Clownfish cloudy swollen eye

Jay Hemdal

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Thanks …. I started the EM Erythromycin and Kanaplex combined in water. I’ve also ordered the Mardel Maracyn which should arrive on Tuesday which would be the day after I end a round of treatments for Erythromycin. If everything is not cleared up I can do the 2nd round with the Maracyn.

Do you think using Melafix now in the QT tank would help?

@vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal @dedragon
Skip the melafix, it is a tonic, not a true antibiotic and is just plant oil extracts, your antibiotics are a better choice.
Jay
 

vetteguy53081

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Thanks …. I started the EM Erythromycin and Kanaplex combined in water. I’ve also ordered the Mardel Maracyn which should arrive on Tuesday which would be the day after I end a round of treatments for Erythromycin. If everything is not cleared up I can do the 2nd round with the Maracyn.

Do you think using Melafix now in the QT tank would help? And if so is it best to use the “marine” vs freshwater version

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/api-melafix-marine-16oz.html

@vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal @dedragon
Melafix is more of a tonic containing teak tree oil but does not hurt to use as its reef safe,
I'd rather let the maracyn do its things as it is effective
 
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SaltTank

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Happy New Year @vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal @dedragon ..... patient update :)

I've been treating the EM Erythromycin and Kanaplex for the last 3days. Today will be the last dose 4/4 of EM Erythromycin and tomorrow will be the last dose of Kanaplex 3/3.

EM Erythromycin ends on Sunday.
Kanaplex ends on Monday.

On Monday night I'll add charcoal to clean the water.

Tuesday i'll have the Mardel Maracyn.

Right now the smaller clown looks like he is 100% i don't see any resting on bottom of tank from it. Swimming actively ever time i come to the tank.

The larger clown is looking better, the swelling on eye looks to have gone down, not 100% but much better and is clearing up on both.

However the larger one every time i come to the tank it is laying on its side on the substrate. However when i crack the lid it gets up and starts swimming. Yesterday I fed the tank for the 1st time and both ate well. The larger clown swam around and found the food. Food (brine shrimp) has Kanaplex, Metroplex and focus. When it had finished eating it laid back down.

What do you all think is going on with the larger one? If its not recovered by Monday I think a round of Mardel Maracyn is the next step for that one. Still looks like negative buyancy is an issue. And now that i think about it it rested on the bottom of my tank the very 1st night i brought it in and didn't start swimming around until mid day the following day. I just thought it was stressed. What else should i do to help the recovery with swimming?

Thanks again .... Happy New Year to you all.
 

Jay Hemdal

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Happy New Year @vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal @dedragon ..... patient update :)

I've been treating the EM Erythromycin and Kanaplex for the last 3days. Today will be the last dose 4/4 of EM Erythromycin and tomorrow will be the last dose of Kanaplex 3/3.

EM Erythromycin ends on Sunday.
Kanaplex ends on Monday.

On Monday night I'll add charcoal to clean the water.

Tuesday i'll have the Mardel Maracyn.

Right now the smaller clown looks like he is 100% i don't see any resting on bottom of tank from it. Swimming actively ever time i come to the tank.

The larger clown is looking better, the swelling on eye looks to have gone down, not 100% but much better and is clearing up on both.

However the larger one every time i come to the tank it is laying on its side on the substrate. However when i crack the lid it gets up and starts swimming. Yesterday I fed the tank for the 1st time and both ate well. The larger clown swam around and found the food. Food (brine shrimp) has Kanaplex, Metroplex and focus. When it had finished eating it laid back down.

What do you all think is going on with the larger one? If its not recovered by Monday I think a round of Mardel Maracyn is the next step for that one. Still looks like negative buyancy is an issue. And now that i think about it it rested on the bottom of my tank the very 1st night i brought it in and didn't start swimming around until mid day the following day. I just thought it was stressed. What else should i do to help the recovery with swimming?

Thanks again .... Happy New Year to you all.

That sounds like a good plan. The negative buoyancy probably won't be helped with the antibiotics, but maybe? I think you should monitor the ammonia level during the erythromycin treatment, sometimes that harms your beneficial bacteria.

