HELP HELP!!! my clown has popeye what do I do?????

[rockdiver]

OK Woke up today and my clown has his eye extending out. Popeye I guess. Never delt with this before and tried all day to get him out and cant do it so that is not a option unless it must be.
I have a yellow tang,cardinal,goby,and a blue devil,and a devil hand leather and a few other corals.
What can I treat the tank with? Will this spread to the other fish? What causes this?
My levels are Ammoninos 0
PH 8.0
nitrites 0.25
nitrates 10
also have been having a alge bloom because of the hoty weather I think.
Dont use ro/di water ok ok I know I should next month I will get a maker.
Please help
diver

 

[Anemone]

Pop eye can be caused by several things, but in most cases (in clowns) it's a stress reaction. Usually, if you correct what's causing the stress, the clown will improve on it's own.

I'd say your nitrites are causing a problem. Nitrites are highly toxic to saltwater fish, and should read zero. So, if your tank hasn't finished cycling, it needs to finish. If your tank has already cycled, you need to figure out why you have a nitrite reading at all.

In the short run, I'd do a 25% water change (and maybe another each day until that reading goes away).

You can also feed your clown an anti-bacterial food (like tetra medicated flakes) to prevent any secondary infection, as well as treat the pop eye (if it's bacterially caused).

Kevin

 

[rockdiver]

Well I got him out and into the med tank.
The tank is or was going well Nitrites are reading on the scale what about nitrAtes?
I must have been confused cuz I thought nitrites were ok to read and nitrates were to be zero but must have been reveresed.
Well just tested nitrites and its ok a little over zero its still blue I use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Test kit (Liquid)
So I dont know back to treating the clown.
DIVER

 

[rockdiver]

^^^^^^^

 

[Anemone]

Diver,

Nitrates are okay (but the lower the better). Nitrites should be zero, nada, nothing. Any nitrite reading at all is bad for your fish.

As I said previously, clowns will usually get over popeye on their own if you take care of whatever is causing the stress......of course, catching the fish and moving him to a new tank (fully cycled, I hope) will only increase the amount of stress, so watch for secondary infections.

Kevin

 

[Ayres]

You never said what type of clown it was - certain clowns are prone to popeye. Most commonly I see sebae / clarkii and saddlebacks get it. I rarely see Perculas or Maroons get it. According to Wilkerson the abovementioned (commonly getting it) guys are prone to getting it. I would have to agree with Anemone however - any nitrites in your water is a bad sign. It's a sign of your aquarium not being fully cycled.

-Ayres

 

[John@Carline]

I'm strong to the finish!
Cuz I eats me spinach!
I'm Popeye the sailor man!!
Toot! Toooooot!!!

Ayers: Oversight noted!

[ July 08, 2001: Message edited by: John@Carline ]

 

[Ayres]

Very... insightful, John (read: useless information)

I believe the correct line is: "Cuz I eats me spinach"

-Ayres

[ July 08, 2001: Message edited by: Ayres ]

 

[EmilyB]

Well, actually, I have a saddleback named "Popeye" for good reason. He was one of a group of four purchased by a transient LFS employee who lived here for a bit until he got kicked out.

Popeye had that condition for a good year, off and on. I won't even begin to tell of the horrors this fish went through, but he is here today, somewhat visually impaired, but was almost totally blind for the best part of a year.

I sang that song to him every night before target feeding, and he knows the words better than I do now.

He's a monster, 5", somedays I....well, he's our Popeye the Sailor Man.