greenterrorissick help pls.

Question
hi im jp n this is my 1st time for this really, so hope u get this. i have a 5" G.T. in a 24" tank that previously had a "Pangasius sanitwongsei" tepa fish in thai. i'm in thailand by the way. 2 weeks ago, the tank conditions got really bad cuz i didnt have time 2change d water(i know i'm really sorry man..) n the weather sort of changed hard core out of no where. finally got to change d water last week. n d next day i found my G.T. just lying on the bottom floor n my tepa had a really rough shin to it like white spots all over, so i droped a cap of malagreen already. a day later i decided 2get a heater. i come home n my tepa's dead. now the heater's been plugged @ 30c. for the past 3-4days. the G.T. is swimming now but still dont look wright. 2 days ago i've noticed that there's sumthing in its eyes. like fish's eyes are suppose to be clear n shinny right? but not his, its sort of blury-ish with sumthin in the middle. help pls help help. would appreaciate any advice givven thanxs a lot sorry its quite long.  

Answer
Hi JP;

You might want to test the tank water for the presence of ammonia and nitrite. Those two toxins can cause symptoms that appear to be disease. They will often rise when a tank's biological balance has been disturbed and cleaned after it has been very dirty and fish have been dying. If they are both "zero", the next possibility is...

It sounds like your fish had a parasite called "ick". He may now have a secondary infection in his eyes. A secondary infection means that even if the parasite is now gone, a different infection got into the wounded areas made by the parasites, or it got into irritated tissues from the fish rubbing to scratch on things in the tank. Keep the tank very clean and don't overfeed. Change just a little water, about 10%, every day. Use a water conditioner in the new water and be sure the new water is the same temperature as his old water to help prevent shock and further stress. Fresh clean water builds the immune system and helps heal. It's going to be a slow recovery as he needs time to fully heal.

He may pull out of it on his own without using medications. But, he may need antibiotics or an anti fungal medication for it if keeping things healthy for him doesn't help much. Without seeing it myself it's really hard to tell. I don't know what's available in Thailand, but you might be able to get something at your local fish store to treat it. If you can't find a knowledgeable fish store employee to help, look at the packages of the fish medicines at the store and see what they treat to find to the closest match to the symptoms of your fish.

I hope he makes it okay...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins