How do I treat cloudy eyes on Scopas tang?

Charterreefer · Aug 11, 2018

My Scopas tang has had very cloudy eyes for a at least 1/2 year. The eyes are cloudy with bumbs showing on the surface. I don't know if it is a parasite or bacteria. No other fish in the tank has show any signs of infection during this period. I will be able to get it into a quarantine tank. What can I do?

HotRocks · Aug 11, 2018

5min FW dip to check for flukes. If no flukes come off, I would treat with Kanaplex and or Furan-2.

Big G · Aug 11, 2018

From Humblefish's Treatment plans. Note the red highlighted passages:

Flukes:

Symptoms - Flukes are parasitic flatworms which harbor mainly inside the gills. Physical evidence of flukes is usually not visible; however at least one genus likes to target the face & eyes, so you may notice visible symptoms in those areas. Behavioral symptoms such as yawning, head twitching, scratching (targeting the gill area) and lethargy are much more common. As the disease progresses, the worms move to the eyes, and this is when you may see visible symptoms (cloudy eyes). However, you can confirm the presence of flukes at any time by performing a freshwater dip. At around the 3-4 minute mark, you will see tiny white worms fall out of a fish (especially out of the gills) if a fish has flukes. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well. A dark/black bucket is preferred for the freshwater dip, as that makes the white flukes easier to see.

Treatment options - Prazipro. Performing a freshwater dip will provide temporary relief, but two rounds of Prazipro (5-7 days apart) is usually required to eradicate flukes. Formalin may be used as an alternative treatment. Hyposalinity – Scientific research also showed hyposalinity at 15 ppt for 2 days eliminated juvenile and adult flukes. When maintained for 5 days, egg hatching was prevented.