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i have a young silver arowana that's maybe about 10 - 11" long. i noticed a little while ago that she started developing drop-eye in her left eye, and suddenly it got way worse. but it's still only in the one eye. is there any way to reverse it or keep it from gettin worse? any help would be great!!

Do not worry, this is not a contageous disease, or mortal disease. The fish can live a long time with drop eye. It is more of a condition than disease.

When arowanas get drop eye, it is a buildup of fatty material/tissue behind the eye. This fatty tissue then "pushes" the eye outward. Feeding the fish foods that contain moderate to high fatty substances will cause this. As in the wild, these fish live on a diet that is mostly of insects, and small fishes. And insects are extremely low in fatty substance. As well, wild fish contain low levels of fat as well. Feeding them feeder fish is really a no no for these fish. As, especially gold fish, contain high amounts of fat, as do guppies too. If you are going to feed them feeders, it should be from a fish that is not high in fat. Like convicts and most other cichlids. My recommendation is feeding them other things that are also low in fat, such as krill, plankton, and my favorite red worms. My last arowana lived almost 10 years, never had even an inkling of drop eye, and lived on a strict diet of all those listed. I have kept arowanas (silver and black) for about 25 years now. And after my first one got drop eye, I read up on this condition, and changed my feeding routine.

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There is always a bigger fish...

i know it's not contagious or fatal, but it's ugly. you assume i'm one of those irresponsible people who feeds goldfish to my fish - actually i feed her hikari carnivore pellets (the one with the arowana on the package...) wardley cichlid pellets, and the occasional cricket - she's never had a feeder fish (goldfish, guppy or otherwise) in her 'life'. could either the cichlid pellets or carnivore pellets be causing it? and is there any way to reverse the damage?

Last edited by bayara at 21-Nov-2004 09:39

When we, as experienced hobbyists, explain the reasons for a trop condition, we like to try and cover all the bases...

In so doing, we do not blame a hobbyist for being irresponsible, we only intend to inform.

The Rainman has one theory for "drop eye" and I have another. The sad part is I haven't a clue which one is totally accurate.

But, here's an idea:

You asked what causes the dreaded "drop eye" and my guess is tank position.

If the tank is kept three foot high, or above, from the base, the trop tends to constantly look down at its observers which in time may cause the syndrome.

Some trops constantly swim at the surface, or near the surface, also causing the fish to constantly look down.

Some try to reverse this attitude by offering floating food and retraining the fish to look up.

Many believe that protein-rich foods can contribute to the dreaded eye sagging in Arowanas.

--garyroland.





Last edited by garyroland at 21-Nov-2004 10:14

In other words people, it's not 'drop-eye', but 'pop-eye'.

garyoland - I think it's quite off-putting for someone new to the hobby when a hobbyist as experienced as you has to be sarcastic to prove a point. It's often more helpful to answer the question correctly.

Pop-eye is caused by a variety of different factors. Bacteria, parasites, tumors, poor water quality, viruses, nutritional deficiencies etc. Sometimes the symptoms can vanish without treatment. I suggest doing a water change before medicating to see if the eye improves. If it doesn't, you could use a broad-range treatment/medication and see what happens. I can't give the name of a specific medication because I don't live in the US. Another person might be able to suggest a specific treatment. As ACIDRAIN mentioned, a varied diet might help prevent this from happening again, along with regular maintenance/water changes. Otherwise, good luck.

Scott

Scott, not to be rude to you, but the discussion is not on popeye, which is a disease, but is on drop-eye, which is a condition and not a disease, that only occurs in a few types of fish, with the arowana being the main type.

As Gary mentioned, yes we just try to answer as completely as we can. And we do not know the experience of all those we help, as well, we do not know the experience of others that will read these threads in the future, or are currently reading them as they go along. So, we try to give as complete answers as possible, even if they do seem to be as if talking to someone that does not have much experience in the hobby, or specific fish keeping requirements of a specific fish. This way, others that do not have the experience, can learn from what we are discussing now, and thus not come back with the same questions in the near future. With this in mind, please do not take offense if questions are asked, and such, that seem to be on a lesser scale of experience than you already have.

