Fuzzy growth on swollen eye

brian2kgt · Feb 14, 2020

I purchased this Royal Gramma a couple weeks ago and noticed on the second day in QT that he had a cloudy eye. I did a FW dip to check for flukes but couldn't find anything. The next day the eye blew up pretty big and was still cloudy. I added Epsom salts and ran Erythromycin for 5 days with no improvement, in this time it developed this fuzzy growth. It is a little more cotton-like in person than it comes through in the pictures. I switched to KanaPlex/Furan-2/MetroPlex and am on day 5 of 10 with no change. Also have been feeding Vitachem soaked food and he is eating well and acting normal. Water parameters are good and he has been in the QT with a Flame Hawk who looks fine.

Opinions on what this is? Bacterial? Or could it be Lympho? Any other treatment options I should try if 10 days of this round of antibiotics shows no change? Thanks in advance.

Big G · Feb 14, 2020

Consider trying a 30 minute bath with the erythromycin. Double the dosage. Can dose once a day for 10 days. Antibiotics are very, very slow working on fish. You need to continue for the full period.
The fish may lose that eye. That's a very bad infection.

vetteguy53081 · Feb 14, 2020

Big G said:
Consider trying a 30 minute bath with the erythromycin. Double the dosage. Can dose once a day for 10 days. Antibiotics are very, very slow working on fish. You need to continue for the full period.
The fish may lose that eye. That's a very bad infection.

The sight in that eye likely gone. Bath is the only hope followed by Epsom bath.

brian2kgt · Feb 14, 2020

Thanks guys, I have him in an erythromycin bath now and I think I am going to stop the current antibiotics and start him on a 10 day treatment of erythromycin + minocycline. I will update if there is any change.

brian2kgt · Feb 14, 2020

Well, out of the bath and he looks completely different. The bath doesn't work that fast does it? Or did the infection maybe just get knocked off while handling him? I was very careful to be gentle and didn't use a net. Now I wonder, was the current course of antibiotics working and I should continue for the last 5 days or should I switch to the erythromycin + minocycline?