HELP - Something wrong with Clowns eye! -PICS

[mario8402]

The symptoms popped up pretty quickly without any notice and he died shortly after this.. I think it was an infection of some kind.. possibly hole in head?

[dlaclo]

here is some reasearch i did on the subject for you

Pop Eye or Bubble Eye
(exophthalmos/exophthalmia)

What is Pop Eye, how do our fish get pop eye, and how do we cure it without harming the rest of our tanks inhabitants. These are some of the questions I am going to try to answer.
Exopthalmos is an bacterial infection and not a disease. It is the appearance of fluid or air trapped behind, beside, or near the eye. Hence the name "Pop Eye". Is this something to be worried about? It depends, on the severity of the case, how it was caused, and whether or not it is in both eyes or not. The good thing about Exothalmos, is it is generally not contagious. "Pop Eye" can last anywhere from two days too two weeks.
The most common cause of Exopthalmos is eye trauma. This can happen for a number of reasons, i.e. fighting with other fish or from the reef keeper trying to net the fish. When this type of injury happens it will normally only affect one of the eyes. If it is only one eye it is recommended to leave the fish in the tank and let nature take its course, the fish will normally be fine. Removing the fish could result in additional injury so if removal is necessary use a bottle of some sort, and be extremely gentle. If it is a fairly serious case where the fish seems like it wont eat feed the fish using a feeding stick. If you do chouse to feed the fish manually it is recommended to soak the food in a vitamin. Additionally, feed the fish a antibiotic as this will help in curing the "pop eye."
Normaly the fish will be fine in a couple of weeks and go on to live a happy life. if the case is more severe it is possible for the fish will go blind in that eye but still will normally be just fine. (If kept in an aggresive tank it is recommended to remove and place in a non aggresive tank. This is due to the other fish sensing its vaulnerablity.)
If the fish appears to have "pop eye" in both eyes, it most likely due to a contagious disease, and should be removed immediately. As well as any other fish showing signs of sickness. Once in quarintine the fish will most likely need to be fed via some sort of liquid antibiotic. If the fish is not treated properly the "pop eye" in both eyes will most likely lead to blindness in both eyes and eventual death as it will not be able to see what it needs to eat. If blindness occurs it is recommended to humanly uthanise the animal as we don't want our livestock to suffer.
hopfully none of our livestock has to go through "pop eye" but if it happens i hope this post helps in curing.

Greg Zimmerman
Student....