weird actions

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I have a breeder tank in my 30 gal. Its just a little one. I had a fish in there to protect him cause he was being nipped at. I was letting him out and another fish (a rosey barb) entered in and got stuck in the water funnel. Well since then he has been spinning in circles and UPSIDE DOWN. What do you think the cause is? And what should I do about it? My tank has been set up for 3 yrs. I have 4 tiger barbs,4 rosey barbs, 1 rainbow shark, 1 pleco, and recently added 1 bala. And all my levels are within range. 2 of my other barbs have eye cloud, I have been treating it.
Answer -
Hi Jana;

Poor guy. He may have internal injuries from getting stuck. It can cause them to lose their equilibrium. Only time will tell if he will recover. Try to keep him isolated so he can rest and hopefully heal.

Make regular water changes of 25% every week. This is a normal water change schedule for all tanks. It helps the fish stay strong and be able to resist disease. The eye cloud will probably disappear on it's own with clean water. Hopefully it will help the off balance fish too.

A note about bala sharks; Balas like to be in groups, but they get over a foot long and need at least a 100 gallon tank. He will get nervous in such a small tank and may injure himself. It's pretty common I'm afraid. They just need lots of room.

I hope your fish feel better soon......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Chris, the fish swimming around in circles, he died. But thank you very much. You were probably correct. The fish in the breeder tank, he has an eye injury. Is there some way I can try to repair it. It looks as if it has had the bottom side of it pushed in. As far as the bala, he will be moved into my 55 gal when he grows a little. I have had a bala in this tank for a very long time. With the same group of fish.  I've these fish for about 2 yrs. They have survided stuff that would never have been thought of. They all were very strong fish.

Answer
Hi Jana;

I'm sorry that he died. There probably wasn't anything you could could have done. I'm really glad you have a place for your bala. They do grow slowly so you have plenty of time to plan ahead when he outgrows the 55. I have 2 in a 55 gallon so I am planning for a much larger tank in the future too. Or, I will have to donate them to a fish store. I just wanted you to know about their size potential in case no one told you. Unfortunately it happens all the time. I hope you weren't offended by my comments about it.

The fish with the eye injury may have "popeye". Sometimes if one part of the eye is pushed in, it means the opposite edge of it is bulging out. There are many causes like tumor behind the eye, infection, parasite, injury, high nitrates, etc. The only possibly treatable one is bacterial infection. You could try an antibiotic in case it is from infection but it would be best to move him to a hospital tank of 5 or 10 gallons so you aren't treating the healthy fish too. It's also a lot more expensive to treat the bigger tank. The only antibiotic effective for internal infections is called "Maracyn 2". It absorbs into the fish to get to the infection. Other medicines treat only the outside.

If it isn't popeye and part of the eyeball does actually appear to be collapsed, he may have an infection inside the eyeball itself that is eating away the tissue. Certain parasites can do that too. But, as in popeye there isn't treatment for anything but bacterial infection. Maracyn 2 is the one to try there too.

I hope he feels better soon......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins