Help!! My new clown has pop eye!!!

[Carissa]

I just got my first sw fish three days ago, a lawnmower blenny and a clarkii clown. They are in a 33g/20g sump fowlr. The first day ammonia went up to maybe .10 and by that night was back down to 0. It's still 0 now. The clown ate fine that first day. The second day all he wanted to do was sit in a corner and refused food. Today he's almost sitting on the ground, and both of his eyes are bulging. What do I do??

pH is 8.2, salinity 1.022, ammonia still 0, nitrites 0, nitrates a trace.

I did find this link:
http://www.aquaworldaquarium.com/treating_marine_fish_for_bacterial Diseases.htm

Also I know I'll probably need a quarantine tank, but I don't have any biological filtration for it, besides probably the antibiotics would kill it anyway. How do I deal with ammonia in the qt tank? Can I dose Prime daily to detoxify it?

 

[lesleybird]

Rubbermaid and a powerhead, small heater. I dose Ammonia lock or Aquamel. I like Furian 2 for an antibiotic as it is broad spectrum. Change the water every two days. I have mixed Furian 2 with Melifix without any problems. It will most likely take a week give or take a few days. Good luck. I think that a clown would be ok in 5 or 10 gallons of water. Get two rubbermaids of the same size so you can have one ready to go. A clean PVC pipe for security would be good. Don't make the mistake of washing anything with dish soap as any residue could kill your fish even if rinsed well. Remove uneaten food and poop with a fine fish net. Add a tiny amount of top-off water daily and don't forget to acclimate your fish in a clean container.
Lesley

 

[Carissa]

Thanks. I already have him in a 15g quarantine tank (rubbermaid) with a heater and airstone going. I'm using triple sulfa and reduced the salinity to 1.012, and used 2x the dose of the triple sulfa (as per the web site). He seems to be fine thus far, no adverse reaction to the meds or lower salinity. That's a good idea about the second Rubbermaid container. I'll dose Prime twice a day to keep ammonia at bay. I have a little container for him to hide in but so far he likes hanging out in the corner. Hopefully it's not a very serious infection yet since it just started maybe 48 hours ago (the lethargy did - the pop eyes didn't start until today). Should I do anything different with the temp, right now it's at 76?

 

[Carissa]

What's the prognosis here...24 hours into treatment and he's still not eating, no change.

 

[lesleybird]

I don't know....don't know why the reduced salinity as it is only works for ich. Are you able to keep the ph up with the lower salinity? Don't know if your little guy has something else wrong too. Does the Prime say it is ok to dose as much as you are? stopped There could be more wrong than just the eye infection. Good luck, Lesley

 

[Carissa]

The site I got this treatment from says that antibiotics have little effect when used with full strength salinity. I don't think the idea is that the reduced salinity itself has an effect but that it enables the antibiotics to work better.

Today he's up swimming around all over the place! But he's still not eating. However I think something is working now, the past few days he would just sit hiding somewhere, I thought he was dead at one point since he was jammed underneath something and not moving. Today he's swimming all around the bucket as if to say, why do you have me in this stupid bucket?

 

[lesleybird]

Hi, The antibiotic I usually use is Furian 2 and it works well in normal salinity. Lesley

 

[Carissa]

He's still not eating. I don't know if I should continue this medication or try something else, or what. I'm pretty sure that if something doesn't change soon he'll die. Tomorrow will be his fourth day of medication. I don't think he can see the food, his eyes are so bulged out of his head, but he doesn't appear to be that interested either.

 

[Carissa]

I'm trying the furan in combo with the triple sulfa now. I know if something doesn't change soon he will die of starvation if nothing else so I have nothing to lose at this point.

 

[Carissa]

Well he's not looking any better. I took him out today to have good look at him in a glass bowl and his poor eyes are totally bulged out of his head and you can see the red blood vessels around them. Ugh. I wish I could do something about those eyes. However I think he actually ate some brine shrimp today. He seems to be having a very hard time seeing the food so I just douse him with it and he does seem to manage to get some of it (in a separate tank of course, I don't want to mess up his water).

Does anyone know anything about sedating fish and using a needle to release the pressure behind his eyes, or is this pointless anyway? He must be in pain, I wish I knew what to do to get that swelling down before his eyes actually pop out of his head.