# Pop eye in Multi



## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

One of my Multi seems to have pop eye
One of his eyes has been progressively popping out more and more in the last week or so

It is only in 1 eye. The fish seems fine otherwise. It eats well and swims well

I have read to treat this with epsom salt or with daily water changes

If I treat with epsom salt, is it ok to treat the whole tank as it is very difficult to catch these multis as they disappear into shells

I am worried I may lose him as its really bulging now

any advice


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

I have a really long post about treating pop eye in just one eye... I wound up treating with Epsom salts and 3 different antibiotics over the course of trying to get him better...

hope this helps...

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=324738


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

interesting post

because my fish is a shell dweller, I am wondering if it may do more harm removing the fish and putting him in a med tank because I would have to put some shells in as well and he may be really stressed

if i treat with epsom salt is it an issue if I treat the whole tank...its a 22 gallon long with 6 adult multi's and a whole bunch of babies as well as 2 small golden algae eaters which get battered all the time by the multis


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

Well, I have 3 thoughts on that...
1.) In general, I think that most will agree that the momentary stress of moving a fish to another tank to treat it is overall much less stressful than leaving it in a tank with a lot of other fish... especially when they can't see properly.
2.) You will likely wind up treating with more than Epsom Salt. it is cheaper to treat a smaller tank.
3.) Those Chinese algae eaters prefer softer, lower kH and gH water. Epsom salt will raise kH and gH for sure. Probably won't kill them, but won't be good for them either.

...  move the fish...


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

So I tried to catch the fish...no luck...he hides in the holey rocks, and when I remove the rock he moves to one of the shells and I cannot find him from there
I have so many shells in there that I cannot find where he goes. The shells are piled up on each other and rearranged by the multis...I gave up

So I did a 50% water change then added 1 tbs of salt for every 5 gallons of water and will see what happens from there
I plan on doing a 50% water change daily and adding the water back with epsom salt in the same proportion of 1 tbsp. for every 5 gallons of water re added

The water parameters are impeccable 0 ammonia 0 nitrite pretty well 0 nitrate and ph of about 8.2
Yes the tank is cycled, as its been running for about a year..and the nitrates have always been almost 0

Since I cannot catch the little bugger, I will have to try and treat in the 22 gallon tank

If there is anything else I can do to help him get better please let me know


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

Well, the kanamycin and erythromycin are your next steps, but you'll have to treat the whole tank... good luck and let us know!


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Day 4 of treating the shellie tank with daily water changes and re adding epsom salts in proper ratio

Don't really see any change in the fish, although the redness around its eye seems a little less red

will start doing smaller daily water changes while continuing the epsom salt treatments


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

So have stopped treating the whole tank with epsom salts as the fish's eye seems to be not as swollen or popping out
However, the fish now swims erratically and seems to be breathing rapidly and swims a bit and then rests on a rock

It still eats but is really having problems swimming for more than a few seconds and then rests

I still cannot catch it as it disappears quickly when chased

I am at a loss as to what to do


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

that almost sounds more like an advanced stage of bloat, but from what I understand, if it shows in the eyes, it is usually both eyes, not 1. I'm hoping someone else will chime in here. Regardless of whether you can isolate this fish or not, your next treatment will be antibiotics.

The question is whether you'll start with a bloat treatment, with metronidazole, or go the kanamycin then erythromycin route.

It's very possible that he had and eye injury, and now has bloat. You don't mention if he's pooping normally. Are you sure he's actually eating, or is it possible he's eating and then spitting it out?

If no one comes up with a better idea, here is what I would suggest, but it depends on the following:

1.) If you're not 100% sure (I imaging it's harder to tell with shellies) if he's eating & pooping normally, I'd treat for bloat first, because bloat will kill him the fastest. Use the 2nd bloat treatment in the library in this forum.

2.) If you're sure he's eating and pooping normally, skip straight to the Kanamycin and if that doesn't help, the erythromycin. I say that because maybe he's got some kind of secondary infection from an eye injury that is affecting his whole body now. (Don't do both at the same time.)

And to catch him, maybe if you spread the shells around first, then do a large water change, you might be able to tell which shell or shells he went into, an just pick up the shell and move it. I know mbuna can be so hard to catch, I imagine the shellies are much worse...

Anyway, hoping someone more experienced than me chimes in... 

Good Luck; let us know how it goes.


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks again for the reply
I do not think its Bloat, as I see the fish eating and eating aggressively and not just mouthing the food and spitting it out...as I have seen a couple of my fish in the past who had bloat do..as for pooping, have not see him poop in fact never seen any of my shellies poop

He seems very alert and always moving about but for very short swims and then rests

There are so many shells in the tank its impossible to find out which one he goes into

Not sure what Kanamycin or erythromycin is so will have to look into them


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

So much more time has passed and my fish is still alive ans still the same..No Change
His pop eye seems to have almost disappeared, yet he still swims funny and laboured but eats the same as the rest of the fish

Nobody bothers him and he is just like any of the other Multis in the tank, yet he always struggles to swim and always seems to be labouring in everything he does

What could possible be wrong with him. There is no sign of any damage or anything odd about him


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

2 weeks later and the fish's pop eye seems to have all but faded away...no meds other than epsom salts in the beginning
The only thing that remains is that he swims funny and rests on the rocks a lot, which I never see any of my other Multis do

I have just purchased a new camera so hopefully I will be able to take some good close up pics of the fish


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Sadly my poor Multi was found dead today

I guess I will never know what caused his demise


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

I am sorry to hear that... I was hoping for the best for you. I'd watch closely to see if other fish start exhibiting symptoms. Good Luck.


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