Help. Glazed over eye

[fish head]

This morning I noticed my Blue Regal Tang's left eye is completely glazed over to the point he can not see out of it. It looks like real bad cataracks. Just in the one eye only.
Last week it looked like he had some ick spots, so I treated his food (blood worms) with EcoSystem's Garlic Elikir.
Today there are 2-4 white spots (ick I assume) and his one eye is smokey. He swims and eats ok.
What does he have and how do I treat?

 

[beth]

Cloudy eye[strike] is pretty common with ich. Do you have a hospital tank?
Did you just get this fish or add any fish resently? If so, and you've introduced ich into your system, then all your fish have been exposed to ich and needed to be treated.
What type of tank do you have?[/strike]

 

[bradscott40]

He has a bacteria infection. I had the same problem with my Anglefish and treated him as follows:
First make sure you don't have a water problem. Even if you do, I did the following:
Take the fish out of the tank.
Either put him on a wet paper towel on his side or keep in him the net.
I purchased Maracyn -Two at my LFS. Take one tablet and mix it with your saltwater. Only put a small amount of SW in the cup and mix it up so it turns into a pasty texture. Take a q-tip and place the medicine on the tip and paint it on your fish's eye and fin. After 2-3 days it should clear up the problem
Hope it works for you .I had much success with this method

 

[beth]

Boy, am I glad I was here as soon as brad posted. As far as I'm concerned such a procedure is totally uncalled for.
First off, as I said, cloudy eyes is a common problem when a fish has ich. It does not necessarily mean that the fish has a bacterial infection. Fish Head has already confirmed that the fish has ich.
While mechanical treatments of fish can be done, I certainly have done them, they should only be attempted as a last resort and if you know what you are doing. M2 made into a paste and topically applied to a fish's eye while the animal is pinned downed on a paper towel is not what I would considerble good medicine.

 

[carsgirlsnfish]

Originally posted by bradscott40
Take the fish out of the tank.
Either put him on a wet paper towel on his side or keep in him the net.
I purchased Maracyn -Two at my LFS. Take one tablet and mix it with your saltwater. Only put a small amount of SW in the cup and mix it up so it turns into a pasty texture. Take a q-tip and place the medicine on the tip and paint it on your fish's eye and fin. After 2-3 days it should clear up the problem

this is disgusting and i hope you are just kidding.

 

[fish head]

Thank you. All replies are appreciated. That's the beauty of gathering information from these bulliten boards. I have learn't to screen all information; whether it be the net, books, LFS.
Everyone agrees to remove the fish from the reef tank. At 6pm tonight he would not come out of his hiding spot to eat. This is a first. Must be because he can not see out of one eye. I'll need to somehow net him.
On my way home I picked up from a friend Tetra's Anti-Bacteria Medicated Sticks fish food. After reading your posts and info read before, I am more inclined to remove the fish and treat with copper. Now I just need to catch him.
Last question: Can the new marine flake fish food bring on Ick?

 

[beth]

Ich is a parasite and not found in fish food. Your best treatment mode is hyposalinity, however, if you want to use copper, it is certainly effective--it is also a toxin, which is why hyposalinity is the preferred method.
Additionally, unless this is the only fish in your tank, just treating this single fish will not resolve your problem. All the fish will need treatment, and your fish tank will need to reamin fishless for 1 mo in order for the ich that is now in your tank to die out.

 

[fish head]

I read up on hyposalinity as you suggested. I will give it a try if I can catch the fish. He is in a reef tank and next to impossible to fetch out. Looks like only one fish has the ick and smokey eye problem so far. The blue Regal Tang. Will all the other fish also get infected now? Hope I don't have to remove all my fish from the reef tank?
What is your opinion on the use of Tetra's "Anti-Parasite Medicated Sticks" fish food & Tetra's "Anti-Bacteria Medicated Sticks" fish food?? Are they effective? Can they be used together?

 

[beth]

Ich is highly contagious, thus, you should treat all fish that have been exposed to it. The only vialble treatments for ich are hyposalinity and copper.
What are the ingredients of those food supplements?

 

[fish head]

Anti-Parasite Medicated Sticks active ingredients:
SULFADIMETHOXIN, TRIMETHOPRIM, METRONIDAZOL, WHEAT STARCH, FISH MEAL, COEN FLOUR, DEHULLED SOYBEAN MEAL, FEEDING OATMEAL, CRACKLINGS (BEEF AND PORK), WHEAT GERM MEAL, POTATO PROTIEN, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SOYBEAN OIL, ALGAE MEAL, L-ASCORBYL-2-POLYPHOSPHATE (VITAMIN C), ASORBIC ACID, INOSITOL, ARTIFICIAL COLORS.
The direction say to feed for 7-10 days, Use no other foods.
On the can reads: Tetra Anti_parasite is a valuable preventative and treatment for o broad range of parasitic diseases including ick, oodinium, and hexamita (hole-in-the-head) when caused by suseptible organisims. Contains concentrated medicine and is appropriate fo all tropical and marine fish and does not cloud the water if used as directed. Visit us at tetra-fish.com.
Is this a crock or a break through medication?

 

[dolciflyer]

the bacterial infection on the eye could also be caused by flatworms, which was my horrible experience. also, ich is usually present in a dormant state in most tanks, being brought in on live rocks and in live sand, etc. fish become susceptible to 'ich' or cryptocaryon when they are stressed or injured for whatever reason. various things may cause a fish undue stress making it easier for the ich to affect the fish. also, 'netting' a fish is not the best way to catch it if at all avoidable. this can tear fins, and definately ruins the natural protective coating that may already be lacking due to the parasites and extra stress on the fish. if possible, try to use some sort of clear container of appropriate size for the fish, and 'usher' the fish into the container. i realize this may be fairly difficult in a reef tank, or one with many live rox. other fish may not always be affected at the same time as one particular fish, and if they are in good health, with nothing causing them undue stress, or other damage, they may not be affected at all. i wouldn't necessarily recommend quarantining all fish unless they actually show signs of the crypt.

 

[bradscott40]

My method may not be the most conventional means to cure this fish of this disease, however, after 2 days of applying the medication to both of my angel fish's eyes his was cured!
I have tried many methods in the past and this is the first one that worked fast and well.
Contrary to what some people have said I gently applied the medication to his eyes and the fish did not stress at all.
Only one person's opinion.