Clown popeye and bump on face

kmarine · Dec 28, 2022

Hi there, I am new to the hobby and have had my tank for about a month and a half. It is 50 gallons and I did a fishless cycle. Added two juvenile clowns two weeks ago. 6 days ago I also added a firefish and juvenile engineer goby, all were bought prequarentined.

The day I added the firefish and goby, I noticed the black storm developed a cloudy eye on the right and today (6 days later) I've noticed a bump on the left side of its face. The clown is acting normally and eating very well. There has been no aggression between any of the fish that I have noticed and all other fish are acting normally and eating well. No other fish have any bumps or cloudy eyes.

I am currently setting up my 10 gal QT tank and will be putting the clown there. I have API melafix and Fritz maracyn oxy. Are there other recommendations for medication and if this is a bacterial or fungal infection?

Thank you so much for your help.

Aquarium Parameters:
Aquarium type: Currently fish only
Aquarium water volume: 50 gal
Filtration type: Fluval C4 power filter
Lighting: Finnex 24/7 light
How long has the aquarium been established? 1.5 months

Water quality (be sure to indicate what measurement units you are using)
Temperature- 79.9F
pH: 8.0
Salinity / specific gravity-1.026 SG
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-10ppm

In-depth information:
Have you lost any fish to this problem yet? No
Respiration rate of affected fish- No rapid movements. (The fish moves too quickly for me to count gill beats accurately)
Are the affected fish still feeding? Yes
What remedies have you tried so far? None

Sharkbait19 · Dec 28, 2022

Maracyn 2 would be the treatment - definitely sounds like popeye as the result of an injury.
Keep an eye on the tank for aggression.

kmarine · Dec 28, 2022

Thank you for your quick reply! I'll order Maracyn 2 right away. In the mean time would using Melafix or Maracyn oxy be helpful at all?

Sharkbait19 · Dec 28, 2022

Melafix is pretty much useless - not sure about maracyn oxy.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 28, 2022

kmarine said:
Hi there, I am new to the hobby and have had my tank for about a month and a half. It is 50 gallons and I did a fishless cycle. Added two juvenile clowns two weeks ago. 6 days ago I also added a firefish and juvenile engineer goby, all were bought prequarentined.

The day I added the firefish and goby, I noticed the black storm developed a cloudy eye on the right and today (6 days later) I've noticed a bump on the left side of its face. The clown is acting normally and eating very well. There has been no aggression between any of the fish that I have noticed and all other fish are acting normally and eating well. No other fish have any bumps or cloudy eyes.

I am currently setting up my 10 gal QT tank and will be putting the clown there. I have API melafix and Fritz maracyn oxy. Are there other recommendations for medication and if this is a bacterial or fungal infection?

Thank you so much for your help.

Aquarium Parameters:
Aquarium type: Currently fish only
Aquarium water volume: 50 gal
Filtration type: Fluval C4 power filter
Lighting: Finnex 24/7 light
How long has the aquarium been established? 1.5 months

Water quality (be sure to indicate what measurement units you are using)
Temperature- 79.9F
pH: 8.0
Salinity / specific gravity-1.026 SG
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-10ppm

In-depth information:
Have you lost any fish to this problem yet? No
Respiration rate of affected fish- No rapid movements. (The fish moves too quickly for me to count gill beats accurately)
Are the affected fish still feeding? Yes
What remedies have you tried so far? None

The bump is an ulcer and the eye is likely an injury or scratch and can be treated with Maracyn also known as maracyn 1 which is ethromyacin for at least 5 days.
The ulcer may may be internal and best is to add seachem Metroplex to the foods at a very tiny amount 5gm in weight

kmarine · Dec 28, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
The bump is an ulcer and the eye is likely an injury or scratch and can be treated with Maracyn also known as maracyn 1 which is ethromyacin for at least 5 days.
The ulcer may may be internal and best is to add seachem Metroplex to the foods at a very tiny amount 5gm in weight

Thank you! Just grabbed some metroplex at the LFS

kmarine · Dec 29, 2022

Hi everyone.

Things unfortunately have taken a turn for the worse. I moved the clown to QT last night and added the maracyn 2. Last night the tank had a power filter and air bubbler. When i woke up this AM, she was laying on her side and has heavy breathing. Temp is 77.5 and I added a wave maker this AM.

At this point I'm not sure if she's going to pull through. Would it be better to move her back to DT or would that just add more stress?

Sharkbait19 · Dec 29, 2022

Do you have a video you could attach?
Is the eye looking any better?

kmarine · Dec 29, 2022

Sharkbait19 said:
Do you have a video you could attach?
Is the eye looking any better?

Well of course I decided to try to feed it and it sprung up immediately and ate like a pig! It's currently swimming normally and searching for food. I dont know if it was just being a weird clown before but if it lays down again, I will send a video.

As for the eye, it looks over all similar but the bump on the opposite side is no longer swollen and there is a small red area where the bump was previously.

Sharkbait19 · Dec 29, 2022

Clowns do like to be weird - keep an eye out but back to normal is always a good sign.

kmarine · Jan 8, 2023

Hi there,
Just wanted to update and ask for more advice on this clown. I did a five day course of Maracyn 2 and initially things seemed to be doing well. The bump on the left improved and the eye seemed to be getting better. Now, however, the right eye is still very cloudy and half of the left is too. Also it seems there is something attached below the left eye where the bump was. Are these flukes? I have API general cure so was thinking of dosing that if they are flukes. Thank you!