oscars popeye

Question
hi! i have an Oscar I've had for almost 6 months. he's about 5 inches, in a 50 gallon tank with a couple other cichlids. (he is by far is the biggest) I have a 60 gallon filter and vacuum it once a week. I have used aquarium salt, but my Oscar has gotten Popeye. Its had it for months! Its just his socket, not his eye. Its looks like its about to pop out, and it never gets any better or worse. His eye sight is still perfect, and he still has good depth perception. But i cant help but to feel bad. is there anything i can do?

Answer
Hi Shorty.  Soon enough your Oscar is going to be outgrowing that 50 gallon tank, in case you didn't know.  People often say "they only get as big as the tank", but really it's stunting their growth.  Their insides keep growing and get "jumbled up" by trying to find room to fit, and they live a shortened life.  So you may want to consider a larger tank in the not too distant future.

These fish are also extremely messy and create a LOT of waste, fouling up their tanks quickly making ammonia levels rise.  This is why weekly tank maintenance, gravel cleaning and partial water changes are crucial to these guys making it.  Oscars are actually a challenge to care for.

Now, the popeye I'm sure came about from poor water conditions.  Some causes of popeye are bad water quality; stagnancy due to lack of filtration; infrequent water changes and/or excess waste in the water.  It will eventually cause blindness and the eye may also fall out if not treated with medication (this is not limited to just this fish.  Any fish in that tank can fall to illness from poor water, in many different ways, not just popeye).

It can be treated with Maracyn2, Maracyn-Plus with CopperSafe, Kanacyn, TriSulfa, Tetracycline or  Erythromycin. This will also help your other fish in case they are suffering from something you have not yet seen.

A good tank cleaning with a 50% water change and gravel vacuuming will help get you back on track with clean water.  I can assure you that if you do not take optimal care, the oscar will not make it (I unfortunately learned the hard way many many years ago).  Make sure you test the water or have it tested afterwards to make sure that the levels stabilize.

Here is a link that will help you understand tank maintenance and disease, and another link in regard to properly cleaning a tank:  http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Disease.html and http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_cleaning.html

I know you asked about the popeye, but in order for you to understand how the popeye came about, I had to explain to you about the water, as this is what caused it.  As I said before, keeping up on your tank maintenance will make a HUGE difference in the health of your fish.

I hope this helps.  If I can help you along the way, please get back to me.

Good luck!!!        ;o)