disease related - Koran angle

Question
hi there, I have been desperately seeking some info to help a Young Koran Angle fish I rescued from a pretty dirty & neglected setup someone had.They got sick of it and told me I could come and take everything. I got a couple of very healthy fish and some decor. and an 3"-4" Koran angle that had one "pop-eye" and a scrape down his same side. From what research I have done this appeared to be due to and injury more so than disease & poor water quality(?)I isolated him in a 5 gal. (the only thing I have) and treated with epson salt and melafix for a few days. No real improvement. He acts okay and eats ect.I was concerned about water quality not have decent filtration might make it worse ,so I put him into the larger tank with everyone else(now i think a mistake) and treated the whole tank with the melafix. His eye is way worse. he is pretty shy and won't really come out of the "cave " he choose. When he does try to the evil little 3 striped damsle chases him back in .IF I drop a spirulina algae tablet in the opening and he eats it.Now I don't think I could catch him agian to treat him And that eye looks really bad !! I live in a small town with no really access to med's.Our local pet store does carry some Marycn 2 but it is labled fresh water, but isn't it the same antibiotic ? Should I do that to the whole tank ? Or the epson salts - how much - I get conflicting amounts from 1 tsp. per g. to 1 tablespoon for 10 g? ?Any advice would be greatly apprecited. Sorry about the length of my Question. (p.s. my tank is 77 gal with reef and a FEW mushroom & button Polyps, 3 3 striped damsles, one blue, one larger yellow damsle, 1 gobi and one unidentified bottom feeder guy who hides all the time )(if he makes it the koran will likely eat what is left of my polyps?) Thanks for taking the time to read this !!!

Answer

Hello,

first thing is too get the angle in a separate tank for quarantine.  Pop-eye is a condition where gas or fluids build up behind the eye.  Sometimes an antibiotic will help.  most times it goes away on it's own. I would not treat your entire tank. The chemicals(ant) that you want to put in will not help your inverts and pop-eye is a malady not a disease.  Those damsels are too aggressive for your angle and there is a huge problem.  It will not come out because it is getting bullied and that is very stressfull for any fish. It also strains the immune system. Which can lead to further problems.  They may never co-exist together.  I am not sure concerning the antbiotics but will check in to it.  Bottom line is get the angle out and watch him for 10-14 days. Treating him with epson salt i feel will  help.I would try one tablespoon per 5 gallons. Again I would not treat with antibiotics because there is no real proof that is resolves pop-eye. The good thing is he will still eat. If the pop-eye is huge you can take a small syring to remove some gas to relieve the pressure.

I hope this helps.
Todd