racoon butterflyfish can't see

[brianw6723]

My racoon butterflyfish can't see, his eyes do not appear to be bulging. This happened overnight, he will not eat food in the water column but will eat a clam on the half shell or eat on a large piece of shrimp.
I tries melafix marine for a week and no change.any ideas? He is fat and healthy other wise

 

[vetteguy53081]

My racoon butterflyfish can't see, his eyes do not appear to be bulging. This happened overnight, he will not eat food in the water column but will eat a clam on the half shell or eat on a large piece of shrimp.
I tries melafix marine for a week and no change.any ideas? He is fat and healthy other wise

Do a large water change and get rid of Melafix which is rendered useless as it’s a tonic and made of tea tree oil
Is fish breathing normal or labored?
Please provide video and pics under white lighting for further assessment.
What is current ammonia and ph level and how are you testing ?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

+1 skip the Melafix.

True blindness, especially rapid onset, is pretty rare. I've seen a few cases, but it cannot be treated. Here is an article I wrote on fish eye health. It won't give you any solutions, but it does talk a little about blindness.

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

 

[brianw6723]

Api test kit, a lone minimal native none nitrate 30 ppm
I've been doing 20% water changes three week
All other fish ok
Three weeks he been like this
Recent things I did
Switched to reef crytals use to use instant ocean

+1 skip the Melafix.

True blindness, especially rapid onset, is pretty rare. I've seen a few cases, but it cannot be treated. Here is an article I wrote on fish eye health. It won't give you any solutions, but it does talk a little about blindness.

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

Is there some type of food like putty that I could put in an empty clam shell that he could eat beside clam and big chunk of shrimp? He will not eat from the water column

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Api test kit, a lone minimal native none nitrate 30 ppm
I've been doing 20% water changes three week
All other fish ok
Three weeks he been like this
Recent things I did
Switched to reef crytals use to use instant ocean

Is there some type of food like putty that I could put in an empty clam shell that he could eat beside clam and big chunk of shrimp? He will not eat from the water column

Masstick can be stuck onto some surfaces (like glass) so it probably can be stuck to a shell as well. It is also nutritious and well accepted by fish.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Api test kit, a lone minimal native none nitrate 30 ppm
I've been doing 20% water changes three week
All other fish ok
Three weeks he been like this
Recent things I did
Switched to reef crytals use to use instant ocean

Is there some type of food like putty that I could put in an empty clam shell that he could eat beside clam and big chunk of shrimp? He will not eat from the water column

If possible, Take a water sample to an LFS that Does NOT use Api anything and have them test your ammonia-Ph-Nitrate and see what test results they come up with and to compare with yours.

Is this a newer tank ?