Nassau Tang has Popeye? Help

dfixallman · 03/14/2011, 03:47 PM

I've had it about 6 weeks and was doing great. Was eating doog , pellets, brine shrimp, flake. Last thursday noticed it wasnt eating good, just a little bit. Then Saturday nothing at all. It looked like its eyes were kinda bulging. Watched it close and it still wasnt eating. Nothing is harassing it but its eyes look bad. Is there anything I can do? Its in my display tank with other fish . Will they get it? I dont think I can get it out very easy. It is about 3" . All test are good. Did a water change on friday. Please help! Is that what it is ?

Nitrate 5
Amonia 0
PH 8.2 - 8.3
Cal. 440
Alk 10
salinity 1.025
Temp 78-80

opie one · 03/14/2011, 04:19 PM

a few years back i had a clarki that got pop eye really bad in one eye. i treated and nothing would help. after a month or two i took a syrnge and sucked the air out behind is eye. not thru his eye but went under his eye, he just laid their for me and i could tell he felt really relieved from the pressure. after a week his eye was bulging again. i had him for about seven years so i was attached to the big guy. i tried everything i could think of and after a couple of months trying different things i finally put him out of his misery.
it does look like it could be pop eye. not that bad thou. he could live with only one eye. best of luck. pop eye is not catching to other fish.

dfixallman · 03/14/2011, 06:33 PM

Bump !

djze · 03/14/2011, 06:55 PM

melafix is supposed to be a cure for bacterial infections witch popeye is but i never had any real luck with it the best cure that i have experienced with is maracyn but i'm nit sure if it's reef safe it's been a while since i used it but will get the job done good luck hope your tang makes it

djze · 03/14/2011, 06:58 PM

another thing you want to do is put selcon and vitamin c in the food it will help his immune system a lot

forth · 03/15/2011, 01:00 AM

Popeye is usually in response to low water quality and/or severe stress, but it can also be due to internal fungal infections, often infecting the liver or other internal organs.

In both instances, I've found it extremely hard to tackle and find it often leads to the demise of the afflicated fish, especially since it is often in conjunction with a loss or appetite or an inability to eat at all.

If he is still eating, I would remove him to a quarantine tank where you can provide him with pristine water conditions and ensure he is eating some healthy food (ie. not brine shrimp). You may also find it helps to supply him with some additional vitamins and trace elements (Seachem, Kent Marine and Tropic Marin have some good products here) which you can soak the food in prior to feeding. In conjunction with this, you can also treat the tank with Methylene Blue which may directly help, but also has the secondary effect of darkening the water to help reduce stress.

If he is not eating, you can try to treat him with a general anti-bacterial like Furan-2, but likely his chances are slim if this is the case. I have also read that proper doses of Phenoxyethanol may help, but I have no experience with this, nor can I provide you any dosing requirements off the top of my head.

Hope this helps some!

dfixallman · 03/15/2011, 04:17 PM

Thank you. He started eating again a whole lot. Ive been soaking food in Garlic Xtream. He is swimming around alot more today. I think im gonna give him a cople more days to see if anything changes before I try and remove him from the DT. Its gonna be hell getting him out of there its got over 100lbs of live rock and a ton of coral. How do you think I can catch him? Any Ideas?

forth · 03/16/2011, 12:35 AM

Sk8r was nice enough to do a big write up on just that:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1991474

03/14/2011, 06:33 PM	#3
dfixallman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Wilson, NC Posts: 55	Bump ! __________________ 90 Gallon Reef, 4 T5's, 3 VHO's, G2 Skimmer, Lots of Coral and Fish !!! Current Tank Info: 125 Gal Tons of Coral and Fish !!!

03/15/2011, 04:17 PM	#7
dfixallman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Wilson, NC Posts: 55	Thank you. He started eating again a whole lot. Ive been soaking food in Garlic Xtream. He is swimming around alot more today. I think im gonna give him a cople more days to see if anything changes before I try and remove him from the DT. Its gonna be hell getting him out of there its got over 100lbs of live rock and a ton of coral. How do you think I can catch him? Any Ideas? __________________ 90 Gallon Reef, 4 T5's, 3 VHO's, G2 Skimmer, Lots of Coral and Fish !!! Current Tank Info: 125 Gal Tons of Coral and Fish !!!

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03/14/2011, 04:19 PM	#2
opie one Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: alaska Posts: 26	a few years back i had a clarki that got pop eye really bad in one eye. i treated and nothing would help. after a month or two i took a syrnge and sucked the air out behind is eye. not thru his eye but went under his eye, he just laid their for me and i could tell he felt really relieved from the pressure. after a week his eye was bulging again. i had him for about seven years so i was attached to the big guy. i tried everything i could think of and after a couple of months trying different things i finally put him out of his misery. it does look like it could be pop eye. not that bad thou. he could live with only one eye. best of luck. pop eye is not catching to other fish.

03/14/2011, 06:55 PM	#4
djze Moved On Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: newark Posts: 136	melafix is supposed to be a cure for bacterial infections witch popeye is but i never had any real luck with it the best cure that i have experienced with is maracyn but i'm nit sure if it's reef safe it's been a while since i used it but will get the job done good luck hope your tang makes it

03/14/2011, 06:58 PM	#5
djze Moved On Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: newark Posts: 136	another thing you want to do is put selcon and vitamin c in the food it will help his immune system a lot

03/15/2011, 01:00 AM	#6
forth Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 8	Popeye is usually in response to low water quality and/or severe stress, but it can also be due to internal fungal infections, often infecting the liver or other internal organs. In both instances, I've found it extremely hard to tackle and find it often leads to the demise of the afflicated fish, especially since it is often in conjunction with a loss or appetite or an inability to eat at all. If he is still eating, I would remove him to a quarantine tank where you can provide him with pristine water conditions and ensure he is eating some healthy food (ie. not brine shrimp). You may also find it helps to supply him with some additional vitamins and trace elements (Seachem, Kent Marine and Tropic Marin have some good products here) which you can soak the food in prior to feeding. In conjunction with this, you can also treat the tank with Methylene Blue which may directly help, but also has the secondary effect of darkening the water to help reduce stress. If he is not eating, you can try to treat him with a general anti-bacterial like Furan-2, but likely his chances are slim if this is the case. I have also read that proper doses of Phenoxyethanol may help, but I have no experience with this, nor can I provide you any dosing requirements off the top of my head. Hope this helps some!

03/16/2011, 12:35 AM	#8
forth Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 8	Sk8r was nice enough to do a big write up on just that: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1991474