wandj Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 I have had 6 little blue jack dempseys for about a month. They are in a 48gal with no other fish. They were getting good, large water changes about every second day. I was feeding NLS and frozen food. Last few days, 2 of them are getting "pop-eye". One has a bulging eye and the other one seems to have the outside lens grow large and lumpy. And I think it's getting "cloudy"? They live in my well water: pH 8.5, Gh 220ppm, Kh 310 ppm. Water quality should not be the problem because they have such a huge tank to themselves and the big water changes. Is this a common ailment for these fish? I am treating with some salt and that didn't work, so I am now resorting to medicine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 Is it just on one eye in each fish? If so, it's most likely from injury/trauma to the eye, and not illness. Pop eye will affect both eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 I noticed about 4 months ago Big A'ls had some in and they looked good at first then all of a sudden the numbers dropped and the remaining ones all had huge eye balls. Kinda looked like either they were not getting enough good food or they all had some sort of popeye thing going on with them. I am pretty sure the water parameters of the tanks those Blue dempseys are in at big als are alittle softer then your posted info, The Alk/Hard (buffer) is alittle lower then your specs which keeps the PH of that tank around 7.6. Good luck with them, They are neat little fish. Little for now Sammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 All I've ever used to treat has been Melafix, but more importantly - water changes. And Neil's right - it's probably damage, as parasitic pop-eye affects both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 From the info Sammy just supplied, it may very well be bacterial or parasitic in nature. If that's the case, I would treat with a broad spectrum gram positive and gram negative medication. I believe that Maracyn I & Maracyn II would cover both spectrums. Here's a link to some info that may help. http://www.fishjunkies.com/Diseases/popeye.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 Oh, didn't realize they were the same fish.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 Darcy - they may not be from BA's, that was just an assumption on my part. Usually I would advise the same as you (lots of water changes) but if they've been fighting this for awhile, with no external symptoms, I would be concerned about a secondary infection setting in. This might be something that one wants to nip in the bud ASAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted July 31, 2005 Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 Probably right. If they are from Big Al's, and have been fighting this for a while,I would do as Neil suggests. However, if they are not, and they have not had this before the two days you suggested at the beginning of the post, it is probably an injury, and not parasitic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandj Posted July 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 Hi. Yes, I bought them at Big Als, and most of them seem to have huge eyeballs. Only one fish has eyes that look normal. I thought this google-eye thing looked weird, but I am pretty new to Cichlids. And in both fish with problems, it is only one eye. I wonder if it's genetic? I will have to go check on them again. I am going to soften the water a bit. With water changes. I just hope this is not a genetic thing and I have a bunch of crap fish. The one fish that has normal looking eyes is growing very fast and is huge compared to the rest. Ok, what else would you do if you were me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandj Posted July 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 Just fed them. I think the eyes are looking better. It's hard to tell right now because my water is a bit green with meds. Gave them a huge water change with pH 7.21 water I have in a holding tub. (I mix my tap with RO and de-humidifier water). I also added salt. Oh yah, I have never seen anyone use de-humidifier water for their tanks before, but I am. I bought a Simplicity that was the best you could get at Canadian Tire. On sale with a $20 rebate (ends very soon) and it was $250. Here is an example of how fast it fills: it will be full around 9pm when I am getting ready for bed, and when I wake up at 5am, it is FULL! 30 pint capacity or something like that. Anyway, just a tip. (No, I didn't buy it because of my fish, our basement flooded and we saw mold so we bought it to get the moisture out of the basement...it occured to me later to use the pure water for the tanks) I'm still keeping an eye on my Jacks. I just hope they start looking like they should soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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