Treating a fish infection...

[Weapon_R]

I have a goldfish with an eye infection. It looks as though one eye is bulging out and is larger than the other. It's pretty gross, but at the same time I do not want to kill it unless I have to.

What can I treat it with to help this condition?

[schurchill39]

You probly could with things found at your local pet store but if its only a gold fish do you think its worth it? For the price of the products you will need you could buy more gold fish(plural) But if you have a sentimental attachment i suggest going down to the pet store and seeing if they have anything you can put in the water.

[D'z Nutz]

That's an indication of very dirty water conditions. First thing you can do is a water change. Maybe a 50-70% water change should do it. If you're using a sponge filter, clean the sponges. Don't run them under the tap, but just squeeze and ring out any suspended waste in the water you've just removed from the tank.

Another thing you can do is add some aquarium salt (NOT table or grocery store salt). How big is the tank and what else do you have in it? Contrary to what people believe, yes you can have salt in the water for fresh water fish. If you get aquarium salt for fresh water, something like a tablespoon per gallon is good for treating fish illnesses. If you get saltwater salt, use half that amount.

After that, do a small water change (10%) each day until you notice some improvement in the fish. When treating sick fish, nothing is more important than clean water.

If it's not a very large fish and you can fit it in a jar, maybe scoop it into the jar and treat it with methylene blue for a couple days before the salt treatment. It can dye everything blue (including stuff in your tank), which is why I recommend a separate jar for it!


I've treated a few of my fish this way on various occassions for pop-eye (as it's sometimes referred to) and they pulled through. Of course, how long it's been infected plays a part in its survival. Good luck!

[Weapon_R]

Thanks for your help, although I do not think it is dirty water as I do a meticulous job of keeping the water changed and filtered consistently. I will try and keep the water changes as you mentioned and go from there. Thanks again, huge help

[Pihsiak]

my first fish died from fin rot and i didn't know...

tried to get some anit-biotics and what not.. but it was too late...

poor Taco



hope yours gets better

[dave101]

hahaha taco. what a lovely name for a fish

[dragonone]

be careful with medicine and a saline treatment, not all fish can take it
as well, PWC is 25%, so u can imagine how much 50-70% is