Hello there,
I have had my turquoise severum for about 5 years in a 55 gallon tank. I also have a 3 year old pleco in the same tank, and no other fish. I have lived in the same apartment for 2 years so there have been no major stresses or changes in habitat for my fish. Recently I noticed my severums left eye has a grey cloudy bubble in his eye. His behavior was normal, he was eating, enjoying his treats (peas), and swimming around. I went to a specialty fish store and told them my issue. The worker suggested I either use Iodine drops directly to his eye, or antibiotics, but warned that the antibiotics may make things worse because they can kill all the good bacteria in the tank. So, I decided to go with the Iodine he suggested, Kent Lugol's Solution. I used my net to scoop my severum out of the tank just a bit so I could get a drop of the solution right on his eye, as directed. I did that at 9am yesterday, current time today is 6pm, and ever since I have done that, my severum has been at the bottom of the tank, not interested in eating, has shallow breathing, and he is still acting this way. I also noticed that his left fin, which is on the same side as his bad eye, wasn't moving. Now it moves a little, but not as much as his other fin. I took a water sample to the pet store to have them test it. The results were Nitrate: 160, Nitrite: 0, Hardness: 300, Alkalinity: 120, and PH: 8.4. I cleaned my tank a few days ago and the water tests have been pretty consistent. I was concern about the PH levels, but the guy at the pet store said that Arizona typically has high PH in the tap water and that cichlids like a higher PH. He said that my fish is probably just stressed from the drops and to give him time because if I put anything else in the water, it might make him worse. I even called back a few hours later to tell him my fish was still acting abnormal, and they just said the same thing. My fish has been fine the entire time I have had him and I have moved him a few times to different apartments, even to a different state and it never took him this long to recover from the stress. I even contacted a vet that deals with fish and all they said was to bring him by, but I don't want to stress him out even more by transporting him. I love him very much, and I am very worried about him. Any information and help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!
I have had my turquoise severum for about 5 years in a 55 gallon tank. I also have a 3 year old pleco in the same tank, and no other fish. I have lived in the same apartment for 2 years so there have been no major stresses or changes in habitat for my fish. Recently I noticed my severums left eye has a grey cloudy bubble in his eye. His behavior was normal, he was eating, enjoying his treats (peas), and swimming around. I went to a specialty fish store and told them my issue. The worker suggested I either use Iodine drops directly to his eye, or antibiotics, but warned that the antibiotics may make things worse because they can kill all the good bacteria in the tank. So, I decided to go with the Iodine he suggested, Kent Lugol's Solution. I used my net to scoop my severum out of the tank just a bit so I could get a drop of the solution right on his eye, as directed. I did that at 9am yesterday, current time today is 6pm, and ever since I have done that, my severum has been at the bottom of the tank, not interested in eating, has shallow breathing, and he is still acting this way. I also noticed that his left fin, which is on the same side as his bad eye, wasn't moving. Now it moves a little, but not as much as his other fin. I took a water sample to the pet store to have them test it. The results were Nitrate: 160, Nitrite: 0, Hardness: 300, Alkalinity: 120, and PH: 8.4. I cleaned my tank a few days ago and the water tests have been pretty consistent. I was concern about the PH levels, but the guy at the pet store said that Arizona typically has high PH in the tap water and that cichlids like a higher PH. He said that my fish is probably just stressed from the drops and to give him time because if I put anything else in the water, it might make him worse. I even called back a few hours later to tell him my fish was still acting abnormal, and they just said the same thing. My fish has been fine the entire time I have had him and I have moved him a few times to different apartments, even to a different state and it never took him this long to recover from the stress. I even contacted a vet that deals with fish and all they said was to bring him by, but I don't want to stress him out even more by transporting him. I love him very much, and I am very worried about him. Any information and help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!
