Foxface Rabbitfish with Bubbled Eye

[ShrimpFan]

Hey folks,
I just got this foxface a few days ago, and it's right eye has completely bubbled up and actually has an air bubble moving around inside it. The other eye is starting to display a small spot and a line in it, and he has stopped eating. There is obviously something not right here, but I have not found anything on the web. HELP!!!!...:(

Thanks,
Aaron

[Salty]

Popeye?

[ErikH]

It will either go away or the fish will die. It's not uncommon for new fish to get popeye. New fish tend to scuffle with other fish and often end up with a scratched eye. This then typically leads to popeye. Typically bacterial causes are in relation to both eyes bulging. My clownfish Emo Nemo just had it in both eyes from fighting with my Chromis. it is going away on it's own...

[corruption]

popeye is almost always a physical response to environmental stimulus, as Erik said -- in addition to what he stated, high levels of nitrogenous wastes, coupled with active bacterial colonies can also lead to the issue. All you can really do is monitor -- if you have facilities for quarantine, I would recommend it. Not for treatment yet, mind you -- just for quiet isolation and monitoring.

-Justin

[ShrimpFan]

Hey,
Thanks for the suggestions. Got home today and his tailfin was completely gone (nothing but the spines left). So I'm guessing he was fighting with something else in the tank. Only problem is all that I have is a diamond goby, 2 firefish, a damsel and a brittle star (9" from tip to tip). Not real sure which one he fought with, but if I had to guess I would say either the goby or the star as the other three are pretty timid. Regrettably, he's dead now so it's moot, but I'd rather not replace him until I can figure out what to do to avoid the issue down the road.

Thanks,
Aaron

[corruption]

How big of a tank? Honestly, the goby would be the last suspect to me -- the damsel is the most likely culprit there. Yeah, I know what you're thinking -- 'but they're so tiny and cute!'... Their overabundance isn't the only reason they're so cheap.. they're cheap because, as most people quickly learn, damsels have a BAD attitude, and will happily fight something much larger than it to death if it feels alpha positioning. Do some google searches for, say, "damsel horror story" -- you'll be amazed :)

-Justin

[profntbtr]

damsels = suck

[Salty]

I have a fiji blue devil, she lives up to her name...

[Randy@pollyspets]

I've had two fish in my experience before with this type of "popeye." The first fish I had was in my personal tank, a chalk basslet. He would get an air pocket...then a few days later it would go away. They would even switch eyes, grow then go away...but it was more or less a chronic issue. My best guess is that something happened during initial shipping where the eye sockets get vunerable to infection and the bacteria produce gas as a byproduct. The second fish I've seen with that was a Longnose Butterfly. We quarantined the fish, treated with a 1/2 copper dose (mostly as preventative for possible parasites) and Marine Melafix... fed him normally (with garlic) and within a week the eye had healed. This is what I would recommend to anyone with this problem, although the copper was, as I said, not really for the eye, but as preventative for parasites. As far as the tail picking...a healthy Foxface should be fine...but I agree, watch that devil!

-Randy

[ShrimpFan]

Hmm, the foxface was perfectly fine before being put in my tank, so I'm not thinking he started off sick. The LFS was using his to keep their coral clean for a while before I scored him, but I'm sure that's still a possibility.

The damselfish being the aggressor would make sense (except for being so much smaller). Although, to be honest, he was rather aggressive to my firefish as well when I introduced them...hmmm. I may move him to my sump and try another one to see if there's a similar problem. If only I had a camera to setup and record the tank for the day and play it back to make sure no one else was beating it around.

Only reason I thought goby was due to the proximity of their dens, but he's scared of everything, whereas the damsel is always right out at the surface whenever the light comes on and scared of nothing. I was wanting to get rid of it anyhow...it's not real attractive (just a green/blue damsel). Anyone want one?...j/k..;)

Thanks,
Aaron

[ShrimpFan]

so after a couple months of frustration and testing, I finally found out what the culprit was. Regrettably it took a couple more fish dying before I realized that I had a very serious bacteria outbreak in my tank. I put another foxface in after I had gotten rid of the damsel. Regrettably he dies a very slow and painful death. However, his sacrifice was not in vain. He showed a puffed belly and ashen scales(dropsy), the initial signs of popeye, and fin rot. All apparently (according to people I've spoken to so far) signs of bacterial infection.

As such, I began treating with melafix and pimafix (per APIs recommendations). Regrettably, even they admit that this can accelerate some forms of bacteria while killing others. This treatment killed both of my firefish, and appears to have pushed my goby over the edge. He's laying in my quarantine tank looking worse each hour, and he shows signs of fin rot. I'm hopeful, but anticipating that I'll lose him by tomorrow.

On the plus side, most of my invertebrates appear to have made it thus far, so that will be good at least. I have moved everyone over to the quarantine tank, drained and refilled my display tank, added a protein skimmer (yup, I tried going this long without one - I know, I know...:( ), and a UV sterilizer. I went with the Coralife 6x 18w. It appears to have mixed ratings, but we'll see how it goes. Thank ya'll for all the information you've given me so far. I haven't posted in a while, but I keep reading regularly.

Thanks,
Aaron