popeye

Hiya everyone and apologies of this is the wrong section for this - first post so I have an excuse!

I have a black molly who looks as if it has popeye for the second time.

She first got it a couple of months ago and treated it with Melafix and Primafix, and it seemed to clear up. I seperated it into a small tank while it was being treated.

She's now back into the big tank and looks like she is getting it again! The other fish in this tank are 4 Mollies, 5 Cardinal tetras, 3 corys and they are all well. I bought all the fish at the same time after the tankwas cycled (fishless), and I add a teaspoon of salt to every water change as I know Mollies need brackisg water.

Can anyone tell me why this fish would keep getting popeye, and is there anyway to stop it. I have seperated her again but the spare tank hasnt got a cycled filter for it so I am going todo daily water changes.

Thanks everyone.

Hiya tabbycat, and welcome to the forum

Sorry to see that you are having problems with the molly. I hope you dont mind me asking you a few questions.

How long have you had the fish?
What size tank do you have?
What are your water stats - Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate
How often do you do water changes.

If you give us as much information as you can, we will try and help you

Thanks Diana. I have had the tank for about 3 months, the fish for about 2 months. The tank is just over 90litres, I dont know the make - it was a second hand one - and I do weekly water changes of about 20%.

My last water test was done just before the water change and was -
Ph 7.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrite between 0 and 0.25
Nitrate 10

Hope that helps.

As a bit of extra information I had a big outbreak of itch about 1 week after gettingnthe fish that I treated with Interpet meds.

OK, well first of all I would do a water change - about 50% as you
have a bit of nitrite in there and that doesnt do the fish any good. You are aiming for readings of 0 for ammonia and nitrite.

Check your water every day until you get that.

Do the same on your smaller tank (check the water and change when needed) and treat the fish as before.

Hope that helps.

I had popeye and it killed all my rams. Popeye generally happens when the water isn't as clean as it should be. Keep up frequent water changes to make sure the water is sparkling

Too much spinach perhaps? :lol:

Fishfan wrote:

Too much spinach perhaps? :lol:

Dosing with Interpet No.9 might also help as it's one of the diseases it treats.

Hi again, sorry to drag this up again, but I am still worried about this fish and dont know if I am doing the right thing. I have been treating with Interpet meds as recommended, kept her seperate, done loads of water changes to both tanks and kept all the water clean but she still has a weird eye!

I dont know how long I should carry on treating her for or if she is still needs to be kept seperate, or if she is going to get better.

Anyone any suggestions please?
Thanks everyone

Well firstly, well done on keeping on top of all the water changes, that will certainly help your fish.

Are you remembering to supplement the tank with the Interpet meds every time you do a water change, and when is the course of treatment due to finish?

What are your water stats now?

Sorry for the questions but it may help someone give you the proper advice

It can take a while to treat! As diana said what are your stats!!

Sorry everyone to take so long to answer, I'm reallt grateful for all your help.

Tested my water today - Ph 7.6, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20. The Nitrate has gone up for some reason, it was 10. Havent changed the water for 4 days now.

I am a bit worried about a couple of the fish, the popeye one doesnt seem to be getting any better and its eye looks a sort of milky colour now, and a couple of the fish are quiet today.

Is popeye catching? Could the others be catching it too?

tabbycat have you read the info in the beginners section about popeye? I've just had a little look at it because I dont know anything about it and there is a lot of info in there about it.

It might be worth having a look