HELP!!! German Blue Ram with Popeye!!!

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roxy885

roxy885

Smile for the Camera. . .
Aug 16, 2008
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Here is my problem... Last Thursday My boyfriend noticed one of our German Blue Rams eyes were popping out, they were not bad but still you could tell they were popping out. I was at work and told him to take him out and put him in the 10 Gallon Hospital tank right away. That night we went to Petsmart and bought some Maracyn Two, we added the right dosage and have now finished the first batch. We even added in a little Merafix to help, and some epssom salt as well. We did a 30% water change last night and we are on our second batch. When we first put him in there he wouldn't eat or anything, so I put some brine shrimp in there which he had to eat to breath (they were almost microscopic). The next day he was eating bloodwarms and flake food, which he did for two days. Then he stopped eating again. His one eye was popped out alot and he had a white mark above his eye (I think due to the Socket that holds his eye in being stretched). Now where that white spot is is has turned Red, it was almost blood red last night and he wouldn't come out of the Teracotta pot in the hospital tank. He also can't eat because he lost depth perecption and can't catch the food or find it. Also, his breathing has always been quite hard since he got into the hospital tank. Today I looked in on him, and he is no longer hidding in the teracotta pot and is our in the open. The red mass above his eye looks pink now, not red. And his eyes look like they have gone down a bit. I know he can see out of both eyes because he always puts his little mohawk up when I come to the tank, and he will even swim up to see me most times. Also, both eyes are still functioning because they both move, and you can tell the eye socket is still holding up to keep his little eyes in. I need to know how LONG does it take for this to clear up?!?!? Are we doing the right thing for him???? What else can I do for him to help him find his food?!?

Thank you for your help!!!!!
 
Star_Rider

Star_Rider

AC Moderators
Dec 21, 2005
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keep it on anti bacterial meds, for 7-10 days. do water changes as needed and readd meds as directed.

the eye may or may not heal up. pop eye can be from a bacterial infection or can be caused by damage(which usually leads to bacterial )

keeping the water clean is essential.

I have an angle that lost an eye from pop eye it was due to damage from aggression from another angle. (chased and collided into driftwood while attempting escape)
this rams (from your previous post) shares a tank with redtails and puffers correct??
personally, i would get a 20 long and move your rams,
 
roxy885

roxy885

Smile for the Camera. . .
Aug 16, 2008
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Actually the Rams are the most aggressive out of all of my fish in the tank. They only chase eachother. The redtails argue with themselfs and the alage eaters and the puffers don't bother anyone, not even eachother. The Rams even pretty much all get along except at feeding time but they chase each other back and forth. In fact the Rams literally RAM the Puffers and the puffers just keep on swimming, or just take off.
 
roxy885

roxy885

Smile for the Camera. . .
Aug 16, 2008
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Sad to say....I don't think our Blue Ram will be with us much longer. He has gone completly dark and lost all of his beautiful color. He can't swim anymore and when he tries he swims in cork screws. I don't know what to do with this tank....I think I am just going to give up. It makes me so upset to have to sit here and watch a fish become sick, try to nurse it back to health and then to have it die. I love my fish, they are my pets and part of my family. I have NEVER had these problems with ANY of our other tanks. Ever since we got this 75 Gallon it has just been one sick fish that dies, after another. Now our tank looks so bare and uncolorful. I don't know what to do!!
 
roxy885

roxy885

Smile for the Camera. . .
Aug 16, 2008
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Okay stupid question....what do you use to euthanize a fish?!? I heard Clove Oil works....have you heard this and if so were do I get some? I couldn't even go to his tank it just made me sick and very upset, poor guy I feel so bad.
 
roxy885

roxy885

Smile for the Camera. . .
Aug 16, 2008
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Thank you so much for your help MostlyCichlids, I really appreciate the help. I was wondering do you think freezing a fish is inhumane? I had to do this when one of our FIRST Blue Rams was suffering badly, I felt so bad and made my boyfriend do it. I couldn't look in the freezer. But I did anyways because I HAD to make sure he wasn't suffering long in there. He was gone in less than a Minute (I think our freezer is pretty cold and he was having major breathing issues on top of that).
 
DrNo

DrNo

Overworked Member...
Jul 9, 2008
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Roxy, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Many use the freezer to euthanise and I do not believe it is inhumane. You're to be commended for recognizing that the animal was suffering and ensuring that it not do so needlessly. Another very humane method, but one that is not easy to execute for many individuals, is to use sharp scissors to snip the head of the suffering fish. IMHO, this is the most humane way to euthanise a specimen, but it is also difficult for many to do. Please watch your remaining stock VERY closely and continue with any antibiotic course you may have started until its completion!

Edit.... just read through some of your additional posts here. You're experiencing persistent deaths. Assuming your water paramters are healthy, there is likely an active bacterial presence affecting the entire tank. Consider treating the entire tank with a broad spectrum antibiotic (e.g. Maracyn PLUS Maracyn2), kanamycin, tetracycline, etc. Many of these meds affect your biological filter bacteria so watch your water parameters very carefully and perform water changes (I suggest daily during antibiotic treatment, right before addition of the meds) as needed to ensure healthy, clean water for the tank.
 
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pinkertd

pinkertd

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May 29, 2007
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Sorry to hear about the troubles you're having with this tank and it's occupants. I see that it is a relatively new set up and the most complicated one you have tackled yet. You are also doing plants for the first time. That's a lot to balance new all at once. Whenever I hear about a popeye problem I wonder about the housekeeping in the tank. Are you doing enough and frequent enough water changes? Is there a chance you're overfeeding and uneaten good is fouling the water up a bit? What are your water parameters in this tank and how often do you check them? It is true, the fish could have suffered a bump which lead to the popeye, but you've had some bad luck in this tank. I'm thinking that something else is wrong here.
 
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