My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!

Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.

1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.

2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.

3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)

4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.

We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.

While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.

Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Post Reply
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

Hi!
I seem to have run into a problem with a balloon green terror that I bought at the LFS a few days ago. Yesterday, after I added the last two fish for the tank, I noticed one eye on the GT slightly larger and cloudier than the other, and immediately recognized it as popeye. I know that popeye can be the result of multiple factors, so I decided to keep a close eye on the issue.
After waking up this morning, determined to fix this, what appeared to be a mild abrasion last night turned into a gaping hole on the side of his face. He seems to hang out at the top more, but is otherwise acting normal. My concern is infection and eventual death. What do I do?
He is a 2.5-inch balloon green terror, and is housed with a 8-inch banded leporinus (who I know can be nasty, and could very well have caused this), a 1-inch Jack Dempsey, a 2-inch parrot cichlid (brand new) and a 3.5-inch turquoise severum (also brand new), all in a 60 gallon aquarium, which was cleaned recently.
Help would be much appreciated. I’ll post some pics as soon as I can. I don’t know how long I have to help him if there is a problem, and he was quite expensive, too.
Happy new year!
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

CD096172-0E0C-4694-84B3-9F44194AF56D.jpeg
18BC50A1-D963-4988-96D8-0D5B767CE428.jpeg
835152F4-2B6A-45BE-8648-F142556B0910.jpeg
16C0D9C2-99CF-4856-B1E6-FA254B76773C.jpeg
F66B05EA-EBAB-4474-811A-D79E1575E5A4.jpeg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

Sorry some are upside down
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
User avatar
eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by eieio »

Any fish, especially ones that tend to be aggressive, may cause an injury.
After that, the aggressor or any of the other fish may pick at it relentlessly.
About all you can do at this point is quarantine the injured fish & treat with melafix or pimafix, or whatever else is appropriate.
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

Thanks! I knew from the start that putting anything with the leporinus was a gamble. I’d say he has a 50-50, seeings he’s acting relatively normal, but has a huge and vulnerable hole in his face. It’s a shame, seeings everything I was told said that he’d do fine with everything else. :?
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

I’ll definitely try to quarantine it. Is it possible the popeye can spread? It’s weird that it happened so fast, when it seemed like nothing. The leporinus used to be with a piranha (which taught it to be so territorial), and got its eye bitten, too. Of course, it healed, and even half blind is the king of the tank. Me only fear is how relentless everything else is to the GT.
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
User avatar
eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by eieio »

How long does it take for a Jack or a Leporinus to bite out an eye, no time at all.
If it's damage inflicted by other fish, it's not popeye.
As I said before, a damaged fish will be picked on by the others.
And the injury may lead to infection.
For the sake of the fish, get it out of there.

IFit's popeye, it's from an infection and is probably contagious.
Get it out of there.
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

On its second day half-blind, the GT is learning to survive. Unfortunately, I do not currently have a separate tank to put him in, but I’ve been keeping an eye on the matter. I put melafix in the tank to avoid infection. The only one that seems to pick on the GT is the parrot, but the GT bites back and swims away. I will monitor further behavior in its tankmates. Will the socket heal over or will there always be a large wound? The other fish seem to notice the impairment.
The green terror is eating, swimming, and chasing others around normally, but seems on high alert. The only thing it gets along with is the severum.
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
User avatar
eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by eieio »

What size tank is this?
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

This is a 60 gallon aquarium, but it is a balloon green terror, so has plenty of swimming room.
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
User avatar
eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by eieio »

SAPpyPuffer wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:37 am This is a 60 gallon aquarium, but it is a balloon green terror, so has plenty of swimming room.
Thanks, sorry I missed that in your opening post.
I'd say that you have an overstocked tank full of aggressive fish.
I just spent 5 minutes on "google" to determine that.
There may be "plenty of swimming room", but the stress level & "territoriality" must be over the top, and most of these fish are still small.
As most of them will grow (normally) to 6-8 inches, putting them together in a 60 gallon tank is only the very beginning of the disaster that is to come.
Sorry to be so adamant about this, but a few minutes of research would have gone a long way here.
The LFS is there to sell fish, and all the stuff that you will buy as things go wrong along the way.
The more that goes wrong, the more you will spend.
Typically, they won't warn you or try to convince you that what you have in mind is the wrong thing to do.
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

Thanks! I couldn’t agree more.
I thought hard on what would work well together, and after a few months of research, decided what to do. The only problem is really the competition for territory, as you put it. The leporinus used to be in an entirely separate tank. Then it got moved into the “aggressive” tank as it got bigger, with a red belly piranha. Then, the piranha died (of random cause) and the leporinus had quite some time being the only one in the tank. Now, it isn’t quite happy, with others in the tank.
I did do more than enough research on what should work.
I think the real problem that I failed to see was that live fish work differently than what every person and book tells me should work.
I tend to overstock tanks (one of my flaws) but I made sure that I wasn’t just falling for the lfs’s tricks. I did go in wanting a gt, but the normal ones (6 in) would have killed the jack. The guy there did suggest a whole bunch of full grown 100 dollar fish, I wasn’t gonna make those mistakes considering the Leporinus could just as easily kill them.
I really do have the best interest for all my fish at heart and want it to work out where I don’t have to get rid of or lose any of my fish.
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

Update: everything’s doing great! The terror is now swimming around normally, and his eye socket has filled out with flesh. The melafix treatment is working. As far as overstocking goes, I knew it could be a problem before I put in the severum and parrot, but made sure to get females (seeings they get smaller).
Thanks for your help!
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by Pufferpunk »

Good news! What are your plans to upgrade?
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
User avatar
SAPpyPuffer
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:20 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Three Amazon puffers (Colomesus asellus):
Huey
Dewey
& Louie

Dwarf Puffer
Location (country): United States
Location: New Jersey

Re: My Green Terror Lost An Eye

Post by SAPpyPuffer »

I’m not too sure yet. I don’t have space for a bigger tank, but I do have a 60 gallon semi-aggressive tank that I can move the severum into if space becomes an issue.
“Can I speak to your chef, please? This is the worst tasting fugu I’ve ever ha—oh...”
Post Reply