POPEYE not improving

[traip93]

My clown got popeye about a month ago, it's really big now. The clown still eats and the other eye is not effected. My other clown is fine too.

I switched over tanks this weekend so I ws able to catch the clowns and put them in a 20g tank. They are in there now. Should I treat the tank with somehting? I tried Mg and it hasn't worked.

What should I use to treat POPEYE, I read on one thread KANAMYACIN (i'm not sure what this is, or where to get it)

Thanks

[512148048]

popeye is a bacterial infection so your lfs should have a antibiotic like penicillin. that is what i used on my angel that had popeye and it worked fine.

edit KANAMYACIN i got no clue on that 1

[traip93]

From what I am reading, the popeye my clown has is not bacterial, it was probabaly cause by hitting a rock or something. I think I'm just going to place him back in the tank, less stress, would probably help. It's been a month though and the thing hasn't gone down!!!!!

[salt creepette]

from what ive read popeye (unless caused by an actual injury) is a problem with water quality. ive had it suggested that doing large frequent water changes (on the order of 30-50% daily or every other day) will give the best chances of success. i would try that now esp. since theyre now in a smaller tank (easier to do now).

incidentally, ive also used melafix on my betta in conjunction with more frequent larger water changes....

[traip93]

cool, I just switched over tanks, I have about 45% of the 125g freshly mixed salt water.

I'm torn, I'll going to go the the LFS and see what medicine they may have...I'll probabaly just treat the little gal now, I already have her out of the main tank.

[salt creepette]

keep us updated! good luck

[Chip Wick]

For what it's worth, a clown fish I had had popeye, and it never went down, even though the fish lived for 2 more years afterwards. So you might want to not get into too much of a tizzy (not to mention the expense, effort, and possible damage to your tank) about treating it. Never really seemed to bother the poor little guy neither, though it made me wince to look at it. Best of luck!

[JennM]

It depends what the cause of the popeye is. I've seen air embolisms (looks like a blister around the eye) and that can go away on its own, but in severe cases I've used a needle/syringe to draw the bubble out (ouch!).

If it was initially caused by a mechanical injury, could be that a bacterial infection has taken hold after the fact, and an anti-biotic such as Kanamycin (Aquatronics markets it as "Kanacyn") may be effective - it's a broad-spectrum gram-positive and gram-negative anti-b. If you use it, use it a FULL 7 days, otherwise you risk having the infection develop into something resistant. If you treat with Kanacyn and that doesn't work but you are sure it's an infection, try Spectrogram - it's another broad spectrum anti-b (gram positive and gram negative) but it's stronger than Kanacyn. I don't use Spectrogram first though... if you can't find Kanacyn, you can try Neomycin instead. Most LFS should carry these or at least one or another of these.

DO NOT treat your display!!!!!!!!! Any/all of these must be used in a quarantine situation, and can/will be harmful to your bacterial bed and inverts. Watch your water quality in the q-tank during this time. In hospital tanks I usually use an air pump and sponge filter - you can keep a NEW sponge on hand in your sump, use it in a q-tank when needed and discard it afterward. Bare bottom, plastic decorations that can be sterilized between uses.

In some instances popeye can go away on its own, but you mentioned that it's bigger and over a month running, so I'd opt to treat. The Anti B is about $6-7, and q can be done in a bucket in a pinch. Surely the life of the fish is worth that effort

Jenn

[traip93]

shoot Jenn.....Some folk on RC told me to try Melafix, so I purchased that today.

O guess i'll go with that for a week and see what happends. If not I'll try what you recommended

[JennM]

Melafix might work - it's got antibacterial properties. I've heard bad things about it when it comes to seahorses but they are a horse of a different colour (pardon the pun!).

If it does work, let me know - I stock the stuff but haven't really tried it.

It smells good tho

Jenn

[traip93]

yeah it does smell good. It freaked me out, I though my son got into something, i was looking all around the tank for a spill, than I realized what it was....hehehe

[triggereel]

freshwater dip
trust me it works

[adrianleewelch]

the kanamyacin is a myacin based drug, a broad spectrum antibiotic, devoloped after the cillians stopped being effective on people. anyway Im not sure if it will fix popeye, I think there are medicines used to treat specific pathogens like popeye, and the broad spectrums are more like a shot in the dark, I may be wrong but JMHO

[traip93]

freshwater dip

I tried that, I let her sit in FW for about 4-5 min.....nothing, I did this about 2 weeks ago.

[TerryB10]

traip93,
JennM has given you the best advice so far. I will add to that.
Popeye is frequently caused by injury to the eye. The number one cuprit is netting the fish. I hate nets and they cause a lot of problems. The injury could be just swelling but this should subside within a couple of weeks. Injury can aslo become complicated by secondary bacterial infection. If the eye is cloudy then the fish probably has an infection. Howeve, popeye can be caused by many things. Poor water quality (factors like high nitrates), parasites, virus and even growths behind the eye can cause it. Unfortunately, there are only so many things that we can treat for. Gas bubble disease can also cause it. Do you have a lot of fine bubbles in the water? Sometimes a LARGE water change with saltwater that has been mixed and aerated 24+ hours is enough to do the trick.
The best antibiotic for popeye is Maracyn-Two used at the double strength dose suggested on the package for the first day EACH and EVERY day for 7 days or more. You can make a water change, if you like, each day before dosing. Treat in quarantine. M2 is one of very few antibiotics that can breach what is known as the blood/brain barrier. If you can't get M2 then you could try nitrofurazone (which is an ingrediant in spectogram).
Terry B