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Thank you so much K. I have bookmarked that site.

Wasn't sure what the tank capacity was so I was conservative with the dosage. Two capfuls of Melafix last night. And miracle of miracles the little guy is now swimming in the mid and upper regions of the tank. Eye still looks cloudy but I surmise his vision is improved if his altered behaviour is any indication.

I will continue to dose (conservatively due to clown loaches) for 7 days since that is the duration advised by the bottle.

I am so happy <big smile>
I love this site. Thank you for your help everyone!

Last edited by wish-ga at 15-Nov-2005 15:51

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Cloudy eye can often be one of the first symptoms of hexamita ( hole in the head) . Watch out for further symptoms. The cloudy eye will clear up, then often theres a darkening or greying of the fishes lateral mucous membranes then those nastly little holes start showing up.
Make sure you observe your fish daily for a few weeks.

They eye isn't cleared up. Has been a week. Should I keep treating or is it cruel to the little guy? Hate to lose him but a week has gone by and I don't want him to suffer. He seems to have some scales 'lifting' too.

From his behaviour his vision may have improved a little but not completely.

Advice?

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Eye tissues dont really "clear up" for weeks, possibly even months if theres literal tissue damage there. Id keep treating the fish to be sure,give him a few days off the meds and then start over.Dont consider euthanasia just yet, often vision impaired fish survive a long time. Plenty of fish get on ok on one eye.

Hexamita is known to have a period of remission where the eye clears up and the fish looks better for a short period, after which comes darkening or greying body, and then those nasty little holes start to appear.If it is hexamita, track down a source of metronidazole so that youre ready to treat it asap. Metronidazole is pretty safe, so a pre-emptive treatment of it wouldnt be out of the question.Choosing a food rich in vitamin c wouldnt hurt in the meantime either.

Sometimes other infections are associated with other diseases, Aeromonas hydrophilia is particularly good at causing tissue rot and is often found to be a primary infection that allows other infections to more easily colonise fish by weakening them . Aeromonas hydrophilia is often indicated as complicit ( from pathology reports)in infections of mycobacterium, hexamita ,and dropsy, so it might be an idea to use a broad spectrum antibiotic too.Even if it is only a local infection from an abraded eye, an antibiotic would probably be more effective than melafix. It depends what you have the budget for I guess.

It all sounds a bit overkill, but I have been known to get that way, and it must be said that considering how many fish I keep I do seem to have lower death averages than a lot of other aquarists.

The choice is yours. Id rather give you too much information than not enough .

Good luck.



Last edited by longhairedgit at 21-Nov-2005 22:44

Broad spectrum antibiotic - check <insert tick>

Thanks LHG

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

update: Eyes looking better. Cloudiness in one v small in diameter. Looks normal in the other. But is not feeding from the surface yet. However, he is swimming freely in the mid region. So glad.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Good stuff, hopefully none of those little holes will appear. Raised scales can be dropsy,often just temporary dropsy from a bit of compromised liver function due to the meds, and that usually clears up with a quick break from the meds.Sometimes the ph goes a bit acidic with meds killing bacteria, and rather like tannic toxicity this can cause a quick bout of dropsy too. Only time will tell on that one. Obviously if the scales dont settle down again youve got a liver or kidney problem.

Good luck again.


Last edited by longhairedgit at 29-Nov-2005 05:56

Hi friends, can you help me?
My pseudotropheus kingsizeii (mbuna African Cichlid) has it's eye looking cloudy.

Body colour/markings seem fine at times. A bit faded at other times. Hanging out at the bottom of the tank more than ususal. Not feeding from the surface...maybe can't see the food?

Is this soemthing that is treatable? Or is time up for him? That would be very sad. He is a nice little guy.


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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Cloudy eyes and popeye can be caused by poor water quality, would you post your tank parameters please? They may help shed some light on the issue. In the meantime, it would be a good idea to do a water change, just in case.

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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."

wish-ga, don't panic, it's definately treatable

Cloudy eye is a bacterial infection brought about by physical damage (those crazy Cichlids! ), nutritional deficiencies, or yes poor water quality. It responds well to treatment, usually in less than a week!

I used Melafix to treat my last case of cloudy eye, but that was eons ago and there are really better medicines for it. You should be able to pick something up with little fuss at your local LFS.

Good luck!!
L.

[font color="#008000"] Medication: [/font]I have melafix but didn't want to dose the tank. until I posted here for advice. Didn't want to risk exposing other stock to medication unless I knew the med was appropriate/necessary.

I will commence dosage tonight.

[font color="#008000"] Water quality: [/font] Longest gap between water changes is fortnightly (two weekly). But weekly is more usual . Tank moved recently so mini cycle more likely than poor water quality. All media from filter retained and switched back on immediately so bacteria wouldn't die. Same for gravel.

[font color="#008000"] nutrition: [/font] I feed cichlid pellets with a high amt of vegetabel matter. Don't overdo the protein. Feed fresh vegetables once or twice weekly (peas, zucchini). I have flakes at the moment until I can get the pellets I usually buy (don't like flakes - messy)

Last edited by wish-ga at 14-Nov-2005 21:13

Last edited by wish-ga at 15-Nov-2005 15:53

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

This might help you [link=have a look here]http://www.aquariumpharm.com/disease.html" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]
Even if it is a medical supplier it has plenty of good infomation plus some phots which might help.

Keith

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