Epsom salt and popeye

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Hi,

 

My male clown has one eye that obviously suffered some sort of trauma during the night- I think the female chased him. It is bulging out. I have been watching them this morning and uncharacteristically she chased him so hard he bumped and moved the powerhead! I can't figure out why she has become so psycho all of a sudden.

 

Anyhow, I'm reading that the recommended treatment for an injured eye is epsom salt. One source says 1 tbsp for every 5 gallons and another says 1 for every 10. Can I put it in the main tank or should I put the fish in a quarantine tank with the salt? My first thought is that it is stressful for the fish to be moved, but my other thought is that if my female is going to harrass him maybe he's better off. Any thoughts? Can I put Epsom directly in the tank without harming the other critters?

 

Tasha

[Crakeur]

Originally posted by tashayar

Hi,

 

I can't figure out why she has become so psycho all of a sudden.  

 

 

It's a female thing. I am afraid to enter my own home for fear my wife will be in a hormonal state. Maybe the male clown should try starting every sentence with "I'm sorry." That has been working for me of late. Also, the clown should try picking some green star polyps and appeal to the inner nice fish that the outer beast is clearly suppressing.

[tinyreef]

tasha,

 

try this link, http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/week...tm?terms=popeye

 

i'm not sure of the medical aspects of epsom salt (mgso4). i'm thinking to switch my mg additive to that to save money X) , especially since i'm heading toward more algae scrubbing in all my tanks from skimming.

 

i'd go iodine instead. I's antiseptic quality is one of the main reasons i use it. (i believe xenia slime is especially probiotic for certain bacteria, no proof just a personal hunch : ) the true antibiotics many recommend may reek havoc on your bene-bacteria whereas iodine is readily exported and used up in the recommended dosages.

 

re: clowns, how are your feedings lately? maybe the male is seen as a competitor for limited food supply. or maybe he was caught in sandbed with the damsel. X)

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Tinyreef,

 

Thanks for answering my questions again. I feel like a cleaner shrimp picking at your brain! I got the idea for epsom salt from the wetwebmedia website, can't remember who but some guru like Anthony Calfo or Bob Fenner recommended it. I put the fish in a quarantine tank this morning and already the eye swelling has gone down quite a bit. Now I'm afraid to put him back! How do you treat it with the iodine (how much, etc.)?

 

Crankeur,

 

Isn't your wife like 8 or 9 months pregnant? That says it all! You try getting around with a 10 pound bowling ball strapped to your stomach and see how you feel! Thanks for the laugh.

 

Tasha

[Crakeur]

Tash,

 

That is why I said what I said. I would never be so bold as to accuse my wife of being hormonal when she wasn't pregnant. If the women of the board didn't lynch me, my wife most certainly would. And the nano-human is due in about 7 weeks.

[tinyreef]

as long as you pick out the rotten parts!

 

if those guys recommend epsom salts then i'd go with their recs. they're professionals i'm an idiot wasting time during the work day X) . i just never heard it used in that manner before for fish.

 

i'd just dose the iodine with the recommended directions. each mfg. may have different ratios. you don't want to od, just use it as a background-type of thing.

 

you may want to look around and see why the female beat the crappie out of him. (i'm assuming the injury was from spousal abuse versus an infection)

 

crak,

congratulations! i didn't know that. i'll save you a frag as a baby present. fwiw, get your sleeping done now. because you'll have to live without sleep until they're about 6 mos. zzz

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Hi,

 

I went to Walgreen's and bought some Epsom salts, added it to the quarantine tank, and the eye seems completely healed. I'm relieved, I didn't want to lose the little guy. When I saw the eye this morning, I freaked, it looked like the eye of a bulbous-eyed goldfish. I was afraid it was some sort of complicated parasitic or bacterial infection. From what I read, the swollen eye is the fish equivalent of a human shiner after we smack into something- it swells for awhile, then goes away.

 

I think I am going to have to give that male away because over the weekend I noticed a scrape on his side (which again, healed). Wasn't sure what was going on but I think the female's to blame for all of it. Living under stress is going to cause him to succomb to something more than just a black eye eventually.

Tasha

 

PS- Crakeur, I hope you didn't think I was lynching you!

[Dave ESPI]

to be sure add some Mella fix to the quarintine... occasionaly a secondary ailment can be the root cause.

Glad ya went grass roots insteada meds......

parents tend ot over-medicate their children