tangs eye problem

[reef101]

Hi, We just bought a pre-exisitng reef tank that has been up & running for about 3 years. It was moved ahere bout 2 weeks ago, & everything seemed to be going very well. Our hippo tang (Dory) has been quite skid-ish since she has been here. She darts around, swims through tight places, & spends quite a bit of time hiding. We also have a fairly large anomone that has moved around & is close to her favorite hiding place. Her eye has a very large pupil, I don't know what happened, if she was stung, or if she hit her eye on the rock. Is there anything I can do to help her? Will her eye ever heal? I do not have a nursey tank right now....am thinking I need to get one going! Any help or ideas on this would be wonderful THANKS!

 

[beth]

When you say that Dory's pupil is large do you mean more that the eye itself is bulging out? Like swollen?
What are your water readings? Size of tank? Did you net the fish when you did the move?
Can you get a pic of Dory up?

 

[reef101]

HI, I have a 72 gallon bowfront. The fish were net caught when they were moved. It wasn't until yesterday that Dory's eye had a problem. The tank was moved about 2 weeks ago. Because of the way she swims, my guess is she hit her eye on a rock. It isn't buldging, just pupil dialated, & it looks slightly clowdy. I will try to get a picture up for you to see. Since she is hiding, it may be hard. I didn't check my water levels yesterday. I don't believe that is the problem though, as all the other fish seems just fine. I am thinking I will call the former owner of this tank & see what he thinks. I have asked him about the way she darts around rocks, & he said that that was very common for her to do. I know she also hid quite a bit when he owned her too....he had her for 2 years. Poor little fish! :sleepy: :nope:

 

[beth]

It is common for fish to get eye infections when using nets for capture. It is hard to catch fish wo using a net, but what is being suggested as an alternative is to attempt to get the fish to swim into a large ziplock, basically chase the fish in there. This is easier said then done. If you can net the fish but not remove the fish from the water, but just place the netted fish in a ziplock that is submerged in the tank, that seems to work. The point is, that the fish's contact with the net causes eye injuries and/or infections. Fish don't have protective eyelids, thus their eyes come into direct contact with net material. As the fish thrashes around in a net out of water, the eye commonly can be injuried or infected.
Post up your water readings.

 

[erhodejr]

I have the same problem with my heniochus Butterfly, Is there a way to cure this problem? I have tested the water and all is normal, It has been in my tank for about 3 weeks now and has had the problem for nearly the whole time. It was net caught when I purchased it. I hope there is a way to cure this.
Thanks in advance

 

[beth]

Well, the best think to do would have been to quarantine the fish from the get-go and then you would be able to treat the fish with medcations and apply an initial application of stress coat in the QT water. However, since the fish is in your display, you can't really do this.
Try using fresh minced garlic and soaking your frozen or fresh food in it for 1/2 hr in the fridge before offering the food to the fish. Maximize food quality and start using zoecon, alternating every other feeding between garlic soaked food, and the zoecon soaked food. Do a water change. If you can find some fish food [sold as flakes] with medication you can see if your fish will eat this [but most don't like it]. Otherwise, you will need to remove the fish to a QT and treat it with antibiotics.
Keep in mind that fish nets at the LFS are NEVER sterilized between use. Sorta like using everyone else's tooth brush. Additionally, try rubbing a net across your eyeball and see what happens. Fish, no different. The combination of unsanitized nets and irritation is an excellent mix for new fish with eye infections.

 

[reef101]

Hi, I have been meaning to get back to you all on this. Dory is doing great now, her eye appears to be completely healed. I attended a WAMAS (Washington Area Marine Society) meeting yesterday & asked several people there what they thought the problem could be, especially since it appeared to get better very quickly, on it's own. Several different people felt that she could have had a run it with a rock because she really pushes it, fitting into tight areas etc. I also mentioned the anemone moving into her space, & that possibly she was stung...they felt that was also possible. Unfortunatly, my digital camera isn't very quick at picture taking, so I was never able to get a good picture of her eye. My water levels were all fine.
The guy I bought this tank from swore by garlic too. I put 2 drops in their flake food everyday, then let in soak in some water for about an hour before I feed. I noticed the new food I just bought now has garlic added to it already. Can you ever over do it with the garlic?
The net information is very good to know. I have noticed, in some of the larger fish stores in this area, that they do dip the nets in some type of solution before they put the fish in the net....OBVIOUSLY that doesn't help with the net on the eye...OUCH!
It also sounds like a QT tank is going to be a must. What size would you reccomend? I don't think we will be adding much to our 72 gallon, but I am thinking of starting a fish only tank in our 37 gallon Eclipse tank. Wuld a 15 gallon Eclipse be large enough? We have a 6 gallon tank too, but I think that one is really too small....
Have a nice evening!

 

[beth]

Good to hear that Dory is doing better! Garlic actually has a mild antibiotic quality to it, in addition to being an immune booster. It is alway a good thing to use when adding new fish.
I will comment, though, that flake food won't really hold up very well with garlic treatment. Also, flake is not always the best food to offer your fish, especially if that is all that you are offering. You may want to expand your fishes' diet, especially for the tang, to include seaweed and other nutritious frozen or meaty fresh seafoods.
A 15 gal will be ok. Just remember to only put small fish in a 15 gal. Juveniles for larger fish. I have a 20gal long myself, which also has an eclipse. I added a PH and I think I am also going to add a sponge filter.

 

[reef101]

I wondered about the flake food. Since they have been eating that for about 2 years or so, with their previous owner, I hesitate to change right now since it has only been 3 weeks since their move here. From what I heard at the meeting I went to on Saturday, it is very rare for all of the fish to have made this move without a loss, so anything I would do to change their "life"would be very gradual. I have tried both purple and green seaweed, the kind in the pouch, & they didn't go to it until it had been there for awhile, & started to break up.
What frozen food do you think is best? Right now they are on Ocean Nutrition, Prime Reef, & Formula Two. The seaweed I've tried is Julian Spring's Sea Veggies. Also, what do you do when you have to use a feeder, when your on vacation, & they are eating frozen? Since we are VERY new to this, we haven't identified saltwater fish-sitters in our area yet. My regular pet sitter will be looking after them. She has some experience, but I felt a feeder was the way to go when we are gone next week, & another week towards the end of the summer. At least this way, I can make sure they aren't over fed.

 

[beth]

I have yet to get any of my fish to eat Julian Spung foods! No matter how expensive this is, fish don't like it!
Try green seaweed selects. Take a look at the FAQ Thread for the seafood receipe I have there. Bottom line, I think fresh seafood is hard to beat. To this, with vegetarian fish, you can add SeaWeed Selects and a diet of other frozen greens sold in the hobby.