ID please?? Not sure what this is

[seanoman]

As the title says, I am not sure what this is. We got this fish on Tuesday, and it has been eating mysis and grazing on algea the whole time. It's still pretty scitish, as most regals are from what I've seen, but she still swims around a lot. When we got home, we noticed her eye was all glazy and kinda grey. It was also a little puffy.

Here's a few pics taken a few minutes ago:
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[WhoPoopWrasse]

If you're refering to the spots in her face it's Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE)

http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2587

But depending on how big/old she is it could just be permanent spots and not HLLE

[seanoman]

No I was meaning its eye. It's all grey and swollen looking.

[WhoPoopWrasse]

Oops! sorry, first thing I saw were the dots around the eye!
Could be Pop-eye, I copied this from another site for you, hope you like reading :

The subject of a fish having a swollen eye comes up now and then. The problem is that without a picture, it isn't always possible to tell if it is really Popeye or something else. There are several situations and conditions which could cause the eye to swell and that swelling can be minor or major (and anything in between). On the 'major' end of the scale is Popeye.

Just a 'short' post to help the reader make the best judgment call when the eye of the fish looks abnormally large. Also some treatment advice is presented here.

Popeye is sometimes mis-diagnosed. Is the whole eye really popped out from its socket, or is it just swollen in parts or areas around the eye?

Some known causes for the eye swelling include injury (scratched, netting injury, hitting aquarium decor, fight with another fish, etc.) or a minor bacterial infection. The injury may lead leads to swelling and may go on to a minor bacterial infection. This isn't Popeye.

Real Popeye though has three main causes - bacterial, fungal, and/or gas. The eye is definitely being pushed out of the fish's head, not just swollen. Usually the Popeye is an outward symptom of an internal, ocular nerve infection either bacterial or fungal in nature. It can be brought on by trauma, bad water quality, and/or a decline of the fish's immune system (e.g., poor nutrition over time) -- the same underlying causes of other symptoms like cloudy eye(s) and even swelling of the eye. Only this infection has affected the ocular nerve area, and goes beyond just a scratched eye or eye surface condition.

The gas condition is rare but does occur. It can happen, though rarely, when the atmospheric pressure is below the gas pressure in the water. If the aquarium setup doesn’t guarantee a fast gas exchange, then there is too much gas in the water compared to the atmosphere around the tank and gas bubbles can form inside fish tissue. The most common of these events is when a pump or device is operating (accidentally) like a venturi. That is, the device is drawing a lot of air out of the atmosphere and mixing the air in with the aquarium water. When that excess gas is not escaping the water fast enough, then the water contains more air/gas than the surrounding atmosphere would normally allow into the water. The water gas pressure exceeds the atmospheric gas pressure.

Another (albeit rare) phenomena is when a weather front quickly moves in to your area and the barometric pressure drops quickly, and for a short time there is more gas pressure in your aquarium water than in the atmosphere around it. Excess gas in the fish's fluids then starts coming out in your fish’s tissues. These are unusual and rare conditions in a small home aquarium systems, but. . .it can happen.

The treatment for a gas-caused condition is surgery or do nothing. Surgery involves pushing a sterile thin syringe needle behind the eye of an anesthetized fish, to release the gas. Not something most aquarists would want or could do. This procedure has saved fish lives, however.

Although reported, bringing a fish up out of an aquarium should not cause an out-gassing in the fish's blood. It takes greater depths. It has happened when fishes are captured in deep waters however, and brought too quickly to the surface. But that isn't what this post is about. :slap:

What keeps the gas exchange moving along at the optimal rate? It is making sure your tank water surface is moving around so that surface tension doesn’t hold back gas exchange. If you have a halide or single-point light, the water should have a rippling effect in the aquarium. If you check your equipment and verify you have good water surface movement and a good gas exchange going on, you can forget these gas exchange concerns.

Since the ‘true Popeye’ can kill, the fish should be moved to a QT and given antibiotics that will go inside the fish. One such is Maracyn Two for Saltwater fishes. For Popeye, dose Maracyn Two for Saltwater fishes at twice the recommended first dosage. If the fish doesn’t show signs of improvement in 4 or 5 days, stop the Maracyn Two treatment and treat with an anti-fungal medication (e.g., one containing Nifurpirinol).

If the eye is swollen, scratched or suffered an injury, I would leave the fish where it is currently living, and perform a large water change and monitor the fish closely. If the fish is getting proper nutrition (Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition) AND the water quality and environment is super, the fish should heal on its own. For the healing process, include in the fish's diet some extra immune boosters: Fish Immune Boosters

If there are any signs of the eye not healing or if it gets worse, move the fish to a hospital tank and begin treatment with an antibiotic (the same antibiotic treatment given above).

Since the most common Popeye is usually an internal bacterial problem, this doesn’t spread to your other fish, unless the water quality, environment or nutrition is off. So removing this one fish for treatment usually means the other fish will be okay and they won't need treatment.

[Lance]

Sometimes hazy eyes can be caused by cyanide poisoning. You may have a cyanide caught fish there. The dots around the eyes that look like freckles are normal colouration for Regal Tangs.

[WhoPoopWrasse]

Does the Cyanide cause swelling also? It's such a drag that there are still fish collectors out there that are still doing that to these poor fish
Not to mention destroying the coral at the same time!

[seanoman]

Hey Lance,

are there any other side effects from cyanide that I could look out for. I have done some research and can't seem to find any info about it, other than it happens a lot in the Phillipines and Indonesia.

[justinl]

Originally Posted by seanoman

Hey Lance,

are there any other side effects from cyanide that I could look out for. I have done some research and can't seem to find any info about it, other than it happens a lot in the Phillipines and Indonesia.

death is a common one within a few weeks.

anyways, a puffy hazed eye is a symptom to me. it could be the onset of popeye (which is usually much more pronounced), or a bacterial or fungal infection, or a host of other nasties. if the fish is eating well (is it?) and swimming normally i would not medicate or intervene at all except to make sure it gets a lot of food. look for parasites and keep a close eye on the gal.

[Big Al's BC]

Originally Posted by seanoman

No I was meaning its eye. It's all grey and swollen looking.

In our experience cloudy eye is usually caused by either metal toxicity, eye flukes or handling.
seeing as you have this tang in a reef tank it is unlikely you have metal poisoning or your inverts would be suffering. Eye flukes are very common out of Indonesia and the Philippines, this causes cloudy eye in most cases as a defense mechanism to the irritation caused by the parasite. We would agree with Louise that handling could easily be the cause and simple nutrition and time could eradicate it.

Good luck!
Big Al's BC

[seanoman]

so far she is eating really well. I will make sure that I give her a little extra for the next couple of days and see how that goes. Hopefully it's not cyanide and something that is easier to treat.