white eyelid on mandarin

T

tiberius

Guest
I have had this guy since March. I noticed that on his right eye it looks like his eyelid extends down and is white. In the morning before the lights go on, I can see that this whiteness creeps up 1/3 over his head. It isn't ich. It isn't bumpy or looks rough. When I see my avatar, it seems he had this when I got him. I just think it might be getting worse.
I took him out of the main tank and he is in this 2.5 gallon tank. I thought he was doing bad 2 days ago when I saw him in the rocks when the lights came on. I ran to the store to get some live brine and squirted them into the rock to see if he was alright. He did move! Whew. When he came out of the rocks he was kind of not steady with himself. I thought he wasn't going to make it and didn't want him to go in the tank where I couldn't find him later. So I put him in this little tank and he is fine. I think it was just his waking. I hope.
But, while I have him in this tank I wanted to get him on frozen mysis shrimp or blood worms that others seem to have their mandarins on. He did eat some of the live brine and he did eat one blood worm. I also went and siphoned my bed and pulled out the amphipods and put them in there with him. I have the little tank set up with the gravel from my tank and some rocks and all the water is from my tank. I just did a little water change since I have been throwing so much food in there to get him to try stuff. I did go and buy live Tigger pods. I put 1/3 of the bottle in his tank and 1/3 in my culture tank for copepods and the rest in the main tank. I only see them in the culture tank today.
Any ideas on what this is?


 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
It looks like a mild case of pop/cloud eye. What are your water parameters? How long have you had him? What sized tank do you have, how old is it, and how much LR do you have?
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
yeah possibly if you have a fuge with macro alage pull some out and shake in the smaller tank you wil get some pods in there for her.
Mike
BTW sep I got some new pics up LOL
 
T

tiberius

Guest
Originally Posted by sepulatian
It looks like a mild case of pop/cloud eye. What are your water parameters? How long have you had him? What sized tank do you have, how old is it, and how much LR do you have?
I just had the water checked at the store. He said my alk is good and the calcium was still high at 700. He said the nitrate was 15 but this is the main tank not the little 2.5 gallon. I checked the Ph last week and it was 8.0. I don't know how the calcium got that high but he said that since the alk is good not to worry about the calcium and don't add any. I haven't been and wonder if it was from this frag rock I put in from his store. A small chunk of it broke off in the water and I seen all the silt just fall and disperse in the water.
I already put the mandarin back in the main tank. The guy at the store said there wasn't any kind of appetite stimulant to put on food to get the mandarin to eat. So I just bought another bottle of Tigger pods. I put some in the main tank and the rest in my culture tank. I guess this guy will be just eating pods and nothing else. I was hoping for someone to say what I could do for his eye and medicate the little 2.5.
I had him since March. I have a 110 gallon. Don't know how much rock is in there. Had it for 20 years now. Here is a pic of the tank I just took.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Is the eyeball itself effected, or is it just that lid? Is the eyball swollen?
Nice looking softy tank.
 
ifirefight

ifirefight

Active Member
Originally Posted by Tiberius
I just had the water checked at the store. He said my alk is good and the calcium was still high at 700.
700??? Is it possible to have calcium that high AND your Alk in check???
 
T

tiberius

Guest
Originally Posted by Beth
Is the eyeball itself effected, or is it just that lid? Is the eyball swollen?
Nice looking softy tank.
The eyeball looks just like the other one. Same color, nice and clear. I only noticed it because before the lights come on, he might be sleeping at the edge of the tank and I seen that 1/3 of his head on that side has a whiteness look to it.
So how much rock do you think I got in my tank? It is 6 feet long, 18 inches wide, 17 inches high.
Thanks for the compliment!!
 
T

tiberius

Guest
Originally Posted by ifirefight
700??? Is it possible to have calcium that high AND your Alk in check???
The guy showed me the chart of the alk and said I was in the normal range. Just don't remember what the number was. I really think it was from those frags rocks I put in there.
 
T

tiberius

Guest
Originally Posted by sepulatian
Buy your own kit. It should be around 500. How is the mandarine's eyelid?
The alk wasn't at 500. I would have remembered that number. I thought it was 375 or 400. But, I thought there was a point in there.
His eye lid is still the same. He actually ate 2 frozen mysis shrimp tonight! I took him back out of the main tank today in case someone on here suggested a medication. I then thought instead of vacuuming my bed and pulling out all the amphipods to stick in my cheato soap dish, I would set up a 10 gallon tank and stick them in there.
So I painted the bottom of the tank black (the back was already done), I put all the pods in there with 5 gallons of tank water and hooked up an airstone. I had put him in a 2.5 gallon tank this morning which has been set up with all tank water and rock and gravel with an undergravel filter since last Tuesday. I took him out and put him in the 10 gallon. He went and ate several of the amphipods right away! I thought he didn't like them and only liked copepods. I just went and looked at him and there is more mysis shrimp gone!!! I only put maybe 10 pieces in there. There are still a lot of the amphipods. I put in some Cyclopeeze for them and it is almost gone. I will be putting him back in the 2.5 gallon tonight and repeat for several days. Of course, I will have to change the water in the 10 since there isn't a filter in there. I thought I had one of those sponges that sat in the corner and you use an airstone with it. If I do find it, it probably won't be any good anyways.
I am just so happy that he ate that shrimp!!
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Don't use an airstone, that will make matters worse with his eye. Airstones do not distribute oxygen in the water anyway. Don't switch him from tank to tank. I sure hope that you are not netting this fish. He will be more apt to eat the pods than frozen. Why can't he stay in the 2.5 with the filter?
 
ifirefight

ifirefight

Active Member
I had the same thing happen to mine...Not sure why. I thought it was an infection of some type... Mine sadly died a week later. Good luck.
 
