Clownfish with 1 cloudy eye

[Tctran]

Hi Everyone. Thanks in advance for any responses.
I have a black storm clownfish who is doing well, eating and swimming fine. He's had a cloudy eye for about 10 days now. Just one eye. The other eye is fine. It doesn't seem to get any better or worse. He's in a QT and I can add medicine as needed. I've treated the tank for 6 days with Kanaplex and now 4 days with Prazipro. The tank is heavily aerated and he's not stressed. The eye does not look 'popped out', but is cloudy. I'm not sure if it's flukes or bacterial at this point. I have a bag of fresh water - rodi, ph matched, and sitting in the tank to get the temp right. Do the experts recommend a fresh water dip, erythromycin, or something else to help this little guy out. Sorry for the images, this little guy is constantly moving. Thanks again.

Tom.

 

[SaltyT]

Only one eye being effected could be flukes. Since you have the freshwater dip ready, I would dip him to check.

 

[Tctran]

Only one eye being effected could be flukes. Since you have the freshwater dip ready, I would dip him to check.

Thanks for the response. I've done 2 fresh water dips in my life and both fish perished within 4 hours. Any advice to give? thanks.

 

[SaltyT]

Thanks for the response. I've done 2 fresh water dips in my life and both fish perished within 4 hours. Any advice to give? thanks.

The good news is FW dips are pretty safe. If the fish perishes afterwards it was likely already too sick to survive.

Aerate the dip water well for about 30 minutes before placing the fish in. It's not unusual for the fish to freak out when you place it in the dip. The important thing is to watch their gills - they should be breathing heavily at all times while in the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to remove the fish from the dip. It’s also important that the fish remains upright & swimming at all times, so chase him a little with your finger if he lays on the bottom. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes.

 

[threebuoys]

My experience with cloudy eye is that it can take weeks for it to clear, particularly if the cloudiness is due to injury rather than infection. if it dose not appear to be worsening, you may just need to give it time.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Its difficult to see how severe the eye is, can you get a better photo?

Based on the species of fish, that you already treating with praziquantel, and that only one eye is affected, I would rule out Neobenedenia (eye) flukes. It is probably bacterial, could it have injured its eye?

Erythromycin seems to be a better choice of an antibiotic for eye issues, but it's all really just a guess. Watch your ammonia if you dose with erythro - it sometimes inhibits your beneficial bacteria. As @threebuoys said, these sorts of things can take time to resolve...as long as its not getting worse, or starting to show on the other eye, it may heal on its own.

Jay

 

[OmuNegru]

Hi Everyone. Thanks in advance for any responses.
I have a black storm clownfish who is doing well, eating and swimming fine. He's had a cloudy eye for about 10 days now. Just one eye. The other eye is fine. It doesn't seem to get any better or worse. He's in a QT and I can add medicine as needed. I've treated the tank for 6 days with Kanaplex and now 4 days with Prazipro. The tank is heavily aerated and he's not stressed. The eye does not look 'popped out', but is cloudy. I'm not sure if it's flukes or bacterial at this point. I have a bag of fresh water - rodi, ph matched, and sitting in the tank to get the temp right. Do the experts recommend a fresh water dip, erythromycin, or something else to help this little guy out. Sorry for the images, this little guy is constantly moving. Thanks again.

Tom.

Hey Tom,
How's the clown doing? Is he any better?
I'm asking because my clown developed the exact same problem on the right eye.

 

[Tctran]

Hi Omu.

Yes, the clown is doing much better. I'm going to get my hands slapped for this, but this is what happened. So after about 3 weeks, it looked as if the cloudy eye was flaking off. I ended up gently catching the clown with my hand and using my nail, very gently scraped off the flake. A little cloudiness returned a week later, but then resolved. Two weeks later he developed cloudiness in his other eye, but never as bad as the first eye. I didn't scrap the 2nd eye and it resolved. I treated with both Metroplex and Kanaplex for about 5 days and changed 20% water twice a week. He ate well the entire time, never lost his appetite. His tank mate passed from what looked like brook about 3 weeks ago. I'm watching him closely and he looks good. If he's able to eat, I would say that an anti bacterial is good to add, but be patient. Takes time to resolve.

Good luck Omu and good luck to your clown.
Tom.

 

[OmuNegru]

Hi Omu.

Yes, the clown is doing much better. I'm going to get my hands slapped for this, but this is what happened. So after about 3 weeks, it looked as if the cloudy eye was flaking off. I ended up gently catching the clown with my hand and using my nail, very gently scraped off the flake. A little cloudiness returned a week later, but then resolved. Two weeks later he developed cloudiness in his other eye, but never as bad as the first eye. I didn't scrap the 2nd eye and it resolved. I treated with both Metroplex and Kanaplex for about 5 days and changed 20% water twice a week. He ate well the entire time, never lost his appetite. His tank mate passed from what looked like brook about 3 weeks ago. I'm watching him closely and he looks good. If he's able to eat, I would say that an anti bacterial is good to add, but be patient. Takes time to resolve.

Good luck Omu and good luck to your clown.
Tom.

Thank you, Tom