My Kenyi cichlid has popeye..

carmexx

carmexx

Active Member
Hi all! My kenyi cichlid has popeye. It comes and goes and has been doing such for months now. I did treat the tank with what i beleive was Maracyn a few months ago. I was told it was ok to treat the display tank and to remove the carbon which i did. I used the recommended dosage and the popeye disappeared. I replaced the carbon(it is actually biochem-zorb).
Here's the kicker....it has reappeared again since then....but NONE of my other fish have had it. I don't get it....it comes and goes. I feel bad for the fish and don't want to lose him. Does anyone have recommendations on treatment?
My DT is a 55 gallon with a 20 gallon sump DIY wet/dry. I have demasonis...they are breeding like crazy so i don't know how many are in there and i have 2 syndodontis cats and two other labidochromis sp. "perlmutts" and one yellow lab. I gotta say i don't do much in water changes.....maybe once a month 10 gals and i don't test at all. i use cichlid salts and per refractometer it is 1.003. Is that in range. i think the bottle said 1 tablespoon per5 gallons.
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
Water quality is everything when it comes to keeping any fish.

First, you want to dramatically increase the size and number of the water changes you do. Cichlids are big messy fish and create a lot of waste.

Second, you need to test your water. While cichlids will tolerate a wide range of conditions, they do best when the water matches the environment they come from. Pay special attention to nitrate and phosphate readings, since they indicate pollution.

Also, check you tank for microbubbles. If you have a powerhead or other pump that is sucking in air, it can be supersaturating the water with oxygen. This can cause popeye. In other words, you want circulation, but you do not want bubbles in the tank.

If you do these things and there is still a popeye problem, remove the fish to a quarantine tank and treat there. This is especially important because you have a single fish with the problem. You don't want to stress the rest of them. Treat as before, but for a longer period of time. Make water changes to keep down ammonia.
 
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RachShaffy

Member
You need to be doing 50% water changes once a week.

Recurring pop-eye can be treated with mellafix and you shouldn't need salts if you're using tap water, just plain tap water and aqua-safe to remove any chlorine (obviously depending on water source quality!).

However, looking at your other thread about this, it does sound like whirling disease and the fish needs to go in a QT ASAP!
 
minicrazy592

minicrazy592

Member
I think of a few reasons for having a sump on a fresh tank:
1. added water volume
2. growing extra plants for better water quality
3. place to raise fry
4. left over from when the tank was salt
5. Hide heaters?
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
I'd agree with your reasons 1, 4 and 5 for having a sump.

As for growing plants, usually using a sump tends to deplete CO2, a needed item for plants. This can slow plant growth, unless you supplement it.

As for raising fry, a sump has too much water flow and a big intake to the return pump. Two very lethal conditions for fry.
 
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RachShaffy

Member
You should really have a seperate tank for fry if you're wanting to breed them, like Dave said, a sump is bad conditions for them.
 
minicrazy592

minicrazy592

Member
DaveK said:
I'd agree with your reasons 1, 4 and 5 for having a sump.

As for growing plants, usually using a sump tends to deplete CO2, a needed item for plants. This can slow plant growth, unless you supplement it.

As for raising fry, a sump has too much water flow and a big intake to the return pump. Two very lethal conditions for fry.
Click to expand...


If I were to create a sump, I would have a section cornered off just for raising fry. No strong currents, equipment, etc. But, yes the typical sump is no place to raise fry.

As for the plants, I supplement CO2 so it wouldn't be an issue for me, but once again, this is how "my" tank would be. :laughroll
 
PEMfish

PEMfish

Well-Known Member
You need to do more water changed than that first off. The poor water quality can contribute the poor health of your fishes.

The enlarged eye is usually caused by chemical poisoning. With your water change schedule that is possible here. Test your water and post results.
 
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