Jay
 
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SaltTank

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That sounds like a good plan. The negative buoyancy probably won't be helped with the antibiotics, but maybe? I think you should monitor the ammonia level during the erythromycin treatment, sometimes that harms your beneficial bacteria.

Jay

Thanks @Jay Hemdal I’m changing the water every other day, adding each time more bottle bac…. and when i fed i immediately siphoned out any food not eaten.

What do i do to help the negative buoyancy issue?
 
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vetteguy53081

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Sorry for delay. I have practically slept all day. I got very sick last night
 
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SaltTank

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Sorry for delay. I have practically slept all day. I got very sick last night

Thanks @vetteguy53081 I didn’t see a response from you so it may have not posted but I do hope you feel better soon. My family has been under the weather during this holiday also. Wishing you a fast recovery ….. and Happy New Year
 

Jay Hemdal

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Thanks @Jay Hemdal I’m changing the water every other day, adding each time more bottle bac…. and when i fed i immediately siphoned out any food not eaten.

What do i do to help the negative buoyancy issue?
Nothing can be done for negative buoyancy, you can’t reinflate the gas bladder. Time will sometimes fix it though.
Jay
 
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SaltTank

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Nothing can be done for negative buoyancy, you can’t reinflate the gas bladder. Time will sometimes fix it though.
Jay

Thanks @Jay Hemdal I’ll have patience and keep feeding it. I put it in a mesh in tank isolation box so it doesn’t have to fight hard to get to the top of the tank and so it want be harassed by the smaller clown.

I pulled both clowns out of the main tank so the only livestock in there is a few corals, crabs and snails. Nitrates have dropped to less than 10ppm , 0 nitrites and 0 free ammonia (seachem ammonia test). API test is still showing .5ppm TOTAL ammonia. Do i need to wait till the TOTAL ammonia = 0 before adding the small clown back to the tank?

Do i need to put some food in the tank every few days for the crabs and snails until i put one of the clowns back in or will the algae growing on the rock suffice for them?
 

Jay Hemdal

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Thanks @Jay Hemdal I’ll have patience and keep feeding it. I put it in a mesh in tank isolation box so it doesn’t have to fight hard to get to the top of the tank and so it want be harassed by the smaller clown.

I pulled both clowns out of the main tank so the only livestock in there is a few corals, crabs and snails. Nitrates have dropped to less than 10ppm , 0 nitrites and 0 free ammonia (seachem ammonia test). API test is still showing .5ppm TOTAL ammonia. Do i need to wait till the TOTAL ammonia = 0 before adding the small clown back to the tank?

Do i need to put some food in the tank every few days for the crabs and snails until i put one of the clowns back in or will the algae growing on the rock suffice for them?
I don't trust the results on the API ammonia test - I know they are very tough to read and prone to false positives. If Seachem is reading zero, I would trust that.

That said, I generally suggest people wait a couple of weeks after having a fish issue before adding any new fish - you want to ensure things have settled down.

Jay
 
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SaltTank

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I don't trust the results on the API ammonia test - I know they are very tough to read and prone to false positives. If Seachem is reading zero, I would trust that.

That said, I generally suggest people wait a couple of weeks after having a fish issue before adding any new fish - you want to ensure things have settled down.

Jay

Thanks @Jay Hemdal …. not adding any new fish just want to know if its OK if add the smaller clown back to the DT tank from the QT tank. I’m thinking of keeping the smaller clown out of the DT for 2weeks. Not going to add the larger clown back until it is swimming correctly in the QT tank so it may take few more weeks.

Also if i should “feed” the snails and crabs since there are no fish in the DT being fed.
 

Jay Hemdal

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Thanks @Jay Hemdal …. not adding any new fish just want to know if its OK if add the smaller clown back to the DT tank from the QT tank. I’m thinking of keeping the smaller clown out of the DT for 2weeks. Not going to add the larger clown back until it is swimming correctly in the QT tank so it may take few more weeks.

Also if i should “feed” the snails and crabs since there are no fish in the DT being fed.
You could feed the crabs a little during this time, the snails should be fine though.

