Is this pop eye?

fachatga · Apr 6, 2021

This is my new my new yellow head jawfish. Probably had this when I got it but in the store with my 3 little girls I didn’t notice. Is this pop eye? I bought some Maracyn and will get quarantine tank tomorrow to try to treat her. But I’d like some confirmation that’s what this is. It looks a little different. I got 3 fish in all and all ended up sickly. This one acts perfectly except the eyes. The 2 fairy wrass died within a day. Not shipping there anymore. Lost all faith in the owner who I previously had a good relationship with. But I think I can save this fish. I’m fairly new to the hobby. Need to know for sure what this is.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 6, 2021

Aw, that's tough. When you see bright silver air bubbles like that, it means one of two things: supersaturation of the water with gas (but that would affect your other fish as well) or it is from mechanical trauma. For some reason, when fish shake their heads or get bounced around during transport, they sometimes develop these air bubbles.

For supersaturation, you need to look for air leaks in your pumps at the suction side, or a sump that drained low and caught air, something like that. Oddly, air bubbles in the water do NOT cause supersaturation, but actually help reduce it. If it is due to the second issue, mechanical trauma, there is nothing you can do. Catching the fish and moving it to a treatment tank will only make it worse, and the standard Erythromycin recommendation won't work since no bacteria is involved. Sometimes, fish get better on their own, but this one has a pretty bad case....

Here is an article that I wrote up on eye diseases in fish:

Aquarium Fish: The ‘Eyes’ Have it: A Review of Eye Health in Aquarium Fishes

Aquarists need to inspect their fish closely every day, for signs of impending health problems. It is much easier to resolve a problem when it first starts, than to attempt a drastic emergency treatment when the fish is close to dying.

reefs.com

Jay

fachatga · Apr 6, 2021

Thank you so much for the info. I’ll keep an eye on her. Not much else to do I suppose. She seems otherwise happy and is acting normally. Glad I’m not going to Medicate a fish unnecessarily.

fachatga · Apr 8, 2021

Just as a follow up. Thanks again so much for the info. I waited it out and they went away on their own. There’s only one tiny bubble left in one eye and getting smaller still.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 8, 2021

That's great! I've never seen that resolve so quickly....

Does it have a deep enough sand bed to make a burrow? They like sand mixed with larger bits of crushed coral rock, they use the different sized bits to make a stronger burrow.

Jay

fachatga · Apr 9, 2021

I have about 2-4 inches depending on where she is in the tank. The guy who sold it to me didn’t know anything about it so I read up when I got home so I’m going to add some more since I think she will be happier with a few more inches. I’ll do what I can. Don’t really have a plan yet how I’m going to accomplish this while leaving everybody else alone. But she has made a few burrows and seems okay burrowing near some of the rocks. I’ll see what I can find to add some other things like you said about crushed coral. I seem to do things backwards. But the fish then try to make them happy. But I’ll give her a good home. And I’m case you’re wondering. I have no idea if it’s a girl. I have 3 daughters and they determine the gender based on the name. And they get mad at me if I get it wrong lol.