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My Clown Loach has popeye. What can I do for him?

I have added Melafix and raised the temp of the tank to 82 degrees. I added salt last week when my Oscar was sick.

Paul ODell

Well this is of concern since its in the same tank with your Oscar who got sick. I'd say isolate it to a 'medical treatment' tank and keep it there for a while, doing water changes and water changes making sure to keep water as pure as possible and well oxygenated. Popeye can have various causes so having hints as to the source helps choose treatment. I think you should do try some antibiotics also...

The Oscar had no outward signs of popeye or any other disease. He just got sick and died. The Clown Loach is a new addition to the tank within the last week. That is after the Oscar died. I am nore likely to think he was sick when I bought him. My main concern now is what to do about it.

I have Tetracycline and I have Melafix. I added Mellafix today. Can I add Tetracycline at the same time? I do not have a hospital tank so I have to treat him in the community tank.

Later...

I just noticed something. Clown Loaches, by species, come from areas with fast moving water. They like fast moving water by nature. I have two powerheads in my tank and the Clown Loaches love to swim in the stream and try to buck the current. I have turned off the power heads and will continue with the medication. If the powerhead was the problem the eye should return to normal in a couple of days. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for your help!

Yea, good point, if the popeye is due to physical damage from jet stream you might want to hold off on the antibiotics. If it doesn't improve I think you should add the antibiotic....also remember to increase the water oxygenation turning up airstones' output etc if there's no more water circulation at the surface especially when you increase temperature and add additives for treatment, you want to make sure water still holds good amount of oxygen.

Well, it wasn't the jet stream. The fish died last night. Now I am concerned about the tank. I am going to do daily water changes (30%) and keep up with the Tetracycline. I will keep a close eye on the remainder of the fish. Hopefully, this was just a coincidence that they both died so close together and it was from unrelated causes. If they are all still okay in two weeks I am going to completely clean that tank. i.e. vacume the gravel, clean the ornaments & rocks etc. My Son has a 120 gal tank that is empty, I can put the fish in there until I am done.

Thanks for your help. If you think of anything else I should do please let me know.

At this point I'd agree, some preventative measures should be taken to safeguard remaining fish from possible parasites, bacteria etc...it can be quite a hassle cleaning everything or moving all the fish to new tank etc good luck and hopefully your other fish will be fine.

Sorry to hear about your fish dying. when it comes to popeye and dropsy I have never been able to keep a fish alive. It either lasts a couple of weeks with constant treatment, or the symptom goes away and comes back. My new treatment for those two is the freezer. Depending on the fish anyway...

For some disease symptoms it's best to just put the fish straight in the freezer. Number one reason is because the fish has a 99% chance of dying and will only suffer, number two is they add contagions into the water and the other fish can get sick too. I just lost several very much loved and expensive goldfish about 2 months ago from dropsy because I tried to cure the one that first had it lol. same story with popeye.