copepod on fish's eye?

[donna68]

hello,

 

My fire fish has something attached to its eye. it looks like a copepod just hanging off of his one eye. can this happen? he didn't have it on his eye earlier today. should i just leave it or do i need to cure him with a freshwater dip or by another means? I don't have a camera with macro setting or i would take a picture. Thanks for your help.

Donna

[unsped]

im sorry, really i am. you have a long road ahead of you.

 

for now, yes get the thing off of him.

 

then do a google search for 'cirolanid'

 

you have my condolences.

 

hint: copepods are tiny tiny, isopods are bigger.

 

where did you get your rock?

[donna68]

nope that's not it. i searched online and it doesn't look like cirolanid. the thing on his eye was very small. actually just looked on the fish and it's gone from his eye. it looked like a tiny white worm of some sort. thanks for you help anyways.

donna

[unsped]

oh cool.

 

maybe its ich?

[donna68]

no i think its some type of flat worm like Monogenean . and no ich wouldn't be cool either. lol thanks again. hey maybe it's snail poop ha ha ha

[donna68]

oh btw I we got our rock from dr. macs..it's pukani rock.

[pyrrhus]

ichs much better than isopods. unfortunately anything that attaches to a fishes eye can potentially blind the fish in that eye. watch for clouding and if necessary treat with an antibacterial. personally i like Melafix, the active ingredient is tea tree extract, TOTALLY reef safe, and also very good for healing damaged fins, i suggest having some around just in case you ever need it, it is really great stuff.

[pyrrhus]

it could also be some sort of fluke.

[donna68]

Thanks pyrrhus. Yes I will keep an eye on the eye. I remember reading about melafix in a reef book. Walmart has them. I will pick up a bottle the next time I'm there. Do u put the melafix right in the tank? I was told during my long research on saltwater tanks that you shouldn't put anything into the tank. Thanks again

Donna

[pyrrhus]

IME, melafix is completely reef and invert safe. however one must be VERY careful not to overdose as it can reduce o2 levels very quickly and crash a tank. if you just follow the directions youll be fine. i only give the caution about overdosing because i just had to do a 400 gallon WC on a customers tank because melafix was overdosed, it does not happen on a regular basis however, and i have severely OD'd my own tank with no ill effects.

[donna68]

thanks for the warning pyrrhus. the little white thing that was on his eye wasn't there yesterday. i will hold off doing anything right now and watch his eye for any changes. but so far everything looks good.

[just dave]

It sounds like a monogenteic trematode and if that is the case,I know of no reef safe treatment for them. There are some treatments that can be used in fish only tanks but they will only kill the adults and have no impact on the eggs. I have found a FW dip works for killing them (not the eggs) and notice that they are off the fish at about the 10 minute mark. The FW water seems to turn them opaque. This trematode is sometimes called the Eye Fluke though it can infest other parts of the fish, which can be seen as a darkening/reddish areas on the skin. The Melafix will have no impact on the trematode but it will help with any wounds caused by it and help prevent secondary infection. Melafix can cause some intense short term foaming of the water so if you have a protien skimmer( I don't see one listed) I'd turn off the air supply for a day.

[donna68]

thanks just dave. I've been keeping a close eye on him and so far he looks great. If I have to do anything down the road then I will do a fw dip. thank you so much for your help.

Donna