sick synos

[Damiri]

i noticed that one of my synos has that film over his eyes. They look cloudy. I dont think he is seeing well, if at all. The other one's eyes are better but he seems to be developing the same issue. What could it be and what can i do to help them?
some background. They used to live in a 120 gal tank but 2 weeks ago i had to dismantle it because it had to be moved due to house renovations. Now they live in a 30 gal temporary housing with some cories, mollies and guppies. I didnt have time to cycle the new tank but i did place some media from the old tank's filter in the new tank and was adding Seachem Stability as per instructions. Right now the readings are: ammonia at 0, Nitrite at 0.25 and Nitrate at 0. The PH of my water is around 7.6. I have well water so no chlorine.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Could be cataracts.

Cataracts are caused by all kinds of things, including water quality, nutrition, trauma, age, and hereditary factors. Sometimes they're a symptom of something else, and sometimes cataracts occur all on their own.

To my knowledge cataracts are extremely difficult to treat in fish, and success stories are hard to find. Medication does exist, but I've never had a fish with cataracts before, so I've never tried to treat it, and can't speak of the medication's effectiveness. Some species just naturally develop cataracts when they get old.

Cataracts will indeed affect the fish's ability to see. They may start bumping into things or other fish.

I actually kinda hope I'm wrong here, because it's really sad if you've got two of these both developing cataracts at the same time.

How old are these catfish? If you're not sure exactly how old they are, how long have you had them?

 

[Damiri]

I have had them for about 11 months now. They weren't old when I got them so I think they are about year old. It makes me sad to see them sick. They are such beautiful fish.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Cataracts are common in older Synodontis, but these fish can live for like 16 years. Have they grown a lot since you got them, or did you get them full grown? Are you certain they weren’t adults, maybe pre-owned, when you got them? Because if it’s not age, it could be a fungus or a bacteria or a parasite or water issues from the new uncycled tank or even an issue from the old tank. Even if they’re not older, it could still very well be cataracts, just not caused by age. Did this issue show up before or after you moved them to the new tank? How rapidly did this progress? Sadly the cataracts might not be reversible, but whatever caused this may be.

 

[Damiri]

They definitely were babies when I got them. I cant be 100% sure if there was no issues before the move but I think there were. The move, or rather the water quality accelerated it. Do you think it is worth moving them to a hospital tank and treating them for fungus?

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Don’t treat for anything unless we’re certain what the problem is.

Do you have more pictures? Maybe of the gills or of the full body from both sides? Does anything else on the fish look out of place? Take pictures and post them here.

What do you mean you think there may have been issues before the move? What did you notice? Was something out of the ordinary?

 

[Colin_T]

It's poor water quality. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a couple of weeks, or until you have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite.
Always water change first and see how it looks after a few big water changes.

If in doubt, water change it out

If using well water, aerate it for 30 minutes or more before adding to the tank.

If you had moved the entire filter across it would have helped more than just taking a bit of the filter media

 

[Damiri]

I meant that i am not sure if something was already going on before the move because we have been busy with all the reno and tank got less attention than usual and the synos are usually hiding during the day anyway so i might have missed the early signs. I will take more pictures tonight.

i will clean the substrate and do a water change.
thank you!