Blue Jaw trigger has cloudy large eye?

[velvet hammer]

My blue jaw trigger all of a sudden has a slightly swollen eye with some white clouding. Other than that he seems to be normal, eating well, swimming around etc. Any suggestions what to do or not to do?

[leebca]

One cloudy eye is usually a reaction to a water quality issue and/or a mild bacterial infection. To address the first, perform a very large (80% or more) water change according to good practices: How to Make a Successful Water Change

See if the eye condition doesn't improve in a couple of days after the water change, then if it does, look for a reason why your water quality isn't top notch.

A cloudy eye, however, can be the first sign of something more serious. If there is no improvement within 48 hours after the water change or both eyes turn cloudy, move the fish to a quarantine tank and treat with an antibiotic. I would suggest using Maracyn Two for Saltwater fishes. This should clear up the infection, but as before, you need to find out why and stop the causes for the fish to get infected. Usually this is poor water quality, poor nutrition, an environment problem, or any combo of these.

[velvet hammer]

the one bad eye now looks more like a large white spot rather than cloudy. the trigger is in the hospital tank now. the hospital tank has recently cycled for the first time and the water has cleared up with nitrites coming down. With this in mind, should I skip the 80% wate change and go for the Maracyn two ? I also have large naso tang and blue tang in 30 gal hospital tank.

[leebca]

Maybe I don't understand properly... You have all those fishes in one 30 gallon tank? That would be overcrowded for sure, since the Tangs need more space, even in QT.

If they are all together in QT you should be performing large water changes every other day or every third day anyway. If you are, increase the frequency to every day with that group of fishes. That is, make large water changes of over 70% every day in that QT. If at all possible each fish should be in their own QT.

Use Maracyn Two for Saltwater fishes if you have it on hand now. Start off with a double dosage as that recommended on the package and keep up that concentration of medication for the next few water changes.

The QT must not have any UV, skimmer, nor chemical absorbent (like activated carbon) in use.

;)

[velvet hammer]

Thank you Lee for your valued information. I have a few questions that I would like to be clear on. Is a 30 gal. hospital tank ( with 2 filters) too small for 2 medium sized tangs and a small blue jaw trigger? I had to remove these fish from my 100 gal reef tank due to a bad case of Ich. Is a 33% water change every other day acceptable? I am currently paying $1.00 per gallon at my LFS. I have previously been doing a 1 time per week 33% water change. I have another month to go before I can place fish back in 100 gal reef tank. What is a reasonable but effective way to proceed?

[leebca]

I see. They are all being treated for a disease in the current QT. Then continue on with the QT as you have it. But the stress on the fishes is quite a bit.

Sorry for the cost involved, but I usually don't directly address costs, when it comes to what is best for the fish. With that many fishes together in a small space, I would perform the water changes every other day and make it no less than and if possible, greater than a 60% water change. That's about as lean and as close as you want to make it.

I was going by the original statement that the Naso Tang is large. What is it's size from nose to tail, in inches? These Tangs can reach 16" in captivity. So when I think 'large' I think in terms of being over 6".

The 100gallon is not a recommended tank size for Tangs. Unless its shape is 6 feet long, then that tank isn't a particularly good one for Tangs over 3".

Treat the water in the QT with Maracyn Two for Saltwater fishes, but I would not recommend going any shorter on the water changes than noted above. The biggest issue with the QT is the pollution going on and trying to maintain water quality. The fish's eye is just the first of things that may surface from a water quality issue.