Our Diagnosis
It sounds like your fish has pop-eye (internal bacterial infection)
How to be sure
Pop Eye is as it sounds – swollen bulging eyes. Your fish may also have pale and eroded gills, is losing weight but has a swollen body with protruding scales and ulcers/holes on the surface of its body. Feeling much how it looks, your fish has clamped fins, no energy or appetite and possibly a noticeable change in its colouring.
Pop Eye can also be the cause of sudden or unexplained deaths.
Step 1 – Treat your fish
- Remove the carbon filter out of your filtration – but don’t forget to return it 7 days after the last dose.
- Use Anti Internal Bacteria treatment treatment, you can check the correct dosage for your aquarium size here.
- Also dose with Aqualibrium First Aid Salt – it helps boost your fish’s ability to fight the illness.
- Give your fish some time-out to recover – avoid excessive cleaning, re-decorating or adding new fishy friends.
- To re-treat, or treat another problem, follow the on pack guidelines for using more treatment.
Watch Out! – Treatments can sometimes reduce oxygen levels in the water. If you see fish gasping at the surface, you can increase oxygen by adding an air pump.
Step 2 – Treat your aquarium
- When fish are sick, always test your aquarium water for excessive ammonia, nitrite, nitrate or pH imbalance.
- Treat any unhealthy results to rebalance your water quality and give your fish the best chance of getting fighting fit again.
- Check all your equipment is working properly – especially filters and heaters (check your aquarium temperature with your thermometer). Carry out any maintenance needed, or replace faulty or broken parts.