slime eyes

Question

i just want to ask about my flower horn i put them in 15gal and im just using a corner filter and an airpump, i hve two flower horn one is a thundervolt and kgm. my fish are healthy but one day i just notice in my thundervolt flowerhorn his eyes are starting to geting slime and it starting to cant see, and my kgm are starting to have this deases, what kind of medication i must do? pls give me some advise. tnx

Answer
Hi Jerome;

It's just simply from inadequate tank size. They may look healthy otherwise, but eye cloud is really a symptom of substandard water conditions and overcrowding. The tank is too small and the filtration isn't powerful enough for this type of fish. Corner filters are meant to be used with smaller types of fish that don't grow very large. Flowerhorn get to be about 12 inches long each. Even as babies they are quite messy guys. For just one to reach it's adult size and stay healthy it needs at least a 55 gallon, (preferably 70 or larger) with a power or canister filter to keep it clean.

To get them healthier until you can them into a larger tank and better filtration, make a 25% water change every day for a full week. After that, be sure to maintain the tank by changing 25% of the water at least once a week and vacuum the gravel. They will probably start to improve on the third day without using any regular medication. You can add two natural things to the tank to help them heal too. Melafix and Aquarium Salt. They are available at most fish stores. Use them according to the directions. They both inhibit infection and the melafix helps regenerate damaged tissue. A regular medication for fungus may work, but they color the water and make a horrible mess. Nothing is going to work without cleaning up the water and moving them to larger quarters anyway. The natural approach is best in order to avoid side-effects.

Followups welcome...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins