If you are in Europe, I would suggest a large water change and then keep the water quality good by regular water changes and treat it with Interpet Number 9, I had an otto with really bad pop eye and that recovered quickly.
thanks everyone for your quick replies, do you think it has popeye?
I know that he didn't mean it (I hope), but I'm pretty upset by this happening, i do small water changes every week, and I have done large water changes when needed. guess I will have to ask my local aquarist about it.
bilateral exopthalmus is harder to treat
can more commonly than unilateral be associated with systemic problems that are underlying
i still feel that topical corticosteroids are very beneficial
i dont think that topical corticosteroid preparations are available without prescription, maybe ask your local vet if they are willing to help on that side
anything that increase's pressure in the retrobulbar space can cause exopthalmus
from infection, gas bubble disease, inflammation, growth etc
the difficultly is in knowing which of these and then succesfully treating it
irrespective of the base cause stretch on the ocular tissue will worsen the situation and the steroids can alleviate this to some extent
as others have suggested antibiotics are generally advised for bilateral conditions
no offence(i have never kept discus so know nothing there) does the fish just look a little stunted and hence eye's larger?
its just borderline stunted. Andrew the only antibiotic we get over the counter is tetracycline hydrochloride. a vet trip would probably end up costing more than the fish. I have managed to treat similar cases (though not as severe) with a 10 day treatment.
As Andrew (fishgeek) suggested, I wonder if the swelling in the belly and the eye swelling were somehow related. Maybe a tumour or something, that caused a blockage in the intestine, preventing the fish from passing any waste. That could explain why the fish passed away so quickly.
It was a very pretty little pigeon blood, with excellent shape, and I can understand you would be quite upset at the loss.
I would suggest you do a large water change now, and keep an eye on the rest of the fish. I don't think it's anything contageous, but it's worth keep a close eye on the others.
Increase your water changes to around 50% once a week. Not sure why you don't have a nitrate reading. A cycled tank should have at lease some nitrate reading, around 5 to 10 ppm.
Thirty-five years keeping and breeding discus, and I'm still learning :P
One of my discus got these extremely bulged eyes overnight. All other 7 Discus look fine and healthy in the main tank. I am now quarantining him in a hospital tank and gave my a first dose of Maracyn two. Can you share your experience if you've ever treated/seen this? The main tank still seems very healthy as usual. The water quality is fine. Any Help/ tips to help me treat him? thanks!