Cloudy Eyes

[jgassens]

I noticed that one of my Discus appears to have developed a bit of white clouding over its eyes. The other fish appears fine. Does anyone know what it is and how to treat it? The tank water looks fantastic, though I haven't checked pH or nitrogen levels.

If at all possible, I would really avoid moving this big guy to a hospital tank, as he's a full grown adult and has largely outgrown it.

[jgassens]

Anyone? Anyone at all?

[Merrilyn]

Sorry, must have missed this post somehow.

Cloudy eye can be caused by a number of things. One of the most common is a drop in the pH of the water. You should check that first.

Another fairly common reason is damage to the eye. A scratch or something similar. Keeping your water very clean will help with both of those problems.

You could also add a little plain salt (cooking salt, not table salt) to the water, at the rate of 1 tablespoon per 40 litres of water. That will help with the healing.

If the eye doesn't respond to clean water and a little salt, you may need to resort to antibiotics, but try the simple things first.

[Ben]

What are your Nitrate levels?

I believe high nitrate levels and poor nutrition can contribute to cloudy eye syndrome.

[jgassens]

I think the fish wasn't eating well. Maybe it was depressed or sick. It suddenly started eating and the eyes cleared up. Post hoc ergo propter hoc? I dunno. It's healthy again and that's good :)