As for this condition of drop eye, many people actually do consider it to be as Gary has stated. It has been scientifically determined that it is in fact, actually fatty tissues building up behind the eye, but still the jury is out on the exact cause. So there is still the two causes that could be the culprit. Gary has his beliefs and theories, while I choose to believe the other. No one is right or wrong here, as there is no real concrete scientific evidence of either one being correct. So, in this case, with more research, you will just have to determine which you feel to be the correct.

HTH.....

Last edited by ACIDRAIN at 21-Nov-2004 12:23

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There is always a bigger fish...

Some try to reverse this attitude by offering floating food and retraining the fish to look up.

I have heard of people suspending coloured tennisballs and those cheezy plastic insects above arrowana tanks for the very prupose of retraining.

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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

I stand corrected and apologise . The post has been deleted. I have actually heard of this condition, but garyoland's reply seemed too far-fetched and unscientific to be considered logical to me. But, what will be, will be. Thanks for the clarification.

Scott

I honostly dont htink a new fish keeper would pay so much money on an arowanna not knowing what they are doing.

i've been keeping fish for about 12 years or so - mainly livebearers, angelfish, cichlids, etc... never an arowana, but i more or less know what i'm doing (though i believe everyone can always use a little more advice). i saw an arowana in the fish store and fell in love with it - did some research and ordered one in. i've heard that fatty foods did cause drop eye, so on the recommendation of the lfs and a variety of fish websites, stuck to floating pellets hoping that the fish wouldn't get drop-eye, but looks like she did . i do weekly 20% water changes and the water conditions are perfect.
in response to garyoland, the tank is only about a foot or so off the ground (the 'stand' is cinderblocks stacked 2 high), and in a spare room that noone but me ever goes into. but you mention that the arowana looking down all the time may cause the drop-eye - i did recently add a couple active catfish to the tank - perhaps that's what caused it. i took them out a couple days ago, so there are no other fish that the arowana can see (bgk, sun catfish, and pleco are always hiding except at night). on the other hand i've also heard that the condition is pretty much guaranteed in most farm raised silver arowana because they're so inbred now.
anyway - i've heard of people floating ping-pong balls on the top of the water to cure drop-eye - the same as tiny-clanger says about the tennis balls and plastic insects. does anyone know if this helps?

Good discussion has been generated here and that's the purpose of many of these Forums...

I must admit that "watching ping-pong balls" float is not a very scientific approach to a raising of the eyeballs.

Scott got all excited and was anxious to chew me out and consequently demote me from my questionable good standing here in the Forum.

His statement is understandable because many hobbyists have never heard of "drop-eye" as compared to "pop-eye" and I can understand the confusion.

Some interesting comments have been generated here for the benefit of the original poster who may have benefitted from other's ideas and knowledge.

The Rainman claims it has been proven that a buildup of fatty deposits within the eye socket is the cause of the affliction and for all I know that may indeed be the reason.

He goes on to say the cause of the buildup is, at this time, unknown. If diet is a factor or heredity a factor that remains to be discovered.

--garyroland.

--Capt., Noah's Ark.





Last edited by garyroland at 21-Nov-2004 14:59

As for the inbred ones and such, actually most of them come in from the wild still. It is really a cruel way to get fish, but they catch the adult while still holding the fry, and because they will not release them, they chop their heads off to get the babies out. This is by far still the most common method of bringing in the arowana to the aquaria trade. This is also, why they are sold seasonally.

Those that are bred over in Asia, are not the silver or the blacks, but the dragons and crossbacks which are both completely extinct in the wild. And yes for them, the price is extreme, but for silvers, I can order them in from SA for about $2-$5 each, as they retail for about $15-$20 each around here. Not really that expensive, compared to other fish I get in and sell more of.

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There is always a bigger fish...

*NOTE TO SELF: DON'T QUESTION GARYOLAND AGAIN UNLESS COMPLETELY SURE THAT YOU'RE RIGHT*

Scott