View Full Version : Plec has eye infection!
punkpook
11-30-2005, 10:18 AM
My Plec, (whom is quite old, about 6 yrs) recently looks like he has an infection of some kind. I've looked through my fish books and the only eye infection I could find was Pop Eye. I dont think it is pop eye, because it says he will stop eating and have low energy. My Plec feeds off the top of the tank like my other fish, I dont know why he does. But he still comes up and eats (alot) and he swims around happilly as if this infection doesn't hurt him.
Here are some pictures of someone else's plec that looks like my Plec's problem. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/astuemky/album?.dir=/c11d&.src=ph&.tok=phLsD5DBU59YazCd
His eye is protruding, and is like a whitish cloud. I read I should treat it with Marycin. I have no idea what that is. Can I find it at my local petstore?
I am in the process of clearing the hospital tank, had a few tetras with ick. They are fine now, after I get it cleaned up I'll put the plec in there and treat him. Let me know what you think. I hope you can help.
Lesha
Dangerdoll
11-30-2005, 10:42 AM
Have you checked the parameters of your tank? It could be pop-eye or cloudy eye, I suspect cloudy eye. I'm not familiar with pop-eye but I am with cloudy eye, which can be exacerbated by the parameters of the tank being off and/or other extreme stresses. Water changes are a must at this time, high water quality is the best defense. With the quality being pristine, the eye may clear on it's own. However, the cloudy eye can be merely a signal of many underlying things so you need to watch him carefully for any other signs.
punkpook
11-30-2005, 11:09 AM
Do I need to take him out and put him in my hospital tank to monitor, would that be best? I dont need any meds? I read somewhere that salt might help. My hospital tank is a 5 gallon. SHould I do partcial or complete water change, ( keep in mind I just treated for ick in that tank.). And if I do a complete change, should I let it cycle before putting him in? the ph and temp is the same in both the tank hes in and the hospital tank.
Dangerdoll
11-30-2005, 11:36 AM
IMO, switching him to another tank may stress him even more. I would start wit 25% water changes. You need to check the pH, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites on the tank and make sure they are all pristine. What are the numbers? What else is in the tank? What size is it?
I'd be hesitant on using salt for a cure for a pleco, being they are a scaleless fish are senstivie to salt in the water....
I second the caution in using salt with a pleco. It can have some pretty hard impact on the fish's stress level.
Water parameters.. we do need hard numbers on this one, and lots of water changes are a great idea (good call danger!). It's hard to tell from that yahoo picture, but do you have anything agressive in the tank? Chilids have been known to pluck an eye out, or attack the eyes of plecos. You might have a tank bully.
If you know for sure it's an infection (you can see it a lot better than we can) then Marycin is'nt a bad course of treatment. Watch out for anything with copper in it. If you decide to medicate, a hospital tank is worth the stress so you're not dosing your other fish. Start at half the recomended dose, and ease your way up if he does'nt respond.
All else fails, go to the heavy hitters. http://www.plecofanatics.com/ has the deeply hardcore pleco maniacs, they guys who do research, and keep these fish as a way of life. They are a friendly group, and always, always more than happy to help with sick fish.