What's Wrong with my Clown?!

[brannock_16]

Hello Everyone,

This morning I turned on the lights to my tank and saw my male clownfishs' left eye is cloudy and enlarged. This happened sometime yesterday (I was not home while lights were on) but on Friday he was fine. He is tending to the eggs like normal, he is eating well, and shows no ill effects.

What should I do? Should I leave him in the tank and see if he can fight it off or should I remove him to a QT and treat him? If I remove him, what should I treat with?

Thanks in advance guys.

Robert

 

[Joe S]

Your fish is experiencing "pop-eye." When only one eye is infected it is likely caused by a mechanical injury (e.g., fish gets startled and runs into something, scraping the eye). In this case, the only real cure is time (and to make sure the fish is not startled). Over time most of the swelling should go down, but the fish's eye may always be a little opaque/bulged. In bad cases, the fish may lose sight in that eye. This happened to one of my A. bicinctus years ago - his eye de-bulged over time but remains pretty cloudy (scar tissue) to this day. He still spawns and behaves regularly.

Note: pop-eye can also be caused by a bacterial infection but when this is the case both eyes are usually affected.

 

[brannock_16]

Your fish is experiencing "pop-eye." When only one eye is infected it is likely caused by a mechanical injury (e.g., fish gets startled and runs into something, scraping the eye). In this case, the only real cure is time (and to make sure the fish is not startled). Over time most of the swelling should go down, but the fish's eye may always be a little opaque/bulged. In bad cases, the fish may lose sight in that eye. This happened to one of my A. bicinctus years ago - his eye de-bulged over time but remains pretty cloudy (scar tissue) to this day. He still spawns and behaves regularly.

Note: pop-eye can also be caused by a bacterial infection but when this is the case both eyes are usually affected.

Hello Joe,

I was thinking it was popeye. I had a rhomboid wrasse come into me a few months back with popeye. He was never introduced to the DT, he went to QT for for about 2 weeks until he died from decompression issues. I have not added any new fish to my DT in over 5-6 months so I don't think there are any bacterial or viral diseases in my system.

I hope that this was caused by the clown hitting itself on a rock or such and causing the eye to bulge. As for as the eye goes, if it continues to progress and get larger and more opaque then should I remove him and put him in QT? How long should it take for me to see the eye diminish in size if it is only a scrape and not something more?

If he continues to eat and stay active I should not bother too much about him correct?

Thanks for your time and response.

Robert

 

[Joe S]

IMO, the only reason you should transfer him to the QT is if he is behaving erratically and you fear he may re-injure the eye on something sharp in the DT (or the other eye bulges). Otherwise there is not a whole lot you can do. As I mentioned above, thankfully it's just one eye. Regarding a recovery timeline, it really situation-specific. It could take up to several weeks, depending on the severity of the injury and the health of the fish. As long as he is behaving normally, I would just let him be and make sure you don't startle him. Maybe someone else has an alternative solution. Definitely keep us updated.