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I noticed last night that one of my pandas was bug eyed. He's also looking very blown up but is eating happily and swimming around without a care. Now this is all very odd as it's been a while since any of the cories got sick, and it's just this one.

What's going on? It looks as tho the poor little cory is about to explode!

I'm starting to thing that perhaps he is a she and possibly egg bound?

I'm not sure about the bloat, but popped out eyes are a symptom called, well, popeye. It's a common symptom for a fish to exhibit when water quality is not up to par, or if the fish is being attacked by some sort of other disease or parasite. Since Pandas are pretty picky about the water, it may be a good idea to do a water change.

Correct me if I'm wrong Cali, since you're more versed in this species than I.:%)

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

That sounds about right, at least with the pop eye. Try to increase your water changes, doing partial changes every day or so. That will drastically improve your water quality over the course of a couple of weeks, and your fish should be able to fight off the sickness. You can add an antibacterial remedy to your tank as well, if you like.

If the fish really looks bloated, try to feed it a piece of a shelled pea. That will assist 'stopped up' fish, if that is the problem with your panda. Otherwise, I don't know what to tell you.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Hmmm

I have been trying to let the tank settle after planting some new rotalas, so that could well have affected the water quality.

Hmmm

Shelled peas, I'll give that a try too.

Definitely check your water quality to make sure ammonia and nitrite are zero and nitrates are below 20ppm.

Are you using any new fertilizers? You may want to drop off a bit for now, if so. Something may not be agreeing with him.

Any treatments or salt in the water?

One eye is apt to be pop-eye. Two eyes, plus overall bloat stands a decent chance of being dropsy. Cories don't pinecone because they have no scales. Instead, it's often seen in the head and eyes. I had two cories die of bacterial infection while in quarantine. Both suffered dropsy at the very end. The eyes on one bugged out while the eyes on the other sunk in (face swelled giving it that appearance).

Is he new?

How many do you have and how long has he been in the tank?

Try to get a good look at the base of his pectoral fins. Do you see any bloody pin points or streaks? If he swims up and down the glass, try to look at his belly for the same - streaks or pin points.

Check respiration - is it faster or slower than the others. If he just ate a heavy meal, he may be breathing faster for a little while, so check back later.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 28-Feb-2005 21:43

Bang on the button Shini. Pandas curl up their fins and exit this life pretty quickly if there's something wrong with either the water, or the gravel bed.

Do a water change and gravel vac FAST. If your gravel vac yields large quantities of gunk, that'll be your problem. REmove that and you'll be able to attend to your Panda with a much improved chance of success if you catch this early enough. But time is of the esssence.

Also, check pH. Pandas do NOT like excess acidity. If your pH is hovering around the 6.0 mark, that's going to adversely affect the Panda. One BIG danger sign of this is if your Panda starts shedding white thread-like excess mucus all over the body. If you see that, then quite literally seconds count.

While normally, rapid pH changes are ill-advised, if you see that white threaded mucus shedding, then a rapid pH change is vital, because otherwise, the excess acidity will kill the Panda.

Then, it's time to deal with the pop-eye.

My favoured medication is Myxazin. On the rare occasions I've had to treat Pandas, it's always delivered the goods. Follow the instructions carefully, and watch over the Panda like a hawk. Even with all of the above in place, given the propensity of Pandas to be fussy about their water conditions, be prepared for a loss. Sick Pandas tend to be difficult to treat.

Normally, medicating fish is something one approaches with care. I've discovered however that Pandas, when they do become sick, can reach a stage very quickly where they need crash intervention. Catch them early and you can medicate in the normal way. Catch them late, and you'll have to operate in full ER mode. With many fish, there's a steadily sloping curve from full health to desperately ill. With Pandas, it tends to be a steep dropoff.

Another problem is that if you isolate the Panda for treatment, it'll pine for its companions, another complication that makes medicating Pandas an exercise in emergency heart surgery. Prevention is always better than cure with fish, but with Pandas, it's vital. If you can isolate the cause of your Panda's current condition quickly, and intervene quickly, you stand a chance of saving the little guy. But time is of the essence.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Righto.

I know for a fact that my water ranges between 7.0 and 7.4 most of the time. The water is relatively hard and had good buffering capacity for CO2.

Problem is, I think this may be adversely affecting my pandas.

Would i be right?

Adults are normally not that adversely affected by moderately hard water, but if it's hard enough for Rift Lake Cichlids, for example, then your Panda won't like it at all.

Juveniles are considerably less resilient to hardness. If your Panda is a young one, it might object strenuously. This may be a contributory factor.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

None of my panda's are any longer than 3cm 1,1/4" so I assume these would be small adults?

Forgive my back and forth, I'm still at work, and I'm trying to gather as much info as I can while I can so I can deal with this as soon as I get home, with a good knowledge base of what you try and what to look for.

Oh I should point out the following too.

The tank is a faily heavily planted 55g, with rainbows in it The cories have been in there for a good two or three months.

The tank gets vacced every week, sometimes more depending on poop levels.

I'm at a loss, maybe my filtration system isn't up to scratch?

Oh and I have been dosing nitrates and trace ferts as per the Barr EI method.

From what you tell me, sounds as though your Pandas is, fortunately, an isolated case. May have just picked up something nasty on his own. Medicate with Myxazin to deal with the exophthalmus (pop-eye), and see if the little fellow settles down.

At 3cm, your Pandas are probably approaching the first flush of fish puberty. Watch them for frenetic activity. You may be fortunate and witness spawning. If they like their home, they spawn very readily.

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Well after a 50% water change and some phycotic gravel cleaning I left the kids overnight.

Popeye doesn't look so bad, but he's still a little bug eyed.

He's still a voracious eater, choosing to sit right on top of the cory tab rather than hovering around the edge of it like all his pals.

Piggy!

If he's eating, then that's a good sign. The more he eats, the better.

Oh, and Pandas do that. Especially if they learn that the other fish try to steal their food. Mine have a habit of sitting on live Bloodworm when I introduce it, mostly to stop the Lemon Tetras from scoffing it al!!!

By the way, I'd feed him live food if you can get it for one simple reason. In my experience, fishes fed live food during a medication phase recover more quickly. In some cases, the convalescence period is halved. And, to your relief, Pandas will respond especially well to this. Get some live Bloodworm, and make sure the little guy gets some! His recovery will be aided enromously if you do.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

The fish get live blackworm treats for three or four days till I get some more, usually once every two weeks.

They also get frozen brine ship, and hikari wafers.

Last edited by Curare at 02-Mar-2005 01:49

Good. Live food of any kind will contribute to the recovery considerably. Live food is, in my experience, a great immune system booster. Someday I should announce this in The Hospital forum!

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002