Urgent Very sick lionfish

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by SaltDweeb, Mar 8, 2012.

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  1. SaltDweeb

    SaltDweeb Plankton

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    Feb 20, 2012
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    Location:
    kentucky
    Hello all...I have a fuzzy dwarf lionfish with cloudy eyes....the problem started last week....his eyes started to look cloudy but my filter had broken and i was running an insufficient filter for the size tank that i had....i figure it all started from poor water quality i did a water change and got a brand new more than sufficient filter....his eyes cleared up for a few days but now they are cloudier than before and he is no longer eating...does anyone have any suggestions of what i can do....i do not have a working vehicle right now as it is being worked on at the moment so no way to go and get a test kit for parameters...all other inhabitants are healthy as far as i can tell....they include a dogface puffer, porcupine puffer, and snowflake morray eel....also some turbo snails....if anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated...thanks so much
     
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  3. nc208082

    nc208082 Zoanthid

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    You left out allot of info;

    1. pH

    2. Alk/dKh

    3. Salinity

    4. Water Temp.

    5 What do you feed it and is it still eating

    6. How long has the eye been cloudy and is it getting worse. You may have to remove this fish and treat it, there are a number of methods to use. No it does not mean a QT tank but short dips

    Your issues are not feeding, it is water quality. Have you checked for ammonia ? Cycling can often mean nothing, depending on how it is done. Once cycled and then hit with new live forms it can go right back, as if it is cycling all over again. Check your ammonia and nitrite levels


    Lionfish can develope blindness in the eyes easily, from reading it is atrributed to water quality, In a predator tank his eye could become lost quickly.

    You have 2 puffers, a lion and a eel. All very large fish producing very vast amounts of waste, ( when i had a purcupine puffer, the poop was massive, comparable to the waste i get from maybe 40 clownfish. List your skimmer, amount of liverock and sand. Im betting your system isnt breaking enough waste down, and is leading to health issues. As you said since its getting worse, thats a a sign, treatment quickly is vital at this point.

    LionDisFAQs
     
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  4. CharlotteReefer

    CharlotteReefer Coral Banded Shrimp

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    You left out allot of info;

    1. pH

    2. Alk/dKh

    3. Salinity


    I guess you missed the part where he said he doesnt have a test kit and has no way to get to the store to get one
     
  5. pgoodsell

    pgoodsell Horrid Stonefish

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    From a quick google search

    "Cloudy eyes are as mentioned above most often a result of a bacterial infection even if it in rare cases can be caused by fungus. Adding tetracycline, chloromycetin (chloramphenicol) or another antibiotic to the water or even better to the food can often (not always) help cure this problem. Start treatment as soon as possible to prevent the infection from causing serious injure or even blindness."

    You need to get him treated.

    Without your water params we can only guess.
     
  6. nc208082

    nc208082 Zoanthid

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    You seem new here so let me help you, Without knowing those values how could you possibly determine what is wrong with a fishes health. YOU CANT. So instead of making a smug comment like that, which also gives no helpful information to the subject of the ops asking. Whereas mine offered some good advice on some routes to go and causes of this. Please save your unhelpful comments to yourself. This is a family oriented forum where try and help each other.

    But to the OP you need those values if you want to successfuly give a happy life to your lionfish i know you said you didnt have the kits, but you need them. I.e. Express shiiping from marine depot. Cab ride to the Lfs or even bus ride if possible. Without a car there is still ways to get supplies.
     
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  7. CharlotteReefer

    CharlotteReefer Coral Banded Shrimp

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    "You seem new here so let me help you, Without knowing those values how could you possibly determine what is wrong with a fishes health. YOU CANT. So instead of making a smug comment like that, which also gives no helpful information to the subject of the ops asking. Whereas mine offered some good advice on some routes to go and causes of this. Please save your unhelpful comments to yourself. This is a family oriented forum where try and help each other."

    Dont argue with an ass, they will drag you to their level... good luck SaltDweeb!
     
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  9. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    it sounds like it could be ammonia toxicity. This can cause burns to the eyes of fis (along with a number of other serious problems). My guess (guess only) is when your filter went down, you had a major cycle where your ammonia went up. You did a water change bringing it back down, however the problem was not really solved, causing the ammonia to go back up again.

    You have some rather large, predator fish in your system. How big is your tank? What type of filter do you have? How much live rock do you have and how long has the tank been up? I know you said you can not get test kits but you do really need to get some. HOWEVER, until you can I would continue to do large volume water changes every 2 days or so. This is not ideal but until you can get a bigger filter/etc it is your only way.

    With the fish you have in your system, I forsee problems with the porcupine puffer next if it doesnt get better. Good luck and start doing the water changes. Also if you have any add some prime in immediatly. If you dont have any, get some when you can. IMO NO HOBBYIST SHOULD EVER BE WITH OUT PRIME. I have bottles for such an emergency
     
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  10. inwall75

    inwall75 Giant Squid

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    Hey folks, let's all remember we are here to help each other. Peace out!!! :victory:
     
  11. nc208082

    nc208082 Zoanthid

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    finally some good advice from you, just wish you took your own advice first time instead of trying to stir trouble.
     
  12. SaltDweeb

    SaltDweeb Plankton

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    Location:
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    Thanks all for the advice...yes i am new to this site...i have had this tank up and running for about 4 years....it was reef but i just recently switched to predator which i am learning that I know nothing about....it is a 125 gallon tank with approx. 150 lbs. live rock and about the same in sand....i am running an odyssea cfs 700 filter not sure what the skimmer is my husband bought it all i know is that it does about 700gph there is also a uv sterilizer in the filter. I also am thinking possible ammonia toxicity because i live in kentucky and we were hit pretty hard with tornadoes and power was out for a while i am getting a ride to my lfs tomorrow and will get water tests done and get appropriate treatments for my fish i hope that he makes it through the night and i appreciate everyone's suggestions will update on how he is doing after treatment.