Tang had ich now blind

[Tab28]

My powder brown was being treated for about 3-4 weeks. The ich is now gone but seems to be blind. When i put him back in community tank. He kept bumping into things. His eyes seems normal, not cloudy. But i was even able to net him without even a slight chase. Is this permanent? He is not eating anything either. Even if he can't see he should still smell garlic soaked food.

 

[Triggreef]

Sounds odd. @Humblefish @melypr1985 [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]

 

[Shep]

@4FordFamily

 

[melypr1985]

What was he being treated for and with? Did he have an eye infection at any point?

 

[Tab28]

1.5 weeks with polyp lab medic. 1.5 week with ich stop. $140 later neither worked. 1 week with $7 super ich cure did it. I never noticed any cloudy eyes. He is quarantined again. He was bullied by other fish when i re-introduced him. He couldn't see them and would hit rocks trying to escape from them. Not sure if it is a temporary thing or if he is a goner. Had him over a year

 

[melypr1985]

1.5 weeks with polyp lab medic. 1.5 week with ich stop. $140 later neither worked. 1 week with $7 super ich cure did it. I never noticed any cloudy eyes. He is quarantined again. He was bullied by other fish when i re-introduced him. He couldn't see them and would hit rocks trying to escape from them. Not sure if it is a temporary thing or if he is a goner. Had him over a year

Can you get a good close up picture of the eyes? The bullying happened after he appeared to lose sight? Was there any way he could have been injured while being caught for the initial treatments? Or sometimes during?

 

[Tab28]

Lights are now off. So no pictures now. Eyes look the same as always, even move around as if looking at something. He was not injured when captured. I waited till lights out. He had ich and was already near top of tank at powerhead. One swoop with net then into q-tank. The other fish always bully a new addition for a few days. The tang is not a new addition but since he was absent for awhile. He lost his status. Not sure if they know he can't see. They just bully like he is a new fish. He hits objects trying to get away. So I removed him before he gets hurt or other fish realize he is crippled and will eliminate him, nature taking its course.

 

[melypr1985]

hmm. Well it doesn't sound life threatening since he's been removed. When you can get a good clear picture of the eye tomorrow, post it up.

 

[Humblefish]

1.5 weeks with polyp lab medic. 1.5 week with ich stop. $140 later neither worked. 1 week with $7 super ich cure did it.

Were any of these meds mixed together? Wondering if the blindness could be a consequence of negative interaction. All three products are very cryptic about the ingredients they contain.

 

[Tab28]

No all separate. The first polyp lab. Noted no difference. Moved to ich stop. Same no difference. Then moved to super ich. I also treated two other fish. I also treated main tank. While tang was in quarantine. To be sure no ich would find another fish. No other issues. Always W.C. and carbon reactor day before new medicine try.

 

[4FordFamily]

Another thought is that so much energy was spent fighting off (what actually sounds like velvet especially what you say about powerheads and now eye damage although eye damage as you describe is uncommon) actually starved the brain or eyes or both of proper oxygen and may have caused blindness. The immense gill damage may have caused this, think of the gills like the lungs. If you cannot breathe in enough oxygen, you will lose organs, perhaps eyes. This again to me indicates probable velvet rather than ich.

Ammonia burning, meds mixing, and serious parasitic infections may have all contributed. If the eyes truly look normal, only time will tell if sight will return. My guess is that it will not in time to get it to start eating again, unfortunately. Good luck.

 

[4FordFamily]

Also, by the time they're swimming in front of powerheads, you know there is already serious gill damage because they do this to push more water through their gills so they can get more oxygen. Often at the point this symptom arises, it is often too late for many fish which again makes me wonder if the lack of oxygen/gill damage caused it

 

[Brian Gugala]

I am curious whatever ended up happening with your powder brown tang. I am aware this is an older post but my situation is the eaxct same as yours even same fish. So i was wondering did his sight return on his own or did you find something to treat him with. Did he get better i hope. Please let me know im not finding anything very helpful about this situation online or at the lfs

Sincerely Brian

 

[Frankstank]

I am curious whatever ended up happening with your powder brown tang. I am aware this is an older post but my situation is the eaxct same as yours even same fish. So i was wondering did his sight return on his own or did you find something to treat him with. Did he get better i hope. Please let me know im not finding anything very helpful about this situation online or at the lfs

Sincerely Brian

I’m dealing with this as well now. He was way healthy. Then one day started swimming weird. He’s blind. And now has a little ich from stress. What happened to yours?

 

[Supersport350]

Dealing with the same thing too. Ich was showing up in my powder brown, no other fish with any signs. Litterally scooped him put of the water with the cup I use to melt their food in. Couldn't believe how easy I got him. Once moved to my QT tank I noticed he didn't seem to want to eat, and a day or two later, realized he is bumping i to the glass, seemingly blind. Been like this for a couple 2-3 days now. The ich is disappearing more by the day.

Did anybody else with fish having these symptoms have a good outcome? Had the fish maybe 6 months or so, had a couple bouts with ich, but was fine for about 2 months, then showed up maybe a week or two ago. Metroplex and focus didn't seem to help, and when it was apparent it was worse, moved him.

If he doesn't make it, I am calling it quits after my one and only powder. Too many people have issues with them.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Blindness is typically permanent, but true blindness is pretty rare. Here is some text I wrote on it:


Blindness
A very common symptom reported by home aquarists is that one of their fish has become blind. This, more often than not, is a result of a fish becoming ill to the point that it is moribund (close to death) and is not just blind. Basically, a fish that bumps around the aquarium, running into the tank sides and ignoring food may not be blind at all, it may just be dying. A truly blind fish will behave as if it is night, and may even show its nighttime coloration. The fish will swim very cautiously, so as not to run into obstacles, and it will orientate itself in the normal upright position, and if food is added to the tank, it will attempt to seek it out, perhaps by moving its mouth along the bottom of the tank, snapping up any food that it may come in contact with. It is important for the aquarist to be able to differentiate between the subtle differences between these two problems as a truly blind fish may live for many years given extra care, while a moribund fish will continue its health decline and soon die if the problem is not corrected.

Bright aquarium lighting is sometimes implicated in causing blindness, especially in lionfish (Pterois sp.). Only anecdotal reports of this are available, and since aquarium lighting is many times less intense than on tropical reefs, cause and effect cannot be linked. Feeding freshwater fish to marine predators (again – often lionfish) are also reported by home aquarists to cause blindness. In these cases, it is most likely that the predator has developed fatty liver disease, and the fish has become moribund from that.

Jay