I recently wrote about a Blue Tang that I added to the aquarium that developed a case of popeye in the first few days I had him. He did come through, so that’s a good thing! But, I’ve been continuing my research into this particular illness and have found a few tidbits I’d like to share.
First off, the Blue Tang is quite healthy now! He’s swimming around the tank with his other Orange Shoulder Tang buddy. It’s good to see those guys getting along. He’s eating well and isn’t rubbing on the rocks anymore.
Popeye in only one eye
Now that the dust has settled, I’ve learned a few more things about the particular case of popeye my Blue Tang had. It turns out it probably wasn’t a bacterial infection or a parasite. That’s why my other fish are still fine even though the Blue Tang had a rough patch.
The reason that it probably wasn’t bacterial or parasite related was because the Blue Tang had popeye in only ONE of his eyes. Apparently that is more of a sign of physical trauma or injury. That makes sense because when I first got him he was rubbing on the rocks a lot. He probably injured his eye.
If it had been both eyes that showed signs of popeye, that apparently would be more of an indication of a bacterial or parasite problem.
Check him out…
I took a quick video of him so you can see how he’s doing. He’s got some marks on the side from the rubbing, which have slowly been going away. He hasn’t been rubbing at all lately so that’s a good thing too. I think I’m in the clear!
I can definitely say I’m quite happy that I was able to keep this fish alive. In the past I might have panicked and went straight for some medication or other junk that I probably shouldn’t have added the aquarium.
This time I was patient when I had a sick fish. I really focused on water quality and making sure that the fish had less stress and was eating well. That worked out really well for me and has been a good learning experience.
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