Platy with eye popping out??

danmc00 · 10-18-2006, 10:07 PM

I have a Sunburst Platy that looks like the eyes are going to pop out. I have several of them and this is the only one that looks this way. He is acting very weird too.

I took a sample of water to Petsmart and they said that all my water levels were perfect.

Any idea what could cause this?

Loman · 10-18-2006, 10:28 PM

I have seen this with bad fungus issues but you could also see the fungus disfiguring the fish. Is the eye bulging the only issue with the fishes appearance?

I also looked this up which seems like what you are describing:
Exophthalmia: Also known as “pop-eye” disease, this condition is more of a syndrome than a specific disease. This condition may be unilateral (one-side) or bilateral (both eyes affected). Causes include systemic infection, poor water quality, supersaturation (gas bubble disease) and trauma. Your veterinarian can help with a diagnosis and treatment plan. Unfortunately, if the eyes are severely affected, the fish may be permanently vision-impaired or even blind.

it is at : Common Eye Problems of Pet Fish - PetPlace.com

Tommy Gun · 10-18-2006, 11:13 PM

Definetly sounds like "pop-eye". Had this in a few Mollies and Platties I used to keep. There are good meds out there to treat it, but I would quarenteen it so that the other fish do not have to go through all the medication and/or in case an overdose occurs (it is easy to do) as well as to avoid dying your tank (some medicines come with a dye in them, especially the 'dissolving tablets' type meds.) Some one may also have a more natural type cure that you could do without the risk of harm to other fish but I am unsure of any right now. I would strongly suggest anyone to get a quarenteen tank for just these occurances. You can get a very cheap 3 to 5 gallon 'all inclusive' tank and cycle it quickly by cloning it from your existing tank (use water, substrate, and parts of the bio-filter media in the new tank). Still, it will take a few days but mollies are tough and hardy and it may be worth putting it in a new tank early and doing lots of water changes to keep ammonia down as you will have to anyways with the medicines in the tank. Read the directions carefully.

P.S. (Loman, I cant believe you didnt bring this up buddy!) I would be leery about any pet store telling me my water is 'perfect'. First, they may want you to buy meds and stray away from any easy, non-profit water correction advice (which is not ALL pet stores, which is why I am 'leery' and not totally against it) but also because they tend to test you water with 'test strips' rather than the more accurate liquid test kits (with test tubes) because the liquid ones are cheaper for them to give away for free. Keep in mind though that the liquid test kits are actually in many cases cheaper since you can use them more times. I also suggest you get yourself at least the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite liquid test kits so you can monitor you water.

I bring up water testing because while it may not apply to your situation now, many fish get sick because they are stressed by unhealthy water chemistry. Of course, some things are unavoidable, and this may be one of them, but keeping your water the best you can will certainly help you reduce these instances.

Jay · 10-19-2006, 07:17 AM

I would definitely quarantine the fish and treat with an antibiotic. Since you are not sure of the exact nature of the bacteria I would think a broad spectrum antibiotic would be best. Eurithromyacin comes to mind.

You can also add 1 tsp. per 5 gallons Epsom salt (MgSO4) to help with the irritation. Get it at the grocery store or drug store. It is perfectly safe.

Tommy and Loman have pretty well summed it up. Bacterial infections are very often the result of stress, poor water quality, etc. OR the fish was already sick when introduced into the tank. You need to look there (water quality) for the future.

Having a big box pet supply company tell me my water was "perfect" would give me little comfort.

They can not tell you for instance that your DOC
(Dissolved Organic Compounds) are high and stressing the fish. My local big box only treats their water for chlorine, that's it, just chlorine. Don't get me started.

Regards,
Jay

danmc00 · 10-19-2006, 04:48 PM

I had two dead Platy's in my tank this morning.

The sick one and another one.

I am going to do a 25% water change tonight and retest the water with a master test kit.

Tommy Gun · 10-19-2006, 08:02 PM

Good idea, let us know the results. Hopefully we can help you avoid this in the future.

danmc00 · 10-19-2006, 08:03 PM

PH 7.6
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5-10ppm

Loman · 10-19-2006, 08:53 PM

Danmc00,
Those readings look fine. Except or the dead fish you have no trouble

. I hate these type problems because you have little to go on in diagnosing the issue. When was the last time you introduced something new into this environment? Did you quarantine it first?

danmc00 · 10-19-2006, 09:36 PM

I introduced 4 Cardinal Tetras and 2 Cory Cats.

Loman · 10-19-2006, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danmc00

I introduced 4 Cardinal Tetras and 2 Cory Cats.

I think these had to be diseased in some manner and introduced it to the tank. Putting the two threads together it looks like you are loosing a lot of fish all of a sudden so I suspect some bacterial infection. Do you see any signs on any of the fish of problems other than the eye? I would think about eurythramiacian (not sure of spelling) to try a stem whatever. I am sure Jay will have some ideas too and I would go whatever direction he suggests.