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I have an Australian Rainbow fish that, I guess, has had damage to its left eye. It bulges out a bit. Several months back, it appeared. The swelling seemed to reduce after a couple of weeks. On Friday, 7 January 2005, I added additional fish to the tank. The bulging left eye is once again ouced. Any suggetions? Curt

Sorry no one has gotten to your post sooner. Can you tell us more about tank set up? How about the parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH).

Water chemistry issues can bring on eye problems. It could mimic and infection so typically we rule out an environmental problem. It starts with looking at tank size, complete stock list with relevant fish sizes for the larger variety and quantities. We look at those parameters to see how the tank's bacterial colony is dealing with the ammonia and nitrite, therefore we would expect to see zero if they are consuming it as fast as it is produced. We would expect to see nitrates below 40ppm for optimal health and pH reasonably in check.

Also, how often do you do water changes and gravel vacs? How much water is eliminated?

Welcome to fishprofiles.com and I hope you are still around. Sorry again, we missed your post.

Diane

It seems that the Rainbow is looking better again. I assume that at some point it's eye was injured or diseased. Weekly, while vacuuming the gravel, I do a 15-20% water change. I set up this tank in May 2004. Some of the fish were carried over from a 29 gal. high tank that was a gift to me in November 2003. Having not had an aquarium since my youth, I have made many mistakes, e.g., a complete water change, adding too many fish, etc. I plan on moving up to a larger tank at some point. I have the water tested frequently at the local pet store. It is fine except for hardness.

Here's the current set up:
37 Oceanic Tank
304 Fluval Canister Filter
3 Australian Rainbows
3 Congo Tetras
4 Silver Hatchets
7 Pristella Tetras
7 Rummynose Tetras
1 Algae Eater
1 Spotted (?)Catfish

Thanks,
Curt

Sounds like a nice setup. One thing to watch is the nitrates, which many feel are inconsequential. It is most important that ammonia and nitrites are zero, but high nitrates can also lower a fish's resistance to disease. They also dilate blood vessels. We know how stocked our tanks are when we can't keep the nitrates below 40ppm with a weekly 15-20% change. Ideally, they want to be below 20ppm for some species.

Watch that eye for any further signs of swelling as it may be popeye, which can be caused from an infection. Hopefully, of the tanks that you may have leftover, it would be great if you could set one up as a hospital tank in a corner using water from the 37. This way, you could treat only the sick fish at minimal cost to you and the good bacteria in the main tank, which often die from many treatments, causing buildup of toxins.

Well, I hope to see you around in some of our forums, sharing your experiences

Diane