Blind angelfish help?

[sstanley223]

I have a genicanthus angel that has been in quarantine 4 weeks. 21 days of copper power because it showed ich and was head shaking. It tolerated the ramp up and first week well. However, that is when a terrible case of fin rot and a cloudy eye set in. Still shaking its head I reluctantly added general cure, 2 doses as directed. Symptoms cleared up. Another week passed and both eyes became extremely swollen and cloudy. Then I tried kanaplex. The eyes cleared for one day and that's when she went downhill. Looking lifeless and near death I started doing water changes. Tonight she was laying on the bottom if the tank. I went to retrieve the corpse and the fish is still alive bumping into things. The eyes both look cloudy and rotted. I'm absolutely devastated by the hardship and torture I have put this poor fish through. I dont even have a clue what to do next so I added a lot of carbon to try and pull out all medication. Any advise on how to help this fish would be welcomed. Thanks in advance [emoji20]

 

[Katrina71]

@HotRocks and @ngoodermuth and @Big G are extremely helpful with this type of thing

 

[EmdeReef]

I have a genicanthus angel that has been in quarantine 4 weeks. 21 days of copper power because it showed ich and was head shaking. It tolerated the ramp up and first week well. However, that is when a terrible case of fin rot and a cloudy eye set in. Still shaking its head I reluctantly added general cure, 2 doses as directed. Symptoms cleared up. Another week passed and both eyes became extremely swollen and cloudy. Then I tried kanaplex. The eyes cleared for one day and that's when she went downhill. Looking lifeless and near death I started doing water changes. Tonight she was laying on the bottom if the tank. I went to retrieve the corpse and the fish is still alive bumping into things. The eyes both look cloudy and rotted. I'm absolutely devastated by the hardship and torture I have put this poor fish through. I dont even have a clue what to do next so I added a lot of carbon to try and pull out all medication. Any advise on how to help this fish would be welcomed. Thanks in advance [emoji20]

I’m sorry to hear that

Unfortunately right now I would do a large water change to remove everything you dosed and maybe at max add methylene blue to help get it as much O2.

If it recovers then we can talk about treatment.

 

[Katrina71]

Please don't be too hard on yourself. I know we all have been in the same boat at some point.

 

[sstanley223]

I’m sorry to hear that

Unfortunately right now I would do a large water change to remove everything you dosed and maybe at max add methylene blue to help get it as much O2.

If it recovers then we can talk about treatment.

Will do, thanks. It's already getting late tonight. I cant believe she is still alive. It scared the crap out of me because I had it out of the water and it jumped and splashed back in. I feel awful

 

[sstanley223]

This fish looked so good when I bought it, I almost put it right into my display...ugh

 

[Big G]

Normally the suggested treatment for eye infections is to treat with Erythromycin aka Maracyn. But if the actual eye tissues have died (necrosis) there may be nothing you can do to help the fish's eyes. Blind fish can lead a somewhat normal life, but most need help being trained to find food and eat.

 

[sstanley223]

Normally the suggested treatment for eye infections is to treat with Erythromycin aka Maracyn. But if the actual eye tissues have died (necrosis) there may be nothing you can do to help the fish's eyes. Blind fish can lead a somewhat normal life, but most need help being trained to find food and eat.

Thank you for the input. I thought it was popeye at first so I treated with kanaplex. I still see the pupils moving so I will try erythromycin. Here's to hope

 

[sstanley223]

The fish is still alive. The eyes look terrible and its frightened. There is a red sore on the head but the rest of the body looks good with good weight.

 

[sstanley223]

The fish is definitely recovering and after starting erythromycin, but it is not even aware of my presence. Thank you @Big G and @Katrina71. I wish I would have caught it sooner. I guess I'll have to look into dealing with a blind fish now. What a shame for this beautiful specimen.

 

[sstanley223]

Shes confused

 

[sstanley223]

Photo

 

[Katrina71]

@Scurvy has a blind clownfish. Maybe he could give you some tips that worked for feeding and care.

 

[Scurvy]

I had it easy with my clown for quite a while while he lived happily in a group of anemones. Id feed the anemone and the clown would pick food from the tentacles.

Over the last few months after tank moves the female has rejected him and this has sent him aimlessly swimming about the tank so its gotten much harder to get him food consistently. He bobs at the top of the tank with his mouth open until getting lucky if I don't hand feed him. Easy enough with flake but harder with anything else. What Ive been doing lately at least 3 times a week is scooping him into a solo cup with tank water and whatever frozen Im feeding that day until he takes down a good bit. Seems to be working and he’s put on more weight but Im not sure how much longer he’ll hang on. He's in smaller 32g.

Not sure how easy any of this would be in a bigger tank as I expect you have but hopefully gives you some ideas if she doesn't come around. Maybe an acclimation box you could drop in to segregate her while feeding could work. Flow is their enemy when they can only hunt by smell.

 

[sstanley223]

I had it easy with my clown for quite a while while he lived happily in a group of anemones. Id feed the anemone and the clown would pick food from the tentacles.

Over the last few months after tank moves the female has rejected him and this has sent him aimlessly swimming about the tank so its gotten much harder to get him food consistently. He bobs at the top of the tank with his mouth open until getting lucky if I don't hand feed him. Easy enough with flake but harder with anything else. What Ive been doing lately at least 3 times a week is scooping him into a solo cup with tank water and whatever frozen Im feeding that day until he takes down a good bit. Seems to be working and he’s put on more weight but Im not sure how much longer he’ll hang on. He's in smaller 32g.

Not sure how easy any of this would be in a bigger tank as I expect you have but hopefully gives you some ideas if she doesn't come around. Maybe an acclimation box you could drop in to segregate her while feeding could work. Flow is their enemy when they can only hunt by smell.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Unfortunately she was supposed to go into a busy/high energy 125 gallon reef. I do have a 40 gallon chill reef as plan b. I was thinking of moving the current inhabitants to the 125 so she could have that tank to herself. I'm sadly weighing the quality of life issue.

 

[Scurvy]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Unfortunately she was supposed to go into a busy/high energy 125 gallon reef. I do have a 40 gallon chill reef as plan b. I was thinking of moving the current inhabitants to the 125 so she could have that tank to herself. I'm sadly weighing the quality of life issue.

She may do okay in the chill reef with other fish. Nobody bothers my clown except his former mate when he happens to get too close to her anemone. She may surprise you on how resourceful she could become.

I hear ya though. It can be sad to watch at times but often cute when he gets lucky and scores a good chunk of food for himself without my help. I find myself going back n forth on the quality of life point but he isn't suffering so long as I help some. Were he in the ocean he'd have been a snack ages ago.