibly the higher intensity of light has stressed him out, and then made him vulnerable to pop eye. Treat it with the marcyrn 2 for the full treatment period, but after its done try doing some water changes each day, between 10-20%. One of my female rams for whatever reason gets pop eye on the drop of a hat, and I treated her with a broad spectrum antibiotic (don't remember which one) and it didn't do anything. As soon as I did a water change though her eye was nearly back to normal, and a day later she looked completely normal.
Yeah, I really didn't think that the lights were causing the problem but that they were aggrivating it. I am on day three of the maracyn so hopefully things will get better and return to normal. I figure that I will take 1 of the 2 bulbs out of the lights once the treatment is done and then build up the light level.
Well it turns out not to be the lighting per se that is causing the bulging eye. The best I can guess is that the lighting creates enough heat to drive off fumes from the hood into the water and this is affecting the gourami. The hood was newly constructed and was allowed to sit off of the tank for a week. I could detect no fumes comign from it and figured it was safe. I guess I was wrong. It will sit off of the tank for another week and then I will try it again but also add some carbon to the HOB.