Pop Eye? More than one fish.....

[Moleen]

Hi! Purchased 6 rainbows a couple of weeks ago (that are juvies and being quarantined). I have attached a picture. I'm not sure if this is pop eye (it's only in one eye) of if he damaged it. I had a small piece of driftwood in my quarantine tank but have since removed it, thinking maybe he ran into the driftwood? He is definitely having trouble eating. So anyways, another of the rainbows has showed up with the same this morning? Thoughts, advice?

 

[Tifftastic]

It definitely looks like an infection of some sort to me. If another fish showed up with it I would likely begin treating the tank.

There are a few ways to treat popeye, but I'd start by asking a couple of questions.

What are your water parameters?
When was the last water change?
How long has he been like this?

 

[Moleen]

40% water change once a week
H20 parameters are perfect
Both fish that were affected were dead this morning
Other fish seem perfectly fine
Not sure how to proceed...
Definitely will continue to quarantine...how long to make absolutely sure they are safe to add to my main tank?
Thank you for responding!

 

[Tifftastic]

What do you mean by 'perfect' parameters? One person's perfect is not always the same as another person's perfect.

I would start with a 50% water change depending on the nitrate levels maybe more. Its hard to say what to do next tbh without knowing what the cause was.

 

[Moleen]

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 20ppm
PH - 7.0
Don't know what other's consider "perfect" but this is "perfect" for my fish! I did a 50% H20 change this morning. The remaining fish look great....I guess it's just a waiting game

 

[Tifftastic]

You'll find being curious about the exact values is common on this forum, particularly when it has to do with medical questions.

Normally, popeye is associated with high nitrates, but your nitrates are low enough to not cause worry. However, who knows the nitrate levels from where they came from? I would say give it two weeks and if the other fish look good, you're probably good to go.

 

[Moleen]

Thanx for responding Tifftastic, didn't give "exact" parameters because I just assumed most people would trust that when someone says "perfect" referring to water parameters that there was nothing alarmingly out of balance......my bad. I'm going to keep them in quarantine for another 4 weeks just to be on the safe side......just can't risk the fish in my main tank.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Moleen, welcome to the site!

Keep in mind, 20ppm nitrates most certainly isn't "perfect". Ideally you keep your nitrate creep below that between your water change schedule.

 

[Moleen]

Joel, I know......20ppm was read before water change and removal of a bunch of "melting" water sprite...just been lazy with "gardening".