Pop Eye Fish Disease

The pop eye disease, also referred to as exophthalmus, is a condition in which one or both eyes appear really huge and bulging. The bulging may grow to such an extent that the fish appears really hideous. Besides protruding in a grotesque manner by pooling of fluid in the eyes and the region surrounding it is quite harmful. Moreover, the eye lens appears cloudy white and if this condition aggravates, the appearance of a white ring is seen circling the eyes.

Pop Eye Fish Disease Causes

Pop eye disease in fish is caused due to a combination of several problems or may be the symptom of an underlying bacterial infection. The fish can be infected by bacterial infections by various ways such as improper or rough handling, overcrowding, temperature fluctuations on the water, poor water quality, undernourishment due to poor diet, vitamin A deficiency, excess lighting or even stress. The infection can also be spearheaded by the previous fish diseases that infected the fish and can also be caused by parasitic infestations or internal metabolic system disorders.

Treatment of Pop Eye Fish

Goldfish, cichlid pop eye disease, etc., are easy to identify on the fish, but quite difficult to treat. The simple reason why it is so difficult to treat is because the pop eye can be caused by various factors and zeroing on the exact causative factor. However, what can be done is try and look for certain symptoms and carry out the following treatment as mentioned below.

Case 1: If both the eyes of the fish are enlarged, then it's most likely that the causative factor is a bacterial infection. In this case get the infected fish out of the tank and put it into a spare, clean tank treated with Maracyn or Maracyn II, that will act as the healing tank. This treatment will get rid of the infection from the fish. The same process is useful to treat injury caused to the eye due to scraping the eye on a rock or fish fight. Make sure the healing or hospital tank is a bare bottomed tank with no decor. Also maintain very little light penetration.

Case 2: If the disease is not confined to just one fish, but is present in several fish at the same instant, then there is a probability that water quality is the problem. Water quality is often the cause for disease spread in fish. Thus, quickly resort to restoring the water quality in the tank. Start off by changing 30% water for the next 5 days or so and keep testing the water conditions. Also check of ammonia and pH levels.

On a general note, one should one tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of the water in the tank to assist the process of osmoregulation. Several antibiotics, injections and other medications are available to treat the fish eye condition. The pop eye fish disease is mostly not a life-threatening disease, although at times the bulging eyes of the fish do not completely heal and remain slightly larger than usual even after complete recovery.

The best way to keep this disease that attacks gold fish, cichlids and all other fish in your aquarium at bay, is by maintaining the fish tank regularly. Proper maintenance is the key to lowering the incidence rate of this pop eye fish disease. Poor water quality condition will trigger all such diseases in your fish, which is why as a responsible pet owner, one is supposed to check for water quality and other parameters on a regular basis.