Clarkii with swollen left eye

tsutherland

New member
I know there are threads about this but I could not get to them in the fact part of this forum. Anyways I have a clarkii clown that is being hosted by a LTA and I noticed today that it has what looks like a swollen left eye, by that I mean it looks like it sticks out farther than the other eye, other than that he looks healty and is swimming around and eating fine. He has been in my tank for 3 weeks. I haven't seen this in my tank before so I am confused to why it happened and I am trying to get your ideas on how to get rid of it.

Thanks for the help.
 
A swollen eye is cause for concern. If it has been brought on by being stung or injured, then it should be closely watched that it is healing. If it is brought on by an internal bacterial infection, then the fish needs to be in a hospital tank and treated with antibiotics. My fav for this is Maracyn Two for Saltwater fish. It has the ability to enter the fish through its skin, and attack internal bacteria.

In the meantime, make sure the fish is being fed properly:
Read the middle of this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=606527
and
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=642658
and
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=622905

Include vitamin additives, fat additives and beta glucan in its feed. Once healed, stop the beta glucan.

Hospital tanks are like quarantine tanks. Read this for more info on that:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.htm

As for why it could be you haven't been providing the right kinds of foods with vitamins and additives to keep its immune system up to peak, or there is too much bacteria in your tank (are you keeping up on maintenance, cleaning up and getting rid of detritus, etc.?), or it could be that it is hanging around a part of your reef tank that has a bad affect on the fish.

Hope the above helps! :rollface:
 
Your local fish store (LFS) should carry it. If not, try an LFS a bit further away from you (call first). The last resort is to buy it online. I say 'last resort' because it will take time for them to deliver it to you. Several on-line aquarium suppliers offer a variety of medications and almost all offer Maracyn Two for Saltwater fish. It is made by Mardel.
 
I also read that if it is just one eye affected that is was probably caused by trauma and will heal on it's own anywhere from several days to a few weeks. Is this what you would say, It also said that if it is the case that movement to a seperate tank might do more harm than good to the eye. When would I know if it's not just trauma?
 
Went to my local petco tonight and they didn't have the Maracyn Two like you were talking about but they did have the normal Maracyn and it says it will treat popeye. Is this going to work or should I return it and try to find the Maracyn Two?
 
Maracyn contains Erythromycin, Maracyn Two contains Minocycline. Two very different meds for different types of bacteria. One antibiotic attacks gram positive bacteria and the other, gram negative. Knowing the type of bacteria you are battling comes in handy when choosing one over the other. If you donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t know the kind of bacteria you are dealing with, then you need to go by the fact that most bacterial infections in marine fish are GRAM NEGATIVE bacteria. Thus, Maracyn Two for Saltwater fishes would be the medication of choice. The great thing about this medication is that it will work even when your fish will not eat. It penetrates into the fish and even helps the fish overcome internal bacterial infections (like those that cause eye swelling and/or Popeye conditions).

Maracyn One for Saltwater fish is an antibiotic that attacks GRAM POSITIVE bacteria, with B complex vitamins. This will have a distinct negative impact on the biological filter (as do most GRAM POSITIVE antibiotics).

Seeing that the highest probability is that your fish has a gram negative bacterial infection, the choice would be Maracyn Two for saltwater fish. Maracyn One doesn't hurt, but as written above, you can pretty much count on your biological filter to be wiped out. This might be unnecessary if it wasn't the one to use anyway.
 
Got the Maracyn Two for saltwater and will start using it today, so we will see how it goes and thanks for all the help.
 
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