Sudden case of popeye, injury or infection?

[ACBlinky]

I've got a pair of saddlebacks in my 21g FOWLR, their only tankmates are a 1.5" pincushion urchin, three snails and a few small hermits. Yesterday everything was fine, they looked happy as can be. This afternoon I went to do a water change and was shocked to see the female's left eye bulging out. She has been stirring up the sand with her tail, and the male has been picking hermits up and throwing them around all evening - seems they're both in a vile mood. I have NO idea what's going on here, but the female has been following the urchin around and hiding behind it. The pair has never had a host before, I'm wondering if she's just THAT dumb and trying to host the urchin and maybe hurt her eye in the process? Any ideas on how to make her feel better would be appreciated.
Here's a pic from yesterday; not sure if it's obvious in the picture, but her eye looked just fine 24h ago.

 

[abugs1985]

Sounds like a traditional case of popeye...though it could be something else, you just have to keep a close eye on things. For the popeye however, water changes once a week to keep the water clean and you could try using penicillin or tetracycline mixed with some frozen food. The fish may be aggitated because of the small space but that doesn't seem likely since all other tank mates are inverts...keep an eye on things...

 

[Toddrtrex]

Funny about 3 months ago my female (brown) saddle back got popeye, nothing had changed in the tank. (still was doing my weekly WC, no new additions, ect)
I decided to let nature take its course, she was still eating, but not as active. Within a month it cleared up on her own.

While, I moved my tank about 3 weeks ago, all went well. About a week ago I picked up a Potter's angel. She wasn't too happy with the new addition. I noticed, on Sunday, that her other eye is now showing signs of pop-eye. It was either caused by stress of the new fish, or fighting with the new fish. This time I may try to catch her and move her to another tank (assuming I can catch her without too much stress).

IMO, I would just keep up with getting the water perfect, reducing any stress (if possible), and let nature takes its course.

 

[dantodd]

My female clarkii occasionally gets a little pop-eye. In her case it is usually when she gets upset or super aggressive. I am fairly certain it is because she is running into the rockwork or glass.

If it is a traumatic injury it will not get any worse than it is right now. If it is a bacterial infection it will continue to grow. If it only goes in the right direction then I wouldn't personally bother medicating. But if you see ANY increase in the pop-eye I'd medicate immediately.

The aggression (in general, not toward each other) is usually a good sign of a good pairing and spawning to come. They are possibly looking for a good nesting spot and protecting it.

 

[ACBlinky]

Thanks for the replies
Today her eye doesn't look worse but she's spending all her time in one corner, hovering over a pit she's dug in the sand. The male will swim away from her, then back to her side, over and over. He looks a little frantic, and he's still tossing hermits around. They're both eating well so I'm not too worried, but I think I'm going to get some antibiotics and soak their food - most of what I've read indicates that no matter what the cause, it's a sign of bacterial infection.

 

[dantodd]

If you think she's trying to host the urchin you might want to toss in a PVC Tee to give her a place to hide. Looks like you have plenty of live rock but she may want something a little more confined.

 

[MarinaP]

Black saddlebacks are notorious for getting a popeye for no obvious reason.

It will go away on its' own, no need for meds at this point.

 

[phender]

I had a true sebae clown(closely related to saddlebacks) who would get popeye on and off for many years. I never medicated her. It lasted until (don't read any farther if you are squeamish), during a feeding frenzy, a flame hawkfish plucked the popeye out of her head. It bled for about a minute and then stopped. She lived happily for 4 or 5 years more with only one eye.

 

[dantodd]

One of the LFS here has a one eyed A. perideraion

It looks sort of strange, when she turns her blind side toward you it looks odd because the concave eye-socket looks almost like a solid colored eyeball.

 

[ACBlinky]

I went to the LFS this afternoon and got her some Maracyn two (this is what I saw recommended when I brought up old posts via RC search). I'm soaking pellets in the meds, I've used this method on infected fish in the past and it worked well so I've got my fingers crossed. I'm also doing some big water changes, just in case there's something funky in the water that caused the problem. Wish me luck