Whats that stuff coming out of my fishes eye ?

[John_Johnathan]

Raspberry
- Glofish Tetra
- 4 yrs old.

Yesterday I came out to see my fish and found he had "something " coming out of the bottom of his eye.
Its a small, white cottonie looking, fluff kinda thing.
On close inspection it looks like its coming out of his lower eye socket, in the gap between his eye and upper cheek bone.

Here's some pics under 21 Feb:

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Most of it broke off yesterday, but it was back again today.
This is just his lattest medical issue, as he's had others ( Fin Deformation disease ) lately.

It doesnt seem to bother him as he still swims around and eats normal....but he could just be " Making the best of it"

Still....I have no idea what this is, and No idea how to treat it.

Has anyone come across something like this?

Help, Please !

 

[mark4785]

If it is eating then it will be fine. Perhaps try to get it to eat more than usual to help it recover. I would not recommend continuing to net a sick fish as this will put it through a phase of fight or flight which hampers the ability of its immune system to fight diseases like the one you have shown here.

 

[John_Johnathan]

Hello Mark4785,

Yah, I didnt really want to do the net either, but I wanted to get a close up of his eye. He is actually still in the water in the picture. I've left him alone since.

So....do you have any idea what the "disease" is? Have you ever come across such a thing?

I dont know if its actually hurting him....whats going on with his little fish body. As you see from the rest of the pictures, he's had his share of problems the past couple months.

I'd really like find out what this is so I can help him.

Thanks much for your reply.

- John

 

[NerithyisaNxkki]

His problems could have been caused by some harmful effects of your tank’s environment. They can also be fore warns to a much bigger issue. Are there any other fishes in the tank? What type of fishes are they? Do other fishes also have this issue? Did you recently introduce anything new into the tank? What are your water parameters? How often do you change and how much water do you remove? I suggest checking your tank for any irregularities. Do water changes ( i recommend 25% weekly water changes) and do quarantine that fish. Do basic water tests. Based on the description, It looks like your fish most probably has fungus or ick. Treat the whole tank.Ich can be treated easily with salt but if cories or serpae tetras are present dont use salt to treat. However, if you have not been doing regular and proper water changes, and you have not added anything to the tank, the problem should be a fungus infection. Turn up the heat (just a little) to help speed recovery but do increase aeration to compensate for this. Clean your filter and vacuum your tank’s gravel(and i mean everywhere, even in those nitty corners)
Hope this helped.

 

[mark4785]

I don’t know what it is I’m afraid. Clearly if it is eating it would suggest that it is superficial. It looks like damage caused by catching its eye socket area on something in the tank.

I’ve had fish develop a grey sheen on their eyes and once even had a fish slice itself open but as they were eating and the water was clean they recovered. Given this I suggest you continue with the same tank husbandry, perhaps give the fish more food with vitamin C content and it will recover.

 

[Naughts]

Flukes are a common parasitic disease which can effect the eyes. His fin and fungus damage could be secondary infections caused by the worms weakening the fish.

 

[John_Johnathan]

His problems could have been caused by some harmful effects of your tank’s environment. They can also be fore warns to a much bigger issue. Are there any other fishes in the tank? What type of fishes are they? Do other fishes also have this issue? Did you recently introduce anything new into the tank? What are your water parameters? How often do you change and how much water do you remove? I suggest checking your tank for any irregularities. Do water changes ( i recommend 25% weekly water changes) and do quarantine that fish. Do basic water tests. Based on the description, It looks like your fish most probably has fungus or ick. Treat the whole tank.Ich can be treated easily with salt but if cories or serpae tetras are present dont use salt to treat. However, if you have not been doing regular and proper water changes, and you have not added anything to the tank, the problem should be a fungus infection. Turn up the heat (just a little) to help speed recovery but do increase aeration to compensate for this. Clean your filter and vacuum your tank’s gravel(and i mean everywhere, even in those nitty corners)
Hope this helped.

Hello Ner.....

Thank you for your great reply !

To Reply:
He has lived in the same environment for 4 years. The decorations have been there for a while. These health problems are recent. There is one other Glofish tetra in the tank. Yes, it is new as Raspberrys previous tank mate of 4 yrs, died 3 months ago. The new fish has no health issues. And yes....there is a tank separator keeping the two fish apart bc of Raspberry condition, so bullying isnt a problem. Yes, I do a 50 % water change once a week, which includes gravel vacuuming...even in the nitty gritty corners. The tank ( 5 1/2 gal) even has 2 small filters to keep the water good. The water quality ( parameters) have always been good.

To me, after going over the things you listed, .....my fish isnt suffering from tank or water or other fish probems...then I guess I am really concerned about a "much bigger issue", as you mentioned.

But, I can start treatment for fungus. You mentioned turning the heat and aeration up. Okay, I can do that. Is there particular med you also recommend?

Thanks again for your reply and advice.

-John

 

[John_Johnathan]

Flukes are a common parasitic disease which can effect the eyes. His fin and fungus damage could be secondary infections caused by the worms weakening the fish.

Hi Naughts..

Thanks for your reply.
I haven't thought about Flukes yet. I'll look more into that.
Is there a particular treatment you can recommend?

Please advise
- John

 

[Naughts]

I just use nts anti fluke and de-wormer during quarantine, I've never had to deal with flukes.
I'm sorry to say that if he has been having health issues for some time, it is likely that the damage is irreversible.

 

[mark4785]

What kind of a fluke are we talking about here? As far as I know, flukes are microscopic and would not be visible when photographed.

If the white particle is a worm it would surely move. To me it looks more like damage to the skin. Unless this is a very sensitive fish it is very likely to recover from the issue if it is eating.

 

[Naughts]

Fish eyes make the perfect home for parasites

www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

 

[mark4785]

Fish eyes make the perfect home for parasites

www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

Yes, I didn’t think the fluke was visible to the naked eye.

 

[John_Johnathan]

What kind of a fluke are we talking about here? As far as I know, flukes are microscopic and would not be visible when photographed.

If the white particle is a worm it would surely move. To me it looks more like damage to the skin. Unless this is a very sensitive fish it is very likely to recover from the issue if it is eating.

ve
Hi Mark...

Yah, Im not so sure about flukes either. No, it doesnt move.

It actually looks like a white, cottonie puff kinda thing.
Previously some of it broke away and floated in the tank just like a bit of cotton would.
Besides its coming out of the bottom of his eye socket...not his gills or around his body.

Right now he has a small glump of it there. he can still see me with that eye. And he's being rather calm about it all.

But still, its gotta be causing him at least some discomfort.....so theres just gotta be something I can do to help him.

 

[mark4785]

ve
Hi Mark...

Yah, Im not so sure about flukes either. No, it doesnt move.

It actually looks like a white, cottonie puff kinda thing.
Previously some of it broke away and floated in the tank just like a bit of cotton would.
Besides its coming out of the bottom of his eye socket...not his gills or around his body.

Right now he has a small glump of it there. he can still see me with that eye. And he's being rather calm about it all.

But still, its gotta be causing him at least some discomfort.....so theres just gotta be something I can do to help him.

Could you get a close up of the eye by itself and possibly turn flash on when taking the picture?

If it is a very pronounced cotton appearance then this would suggest it has a fungus growth. I have attached a photo of what fungus looks like.