Eye Problem... in a Holocentrid   12/27/06
Hello,
I have a red striped squirrel fish that is about 5 inches in length.
Over the last three days air bubbles have shown up inside the left eye and appear to be growing larger.  The fish is eating fine and acting normal.  What causes this and is this a concern.  
Jeff Fiorita
<Such one-sided "bulging eye" conditions are generally due to a physical trauma... a "bump in the night" with consequent damage to the vascular network (the eyes of fishes, as the those of humans, are supplied with a good deal of blood flow/drainage)... As opposed to most "bilateral exopthalmic conditions" which are environmental (e.g. emphysematosis) or pathogenic in nature. Cure involves maintaining optimized and stable conditions... and patience... Will typically resolve itself in weeks to months. Bob Fenner>

Poor Picasso Trigger with Popeye   - 4/7/07
I have had a Picasso trigger for almost the last year and he has been a great little guy. His only tankmate is a clown trigger (who is rapidly growing)
<Yikes... not compatible>
that was purchased around the same time. Several months ago I moved them from a 46 gallon into the current 75 gallon. I have about 45 lbs of live rock and use a Fluval 404 filter with a Coralife 125 gallon super skimmer. I do weekly water changes of about 10 gallons and continually have nitrates around 15ppm. Around the time that I moved them the Picasso began to have bulgy eyes. Not just one but both so I looked up what I could find figured that it might just be poor water quality. I was doing very large weekly water changes of about 20 gallons which seemed to help. The Popeye was sporadic, some days it was there and would stay for a several and then he would be just fine for week only to have it appear again. He eats and swims just fine now. The Clown trigger has never shown any signs of Popeye, so I also don't think that it could be a water quality issue anymore. Occasionally the Picasso's colors lighten up substantially but he is usually quite dark in color and very colorful. I feed them a large assortment of foods including Clams, shrimp, squid, krill, mysis, brine, mussels, and trigger formula. I believe their diet to be fine and am glad that the Picasso eats normally. Last week I moved the Picasso into a ten gallon quarantine tank and decided to treat him with Maracyn as I believed this to be the best course of action to take. It began to look as though it was working the next day and appeared so until the last day of treatment. I woke up and his eyes were just as bulgy as before. I did further reading and decided that maybe I should be treating with Maracyn-2 as I had read that rarely do fish have gram positive bacterial infections which is what the Maracyn is supposed to treat. I have begun treating with Maracyn-2 and have noticed no results. I am almost at a loss for what to do now as this is my favorite fish and is a joy to watch everyday. Thank you for all your help. Sincerely, John C.
<Mmm... well, the etiologies of such bulging can be complex... there might be an internal parasite at play here... As you relate that the Clown is not affected, I too discount the possibility of fine air-bubbles, some other physical or chemical cause here... I do encourage you to try switching (almost exclusively) to Spectrum fish food... for three reasons... One, it is nutritionally complete... two, the problem may be related to some part of the food you're currently offering, and lastly, as am hopeful this may reduce some part, extend the time till the Clown becomes overtly aggressive/territorial toward the Picasso. Bob Fenner>

Popeye
Could this be spread to my other fish? Should he be taken out of the main take?
<Not likely if unilateral... read over the sources sent to you... www.WetWebMedia.com
Bob Fenner>