Cloudy Eye

[daizeUK]

My red wagtail platy has a cloudy eye today.  It's her right eye and seems to be swollen as well.
 

 
I've had her for ten days, she was bought as part of initial stock for a newly setup tank.  She had fry six days ago.
 
The tank was fishless cycled and water stats today are NitrAte 40ppm, Nitrite almost zero, Ammonia almost zero.
 
She is eating well and active, almost hyperactive in fact.  Every day she spends nearly all her time swimming to and fro against the front glass as if desperate to escape.
 
The other occupants of the time are four smaller mickey mouse platies who were bought at the same time, they are all more relaxed, they explore the tank and interact socially with each other while she does not.
 
I've also noticed that her left gill (on the opposite side to the cloudy eye) has appeared to stick out very slightly for the last couple of days.  It doesn't look serious but I've been keeping a close watch on it to ensure it doesn't get any worse.
 
Any advice on whether I should take action or leave it to heal itself appreciated.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I would think this is likely all related to the "almost zero" readings. Cloudy eye can be cleared with pristine water alone within a 2-3 weeks. I'd simply make sure those readings stay at 0 and the problems will more than likely take care of themselves.

 

[daizeUK]

I'll do tank maintenance tomorrow.  The 'almost zero' (I'd estimate only about 0.1ppm) readings are due to excess food because I've been trying to feed fry in the tank, I think.  I didn't think it would cause any problems, especially since when I took these fish out of their bag it had >0.5ppm ammonia and >80ppm nitrates, so I thought my water is pretty pristine compared to what they were used to in the shop before.

 

[AshP1986]

Testing the water from the bag is basically pointless. When fish are placed into a bag and brought home they become stressed and release high levels of ammonia, which is why you NEVER want to pour the store's water in to your tank. 

Since you have babies and a sick fishy you want to make sure your ammonia and nitrite are at 0 no matter what. 
 
I too am feeding babies in my main tank and the levels are 0. If this means I have to do more water changes then so be it. That is what has to be done to promote healthy babies and keep my adults happy.

 

[daizeUK]

Not a problem, I'll do more water changes and keep the water as clean as possible.  I also have a little bit of vallis melt which probably isn't helping so I'll give that a trim too.
 
I don't think that such a low reading is responsible for the cloudy eye though?  I think the fish must be stressed or weakened for some other reason, possibly giving birth recently or she doesn't like her new tank or tankmates?  The water was pristine until she had the fry and she was still frantically pacing the tank before that so I don't know why she shows this behaviour.

 

[AshP1986]

No, you are very right, I doubt the cloudy eye was caused from water. But she will need clean water to heal properly and promptly. She may have hit it on something with her frantic swimming?

 

[daizeUK]

I think you may be right, the cloudy eye seems to be improving today so maybe she just gave it a bash.
I've done a 30% water change and will keep an eye on the water stats.  Cheers for your help!

 

[KCB]

I read recently that a cloudy eye can be caused by nutritional problems. It's probably more likely a bacterial infection though, so again, squeaky clean water will help and as you've said she's improving so I'm sure she'll be fine .

 

[daizeUK]

Eye is fully recovered now, the cloudiness only lasted three days at most and cleared up very quickly.  I'm guessing that means it's too quick for an infection so must have been a physical injury?

 

[AshP1986]

YAY Glad she is feeling better!