Popeye Part 2

Causes:
a) Scratch

From a scratch, scrape of bruise to the eye from encounters such as fighting with other fish, net abrasion, or coming into contact with a stationary object or organism in the aquarium. Normally, there is only one pop eye. If it is minor inflection, the eye will usually return to its normal appearance without blindness, it can be solved with water change and proper food, this is normally not fatal.

Unless it is very severe and the treatment is not provided or is not ineffective, the eye(s) may burst or disappear altogether. The fish may slowly starve to die.

b) Diseases

Popeye/cloudy eyes can be an outward sign that another disease is present which may be of bacterial, fungal or other origin, such as an internal infection called Ichthyophonus hoferi (fungal disease), or a possible sign of Vibrio (bacterial disease). The fish will die to the disease that caused popeye but will not die from popeye. It is more difficult to diagnosed and treated.

c) Excess copper treatment

Yes, prolong copper treatment may resulted in popeye. It is basically due to the toxins or contaminates in the tanks. The solution is to improve the quality of the water.

Base on my experience on the copper treatment for ich, it is best not exceed more than 5 weeks of copper treatment, in fact three weeks is sufficient to kill ich.

d) Other possible causes

Nutritional deficiency, a gas embolism caused by a sudden rise in tank temperature and the gas bubble disease theory are some of the possible causes.

In the next part of the popeye, I will discuss some of the methods of treatments and the medicines......