Blue Jaw Trigger With Puffy White eye? Help ID Please?

[baseballkid5]

I have a 75 Gallon Reef tank set up with A blue Jaw Trigger. I have had him in this tank for over 1 and a half years. and have never had or seen any problems with him or any other fish in my system. Within the last 2-3 days his eye became a little Lighter and today his eye is very Puffy and Almost Completely white. Hes been eating fine and continues to eat Pellets with Garlic and a mixture of Mysis Formula 1,2 And Also Nori. I drip most of the food with garlic for added immune system help.
All My Water paramaters are stable with no Major Fluxuations.
Ph 8.1
nitrates 0-5
nitrite 0
Salinity .24
Hes usually swimming around but hes been hiding when i come in the room. Which is not normal. If i leave the room and just peek my head in he comes out swimming like normal. Here are some pics Hope this can help identify so i can try and help him.
Thanks
Scott

 

[Myteemouse]

ooooo that pour little fishy.. I would be super heart brokin if my baby blue jaw got sick like that..
I can imagine how you feel right now..
I love my trigger, as I'm sure you do too..
I hope you can find out whats wrong to help him get better
If I were you I would start with a hospital/ QT tank for now until you can get it figured out..

 

[NC2WA]

first thing comes to my mind is Popeye. do you have a hospital tank you can move him to??

but I would be more comfortable if Lee would give a diagnosis.

 

[baseballkid5]

I do not have a hospital tank set up. I might be able to start one. Catching the Fish will be the Last resort if at all possible.

 

[reef18ster]

I would also assume it's popeye but popeye is usually caused by bad water quality and your params look normal. Hopefully Lee will give you some suggestions on how to cure it and its cause. The best time to catch a triggerfish is when they sleep. They wedge themselves in between rocks and/or other objects in the tank. Find where they wedge and you can just scoop them up. Good luck!

 

[mal1099]

Man that sucks. I have no usefull info for you but i hope it recovers cause its a very nice loking trigger.

 

[Inconservatory]

I had popeye with a betta (it's freshwater, I know), but a good water change and healthy diet ended up reducing it back to nothing. Maybe try a larger water change? Have you added any livestock recently?

 

[NC2WA]

Baseballkid5,

i found an old thread that Lee responded to:

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31103&highlight=popeye

Highly suggest reading it..has good info...

 

[baseballkid5]

Thanks for the thread. Im gonna take my water in to have it checked maybe the tests are not right. Elos tests arent known for being bad but you never know. And im gonna do a 25% water change Try to clean up some of the detritus in the fuge and see how it goes.

 

[NC2WA]

just do changes slowly and not a big one at once...unfortunately there is no panecea for what you are experiencing.

 

[leebca]

Doesn't seem to look like the 'traditional Popeye.

My first guess would be the fish ran into one (or more) of your invertebrates and has been stung. The eye is very vulnerable to this. The Triggerfishes are very active. It fits.

The fish needs to be separated from any further contact with whatever one or more might have caused this. I would treat with an antibiotic and a lot of prayers. Not much can be done.

However, the good/neat thing about fish eyes is that they keep growing. Unlike the human eye that is almost totally formed at birth, the fish eye grows throughout its life. So the fish eye is being constantly expanded which adds to their ability to repair the area. Even a blind fish can see again with time and proper nourishment!

Garlic isn't the answer. What the fish needs now is an increase in vitamins A and D (the vitamins that aid in eye repair and condition). Cod live oil is what should be added to its food. But getting the fish out of the tank is what I would do, despite the difficulty, so it can get a proper antibiotic treatment during its healing process.

The QT should be very low lighted -- just enough light so the fish can see its food. Otherwise, everything else as usual for a QT.

If the condition were the traditional Popeye, the procedure would be similar, except for the choice of antibiotic. If Popeye the fish needs an antibiotic that will treat systemic conditions; if the injury I think it is, then the antibiotic needs to be topical. If you choose to treat with both kinds of antibiotics, just be sure they are compatible with each other. If two are used and proper nourishment provided, the fish will be on its way to recovery or, recovery isn't possible.

 

[baseballkid5]

Thank you for the replies. Im trying to set up a hospital tank. Need to find a hang on filter and ive been trying to get him caught not easy to say the least. Before you responded Lee i bought a product called Tetracycline im soaking the food in the product for a 1/2 hr or so and feeding hes eating the pellets as well as mysis that are soaking up some of the product. It is made by Gel Tek. Where do i find the products you listed to treat? Also can it be put in the Tank hes in if i still havent caught him?
Thank You
Scott

 

[leebca]

Marine fish antibiotics are available from a variety of online sources and relatively complete or large aquarium store. They can also sometimes be found at pet stores.

They should be administered in a quarantine tank since most will adversely affect micro-organisms that co-exist with invertebrates/corals.

 

[leebca]

You seem to be an advanced hobbyist. Do you need the names of some other antibiotics?

Antibiotics that are digested usually don't enter the systems of the fish. They usually won't help with a topical infection. Tetracycline for instance can't handle a high pH -- it can't be added to marine water since the higher pH renders it pretty much useless.

 

[beoks]

im having a similar condition could please name some of the antibiotics so i could do some reading

 

[baseballkid5]

Id just like to thnk everyone who has responded. I Put him in a hospital tank and have been keeping up with a 10 percent water change every other day. His Eye has slowly came down and im thinking within a few days should be back to the Reef. I used a couple different products. The Gel Tek being One. The other is one i found at Blue Sierra. I will have to find the name of it. But all is well in the Reef Otherwise.Will post Pics Been pretty Busy with a 4 day Old Baby Girl So reefing might be a little bit on the back burner. Till sleep returns. Hence the Post at 130am
Thanks
Scott

 

[Myteemouse]

love to hear a good outcome to a sick fishy..
good job...

 

[leebca]

Maracyn Two for Saltwater fishes.