# Pleco eye update and skirt tetra eyes



## nolaguy (Sep 2, 2010)

This is an update with pictures. Any suggestions would be great.

My current stock is in my sig line. The pleco's right eye now looks completely dead, just a sunken in white patch of dead flesh. He also has developed a white spot on his underside below his mouth. One of the black skirt tetras has also developed white spots in the middle of BOTH eyes, and another tetra is showing beginning signs of a white spot in one eye.

Nitrate is down to below 40ppm, and I've done water changes as much as 50% for 3 days in a row. I don't have a quarantine tank, and don't have room to set one up. Is there anything that I can add to the water that might help these fish without harming the others?

Also, the koi is being rehomed to a 2000 gallon pond this weekend.


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## Mrs.JayMay23 (Nov 5, 2010)

Hey there! Sorry that you are having issues in your tank. 

As far as I know, the only thing you can really do is add aquarium salt; 1 tbsp per 5 gallons. I'm not sure how your gold fish will handle it though. It might be a good idea to remove the goldfish from the tropical tank as well. I've heard that the goldfish waste will actually hurt and in some cases kill tropical fish. 

Try removing the goldfish and see if the conditions improve. Relocating the koi is a good idea; they are similar to goldfish and their waste products hurt tropical fish as well.

Keep me posted!  :fish-in-bowl:


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## carpus (Oct 16, 2010)

Yeh, goldies are not tropical fish, and they are poopfactories.
I have seen this before. Does it flare up when you intro new fish?
Unless you get any better advice, I would treat the tanks as if I had parasites/protozoa/fungi. Sooner rather than later.


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## nolaguy (Sep 2, 2010)

Thanks for the advice! The koi and goldfish will be gone first thing in the morning. My LFS is going to take them off my hands. WHat should I use to medicate the tank, and do I leave the filter running? This will be my first time having to add any chemicals to the tank, other than water conditioner, so I don't want to do something wrong and kill all my fish.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Have you tried an anti-fungus for the pleco's cloudy eye? If the eye is not gone and just cloudy most anti-fungal meds will fix it. Petsmart/Pleco have a number of options.


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## nolaguy (Sep 2, 2010)

OK, the koi & goldfish have gone to an indoor pond at my local LFS. I immediately added a dose of API Goldfish Aquarium Cleaner to help breakdown some of that waste. Should I wait to add the Melafix and Pimafix, or can I go ahead with that dose as well? Should I remove the carbon insert from my Aquaclear 110, and just leave the filter sponge and bio media?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I'd wait a day after adding that cleaner. Remove the carbon. If its only the pleco you're treating, then I'd try to just treat it by itself.


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## Mrs.JayMay23 (Nov 5, 2010)

If you need to remove the carbon filter, it usually says on the back of the bottle of the meds. If not, then it should be safe to keep it in there.

I wouldn't use too many chemicals in the tank at once; it can sometimes do the opposite and kill the fish. I would try the anti-fungus med that jrman83 was talking about.


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## nolaguy (Sep 2, 2010)

Tonight I did a 40% water change, removed the carbon insert, and added 1/2 doses of both Pimafix and Melafix. The instructions say to wait 7 days and do a 25% water change. I will keep updating this thread as I see any changes (hopefully improvements) in the fish.


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## Mrs.JayMay23 (Nov 5, 2010)

I hope it works out for ya! :animated_fish_swimm

I will be awaiting updates!


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## nolaguy (Sep 2, 2010)

Maybe it was just me expecting the worst, but last night all the fish seemed a little out of it. But, this morning they were all swimming around. I gave them a small amount of food and they all seemed to have appetites. I really hope this works out, because I'd really like to finish stocking the tank now that the koi and goldfish are gone.


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## carpus (Oct 16, 2010)

*Re: Don't be too eager to stock up!*

You have a problem, and you have to make sure it is thoroughly under control before you add more fish and sentence them to infection. I would assume everyfish has it, the pathogens are widespread, and I would treat all of them. 

I feel that it would be good to be extra thorough when vacuuming the gravel & plants & rocks. Some parasites/spores can hang out down there, but that is only a partial solution. Lots of spores and things hang out in the water column and on other surfaces.

Good Luck.




nolaguy said:


> Maybe it was just me expecting the worst, but last night all the fish seemed a little out of it. But, this morning they were all swimming around. I gave them a small amount of food and they all seemed to have appetites. I really hope this works out, because I'd really like to finish stocking the tank now that the koi and goldfish are gone.


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## nolaguy (Sep 2, 2010)

I don't plan on adding any more fish until I'm in the clear. The meds say to wait 7 days, then do a 25% water change, adding another dose if necessary. I want to add more fish, but I'm not in a rush.


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## nolaguy (Sep 2, 2010)

When I got home from work, I immediately checked the aquarium. The Black Skirt Tetra that had cloudiness in both eyes is now completely clear. 

The pleco still looks the same, and honestly I don't know if the eye will improve at all, because it looks to me like the eyeball is completely shriveled up. The pleco is eating zucchini and algae wafers, and is as active as a pleco normally would be... in an out of the cave, up and down the tank sides, etc.

I am sticking to the 7 day treatment, and just added the second dose.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Good to hear.


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## nolaguy (Sep 2, 2010)

Today is day 5 of dosing the tank, and I have definitely seen improvement. The one tetra with the cloudy eyes is completely clear. Also, take a look at the pleco in the pics below... I think these confirm that the eye itself is dead. But, I think the meds have definitely helped clean up the area, because the eye socket looks very clean now (instead of the mess of white gunk that it was) with a small white spot (I'm guessing what's left of the eyeball?) in the middle. The pleco is eating very well (algae wafers and zucchini)... and seems to be adapted to only having one eye.

I guess my new question is, how do I know when the tank is in the clear?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If all your affected fish are better, then I would stop the meds. Do a good water change and if you choose, add charcoal to your filter to finish cleaning all the meds out of your tank.


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## nolaguy (Sep 2, 2010)

Thanks Ben,

Not only do I think the fish are better, but as of today I think I might have minnow eggs on the way.

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## Mrs.JayMay23 (Nov 5, 2010)

Glad to hear that everything is looking up!  Good job on getting the fish better!!!  :fish-in-bowl: *w3


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