T

tiberius

Guest
Originally Posted by sepulatian
Don't use an airstone, that will make matters worse with his eye. Airstones do not distribute oxygen in the water anyway. Don't switch him from tank to tank. I sure hope that you are not netting this fish. He will be more apt to eat the pods than frozen. Why can't he stay in the 2.5 with the filter?
The airstone in the 10 is on very low and it is enough to move the surface of the water. There are no bubbles being dispersed through out the water.
I have never used a net on him. The guy did at the store and when I took him out of the bag and looked at him, I thought he was dead! He was completely in shock. All this slime was in the water. I thought the guy put Stress Coat in the bag and he didn't. The guy said, after I called, that it was just his slime coat and he was stressed. He did start to move when my tank water got in the bag. But, I have been using a Gladware clear plastic container to scoop him up.
The reason why I put him in the 10 gallon is to try and get him to eat. I was thinking that he wasn't eating properly and that is why his eye looks like it gotten worse. I have never seen him eat amphipods in the main tank. When I feed the tank Cyclopeeze, I can see them coming up to the surface. The mandarin eyes at the critters but never sucks them up. He proved me wrong yesterday when he ate a lot of them in the 10 gallon. I did put a lot in the 2.5 but, they all hide in the rocks and bed. I know they sit and wait for their prey but since he is under the weather I wanted to help him out. I would rather do this then medicate any day.
I just squirted about 5 mysis shrimp in the 2.5 and he didn't go for them. He is swimming around in there and up on the rocks looking for stuff.
I just wish I had an ammonia and nitrite test kit. With an established tank, I never reordered them. I could run to the LFS and give them the water but what if they do their test wrong. I hate it when they use their finger over the test tube! I want to see how that water is in the 10 since yesterday. I went and sucked up the debris off the bottom and did find baby amphipods in the stuff. Put them back in with an eye dropper. I will be dumping the water and putting fresh 5 gallons from the main tank in there. Don't want to take a chance that the ammonia might already be up.
 
T

tiberius

Guest
Well I got my hopes up too high yesterday. Today he won't eat any of the mysis shrimp. He has been eating the amphipods in there. He ate a small piece of one and spit it out. What a drag.
 
T

tiberius

Guest
Ok so now I noticed that the blow holes on each side is different. Do they always use both at the same time? I seen that the side which has the white eyelid, which is his right, also has white around that blow hole. I didn't notice that before. I seen that he mostly uses his left one. When he was using both at the same time is when I could tell the difference between the both. So I guess I do need a medication for this. Do I use Maracyn 1 or 2 or something else? Both state they treat fungal. Been years since I had to use any medications. Just looked at the list and there are lots out there. He will be treated in the 2.5 gallon tank. Maybe the 10 since I have to buy medication may as well buy the filter for the 10 and keep him in there. Although, I don't have the tank filled only half way since I am emptying most of the water out every day and putting tank water in there.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Why is he not in the display? Maybe I missed this. Mandarines do not need to be quarantined. They don't get ich.
 
T

tiberius

Guest
Originally Posted by sepulatian
Why is he not in the display? Maybe I missed this. Mandarines do not need to be quarantined. They don't get ich.
He doesn't have ich.
He isn't in the main tank because I saw him do poorly and didn't want him to die in the main tank. He then seemed to be doing better in the 2.5. I wonder if he just had an off day. I put him back in the main tank on Sunday. I then thought of setting up the 10 and putting amphipods in there thinking he wasn't eating enough since is abdomen is sunken in. He has been eating all the amphipods in the 10 and I need to siphon more out today for him. I only kept about 10 in the 10 gallon and put some cheato in there for them to hide in so they can breed in there. Today I already see some small ones that i knew weren't there yesterday. But, I thought if he starts eating more of those amphipods hopefully he will get better.
I went and bought frozen brine yesterday and a different mysis shrimp. It didn't say mini on the container but they are the same size as the ones I already have. I bought fresh garlic and squeezed out some juice from it. I soaked the shrimp in the juice. One person on here said 5 minutes and the other said an hour so I did it for a half hour. He didn't even go for them. I put the frozen brine in there and he didn't go for them either.
I am taking him to the LFS tomorrow so they can look at his eye and give me opinions on it. Maybe they will be stocked up on cheato and I can buy more with amphipods in it.
 
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