Jay
 
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@vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal @dedragon

I've finished a round of EM Erythromycin and Kanaplex, put charcoal in the HOB filter 2 days ago to start pulling out the current medicines. How long does it take to become ready for a round of Maracyn? Looks like the eye has cleared up but still having an issue with the negative buoyancy. It pretty much lays around on its side until i bring in the food and then it swims and eats and then lays back down on it's side.
 

Jay Hemdal

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@vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal @dedragon

I've finished a round of EM Erythromycin and Kanaplex, put charcoal in the HOB filter 2 days ago to start pulling out the current medicines. How long does it take to become ready for a round of Maracyn? Looks like the eye has cleared up but still having an issue with the negative buoyancy. It pretty much lays around on its side until i bring in the food and then it swims and eats and then lays back down on it's side.
Maracyn 1 is erythromycin, are you planning on dosing with maracyn 2? That is minocycline.

As I said, negative buoyancy isn't really treatable, but some fish can overcome it.

Jay
 
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SaltTank

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@Jay Hemdal

I thought the Maracyn 1 had a foundation of erythromycin but also other proprietary compounds that treated also. Either way I was looking to go 1 round with Maracyn to see if the eyes and fins improved even more. Regarding the negative buoyancy how long would you think is reasonable to try to recover?
 

Jay Hemdal

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@Jay Hemdal

I thought the Maracyn 1 had a foundation of erythromycin but also other proprietary compounds that treated also. Either way I was looking to go 1 round with Maracyn to see if the eyes and fins improved even more. Regarding the negative buoyancy how long would you think is reasonable to try to recover?
Manufacturers can and do change their formulations without telling anyone, Here is what I understood though:

FRITZ - Maracyn
ACTIVE INGREDIENT: Each packet contains 200 mg erythromycin activity.

The pill size is about 250 mg, the balance is probably excipients.

Some fish won't recover their buoyancy, but will live relatively normal lives, especially true with clownfish.

How is it eating?

Jay
 

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Greetings all,

I guess I'm studying my tank too much because each day I'm finding out something new. :confused: I noticed that the clown that likes to take breaks on the substrate has a swollen and cloudy eye on the right side. Also I can see a little bit of seperation between some of his tail fins in the up close video. This one was the aggressor so I don't "think" its the result of fighting. I noticed a day or 2 ago that its eyes didn't appear as sharp and defined as the other clownfish so when if was resting i was able to look with my magnifying glass to confirm what i thought.

I've been "feeding" this tank kanaplex in food for the last 5days because there was a clown that i've now returned that had fin rot. Was planning to stop the kanaplex treatments in 2 more days per the instructions of 1 week treatment.

Tank currently has pair of clowns, crabs, snails and coral

When I feed the tank both clowns are up and very active eating.

Tank size 13.5gallon
Tank age: 3weeks
API ammonia test was slightly green .25ppm
Seachem ammonia alert badge 0
Seachem free ammonia test 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates are between 5-20 hard to read the API colors but "looks" like 10 but could be 20
Salinity is 1.024
PH 7.9
Temp 80

What do you all see in the pictures and videos .....
Does the left eye look a little swollen and cloudy also?
What do you advise that I do as next steps
I don't have a QT tank but could set one up today and use some media from this tank in a HOB with some biospira if necessary
* or any other emergency QT setup advise
I've got epsom salt also, but have read mixed suggestions on using it
Never done/tried a FW dip

@Jay Hemdal


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Not to sound like an idiot but your fish are not eating? Your food looks to big for them digest and also your aquarium filter/ is blowing food away?
It looks like these two clown fish are all you need to feed ,
I think you need to mix up your food a little, see what they enjoy.. even a pellet or two will not hurt.
In regards to your video, it's very sad you decided to film and let this happen before asking for help.
 
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SaltTank

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Manufacturers can and do change their formulations without telling anyone, Here is what I understood though:

FRITZ - Maracyn
ACTIVE INGREDIENT: Each packet contains 200 mg erythromycin activity.

The pill size is about 250 mg, the balance is probably excipients.

Some fish won't recover their buoyancy, but will live relatively normal lives, especially true with clownfish.

How is it eating?

Jay

Thanks @Jay Hemdal it still eats fine but that is the only time i see it “get up”, the rest of its time it just lays on its side on the substrate
 

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