White dot on the eye

[RichardChen]

One of my cichlid had a white dot on its left eye 2 weeks ago.  In between now and then I thought it went away by itself.  Somehow I found the fish hiding on a corner of the tank with left eye having jelly-like coat on the eye and I can see little reddish on the eye.  Even worse, I found another cichlid has a tiny white dot on one of its eye looks like what I saw two weeks ago.  Is it from fighting or it is kind of disease?  Will it spread to other cichlids?

Please help.  Thank you.

[imagirlgeek]

Re: White dot on the eye

Here's a little of what I found.  I went ahead and copied it in here instead of the link because I'm not sure the link would have taken you right to the info.

Common Name:   Cloudy Eye
Pathogen/Cause: Various organisms (nonspecific), Severe Stress, Malnutrition, Cataracts, Old Age, Hyperproduction of slime due to poisoning, bad water quality, or irritation.
Physical Signs: A cloudy white or grey "haze" over the eyes that may cause blindness.
Behavioral Signs: Associated with loss of vision, also just general signs of lethargy.
Potential Treatment: Investigate if water quality is high first (water changes), then if nutritional needs of that species are being met. Wait at least a week or two before trying any antibiotics, it will often clear on its own if water quality is high.
Other Notes: Frequent water changes a must to improve quality. Test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. Cloudy eye is a sign of a number of things, rather than a disease in its own right.

OR it could be from fighting.  But either way, maintaining clean water is a good idea if you want to see an improvement.

[RichardChen]

Re: White dot on the eye

Thanks.  I will check my water.  I changed 50% water last weekend.  The week before that I cleaned one of my Eheim 2217.  And a week before that I cleaned another Eheim 2217.  I will kick myself in the rare if I accidently killed the beneficial bacteria.

I also post a questions about adding aqua. salt under "disease" bulletinboard. I am basically asking without aqua-salt in the tank, am I exposing my cichlids to health problem?

Thank you again.

PS: I love your pictures on the website.  Your tanks look brighter.  I can't image how much time you spent on caring those lucky fish.  You got a pretty pleco.  I have about 30 cichlids, 11 giant dinos, and one placo in 125 gal tank.  Do you think I need to give away some fish?

[edmlfc]

Re: White dot on the eye

I don't use any salt in my cichlid tank. I did have one fish that had a cloudy eye. It was only one of his eyes and it cleared up in a few days. I think he ran into a rock. In my saltwater tank I am dealing with another fish that has both eyes clouded over. I finally figured out what it was. I was feeding her live bloodworms which caused her an eye infection. She has had it for over 2 months now. I have been in touch with a vet and he agrees that the live food caused it. I don't know if you are feeding your fish any live food but it's something to think about. If you have a qt tank you can move the fish that has the cloudy eye to qt and treat with meds. Only if it don't clear up by itself. I know that what my fish have is not contagious but your situation may be different. If you feel it's necessary to try meds I would try furan-2 or maracyn first. Lot's of luck to you.

[RichardChen]

Re: White dot on the eye

Thank you for the info edmlfc.  I feed my cichlid flake, pellet food, and frozen food (bloodworms and shrimp.)  I thought frozen food is safe.  When I am ready to feed them the frozen food, I put tank water in a cup and let the frozen food thaw in the cup then I dump the whole thing into the tank.  Do you think I should dump the thawed food into the fish net, raise it with tap water before I feed them?

[edmlfc]

Re: White dot on the eye

I would just to be on the safe side. Being that it's frozen it probally dosen't carry parasites like live food does. Now even if it's live food I freeze it first then I do as you do and defrost it in a cup of tank water. After about 20 minutes of so I drain the water and then feed. I just don't trust live food anymore. Just keep a close eye to make sure it don't spread. I really don't think it will because the fish that's infected only has one cloudy eye. But I have been known to be wrong before.  :wink:

[edmlfc]

Re: White dot on the eye

Btw: I would still test the water and do water changes. Keep the water as clean as possible, this will help the fish to heal also.

[imagirlgeek]

Re: White dot on the eye

We've got a fish who (we think) damaged his eye in a fight.  He's got that gray/white spot on his eye and it's been like that for about 6 months.  Other than the battle scar, he's just fine.  I wouldn't worry too much as long as they aren't lethargic or not eating...you know.

As for the aquarium salt...hmmm...that's a good question.  There's a lot of debate about the effects of aquarium salt.  Personally, we keep it on hand and use it sporadically.  We don't use it religiously.

Some fish are more sensitive to it (catfish, scaleless fish), but it can be used with them at low levels.  Whether you choose to add it or not is really a personal choice. But I do believe that it does have benefits.

One of the most common uses for salt is to relieve the effects of high nitrites in the water on fish during the cycling process. This is because salt reduces the amount of nitrite that takes the place of oxygen in the fish's blood (ever wonder why they're gasping for air if the water quality takes a dive?)

Specific to your question about salt and ick...you are not necessarily going to have more problems with ick by not using salt, but I'll explain how the salt might help your fish if you did end up with an ick epidemic in your tank...

A fish is better adapted for taking in and using salt than are the diseases and parasites that infect them.  Salt can also stimulate fish to produce an excessive slime coat to prevent some of the parasites/pathogens from attaching to the fish (but that's using higher concentrations of salt ie - salt bath).

I hope this info helps.  I don't think you would be right if you used salt, or wrong if you didn't.  It's really a personal choice.  :)

Thanks for the compliment on our tanks.  We love being surrounded by fish.    And we spend more time on the fish than we do on just about everything else.  Feeding time alone takes a good 30 minutes.  

[RichardChen]

Re: White dot on the eye

If I decide to go back to add salt to the tank, should I add enough salt per gallon of water in one shot or should I add one table spoon  say every 24 hours until enough?

I still have one and half can of Jungle Aquarium Salt.  It is cheap.  Is pricy salt better salt?  or salt, is salt, is salt?

[imagirlgeek]

Re: White dot on the eye

I think salt is salt is salt is salt when it comes to freshwater....it's when you get into the marine salt that it gets pretty fancy.  :)

I think it's okay to add all at once.  What I do is measure it out into a pitcher of aquarium water and let it mostly dissolve before pouring it in.  I just don't want them to come running at it thinking it's food when I put it in.  But our fish are pigs.

[fshfrk]

Re: White dot on the eye

i was going to start a thread about a case of cloudy eye on a petro trew. but i saw this so i will join in. this fish had cloudy eye 3 months ago. i put it in a hospital tank and cured it with maracyn. same fish got it again last week. i called alex at ultimate and he said water quality. so i did a 50% water change every day. i'm on the 5th day and it's cleared up. it's almost gone. i do a least 2 50%water changes a wk on this 210. i guess my over feeding causes this problem. but i reduced the fish by 35% and am cutting way back on the food.