popeye fish
 

My clownfish jumped out of the tank a few weeks ago. Luckily I was around and was able to throw him back in. Since his return to the tank, he has developed a serious case of pop eye. I think his one eye is beyond repair. His other eye is fine.

I was hoping he would get better on his own and this may be the case but the only problem is that the other clown in the tank (his arch nemesis) has been harassing him since his unsuccessful suicide.

I was thinking of doing up a hospital tank but there appeaers to be mixed reviews on treatment for this condition.

The fish is still a good eater with no signs of a deteriorating diet. He just appears to be taking a beating from the other guy.

Any suggestions?

I would put him in your sump if you have one! I put fish in my refugium section of the sump if needed and they are always fine. Just make sure you turn your lights on the same time as the display.

Didn't even think of that! Good idea. Just one question. Any chance that it would get sucked into my pump (dart)?

There is always that possibility, since my sump has baffles in it I don't have that problem. But if you don't have baffles, just build an egg crate barrier around the pump so it can't get in.

I treated my niger trigger for popeye with Seachem Paraguard for 3 to 4 weeks in QT. He fully recovered. This can take a very long time to heal completely. If you don't treat him, his eye could fall off if it is that bad.

This happened to a clown of ours, we did nothing, healed on its own, still have this clown and all has been fine since.

Not all cases of Popeyes are parasitic, they can also be caused by a trauma to the eye which could easily happen in a fall from the tank. I have a swallowtail angel that gets chased by my coral beauty when she's in a bad mood and I have seen her run into the rockwork trying to get away which resulted in a severe case of Popeyes on 2 separate occasions. I have never treated or dosed anything and it always heals up in about a months time.
Also trying to net a fish with a swollen eye can result in further damage to the eye.

Paraguard is not a treatment only for parasites, it is also for bacterial infection. My trigger popeye was caused by an injury, but it was getting infected, why the Paraguard.