Sick Apisto - Fish for the Planted Aquarium

Zapins · 07-21-2008, 11:57 AM

My Apisto veijita has a popped eye and there is a white pimple in the center of his forehead (the forehead is swollen). The infection has spread to the other eye and is around the base of it.

I think this is pop eye, but I'm not 100% sure.

Please advise on what kinds of medicines to treat him with and where I could fine them.

I have removed the fish to a hospital tank.

jmontee · 07-21-2008, 12:46 PM

If it is still eating and/or will eat it, you can start by using antiobiotic food pellets. They sell them at PetSmart, I think by Jungle labs. You may also try to use erythromycin and keep the tank at around 80 degrees. It will be dificult to know the cause of the symptoms but it sounds like a bacterial infection that has reached septicemia stage. Have you had this fish for a while? Has it recently been in any altercations with tank mates?

You may also want to do a search for Apisto specific diseases.

Good Luck, when infection reaches this stage it is very dificult to cure.

Zapins · 07-21-2008, 01:33 PM

I have had the little guy for nearly a year. I haven't noticed it fighting anything although he does make runs at some of the other apistos. I think he is a dominant fish.

I noticed the cloudy eye a weeks ago and thought it would go away, but it spread quite a bit.

He is still very feisty and eats a lot.

I'll go get some jungle labs food and try find some erythomycin (any idea where to get this?).

jmontee · 07-21-2008, 02:07 PM

Sorry yeah erythromycin is Maracyn from API I believe. Check out the box and it should be around 200mg per packet or something. PetSmart always has this stuff. Remember that it could have a negative affect on the bacteria (kills the good and the bad) in your hospital tank so monitor your ammonia and nitrites. Also search the forums cause I have actually also heard of people putting neosporin on infected injuries, this might help too. I have never done it but I have read about it.

Again, also search for specific eye diseases so that you might be able to take a couple of treatment routes.

Glad to hear he is feisty and eating though. You're already ahead of the game.

Zapins · 07-21-2008, 08:43 PM

I have started dosing T.C. Tetracycline by aquarium pharmaceuticals.

I also bought gel-tek edible tetracycline.

Think it might be helpful to use both at the same time? It is the same medication just one treats internally via ingestion and the other externally.

suaojan · 07-22-2008, 04:33 AM

You might also want to check PH of your tank.
Sometimes too acid water can cause pop eyes.

Zapins · 07-22-2008, 04:42 AM

pH is 7.2 according to my pH probe.

Though I haven't calibrated it in about a year and a half so it might be a bit off... thanks for the info!

My fish seems to have calmed down, when I first added the medication it freaked out a bit and kept trying to swim behind the plastic lip of the HOB filter at the top of the tank. Now he is calmly swimming around the bottom of the tank.

I may be mistaken, but the infection seems to be a little better today. His eye looks clearer and the places that were filled with white seem to have cleared out a bit. The underlying tissue seems red (like small cuts). So I suspect this means the bacteria is dying off and exposing the veins underneath.

Too early to tell at this point, but he seems much calmer and a bit better. I might try feed him the edible tetracycline today (he didn't show interest yesterday when he was freaking out).

Anyone had experience with this disease?

Zapins · 07-23-2008, 09:15 AM

Spoke with a vet the other day and he said tetracycline was a good choice since it had a broader spectrum than penicillin or erythromycin.

He said to keep treating for roughly 4 days after all symptoms disappeared.

The fish looks a little better, it seems like his eye has popped back into the socket and he can move it around a bit versus before when it was too swollen/white to move independently.

I fed him some bloodworms last night as well (he hadn’t been fed for 2 days before that) and he went nuts for them. Pretty much a solo feeding frenzy.

The water is a reddish color from the medicine, I’ll be doing a 25% water change tonight to even things up a bit.

ngb2322 · 07-23-2008, 09:23 AM

You can also try melafix

Zapins · 07-29-2008, 03:45 PM

Not sure, but it doesn't seem to be too much better. Just a tad.

I bought some Maracyn Two Fish Antibiotic Medication. Hopefully this will solve the problem...