i went to w-mart tonight and was getting supplies for my tanks when i noticed a fairly large black moor bottom sitting in the corner of the tank. i looked closer and the poor guy has cataracts (im assuming...eyes look cloudy etc) and one side also has blood in it. i dont know if he's going to live or not but i couldnt let him die in the w-mart tank like that. so i bought a rubbermaid tub and a filter and brought him home. i have his tub set up and salted it and have the heater running...(no bubbler yet) but what do i do for this guy? i know someone else has a blind fish, but i cant find that post at the moment.

its a 73qt tub with an aquatech filter
treated the water w/ amquel+ and jungle w/ allantoin? and salt 5 tablespoons.
besides being blind and having a bit of blood in one eye, i didnt notice any other issues...no ich, finrot etc.

i also have a silver ranchu in there...he's in QT with the blind moor. a friend of mine is going to take him once her tank is up and running but i'm going to QT him for her. i know the tub is a bit small but i have another one to set up in the morning so there will be one fish in each 73qt tub.

Cloudy eye is a condition caused by infection. It could be flukes, gram negative bacterial infection, protozoan infection, depending on the particular characteristics of the cloudy eye. Check out this disease diagnosis flow chart and see which (if any) seems to best fit your moor's symptoms.

http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseases/eyes.html

k so he's got cloudy eyes from the inside out...either parasites or a gram negative bacteria infection. i need to check for parasites...how?

You need a microscope to check for parasites, take a skin scraping and examine under magnification. I would try a parasite treatment first and wait to see if there is an improvement.

he's already more active this morning. on closer inspection, only part of one eye is cloudy and the other is bloody and pretty much completely cloudy. looks like he's got a gram negative bacterial infection. that flowchart is fantastic btw...thank you! what do i treat that with? the ranchu was in the same tank with him at w-mart and so i think it might be best to treat them both with whatever antibiotic i need to get.

Just a side note-- did you seed your filter Liz? If not, you've gotta keep a very close eye on the water params and always make sure the water is squeaky clean. Most medications are HIGHLY toxic when mixed with ammonia.

yeah...i did some reading...definitely keeping an eye on his water. i figured he would need massive water changes with reapplications anyways. i'm testing morning and night and checking temps every couple hours. now that i'm not in school all day this is way less stressful! its much easier to maintain. i'm keeping a log for every tank now with what went in and what came out and temps and stuff.

I think its okay to use Zeolite or Ammo-lock in a QT tank, since you're not trying to cycle it and its mostly for ill or weakened fish that may not make it through the stress of cycling. You CANNOT use zeolite with salt, though, as the salt causes it to re-release the stored ammonia back into the water.

Good luck with your rescue!

I wouldn't recommend using zeolite or ammo-lock when medicating a tank, it may act like charcoal and absorb the medications.

Well you could order the recommended antibiotic from NFP which is Gentamycin Sulfate but it is rather expensive at $40 or you could use either medigold or metromeds medicated food from Goldfish Connection but I'm not sure which is best for a negative gram bacterial infection. I will ask around.

just got the internet back!! here's an update...
he's very active now that he's in a clean tank. its amazing how much of a difference that makes.
i'm using amquel+ to help with the ammonia and doing 50% changes daily.
from what ive seen, this guy probably damaged his eye which is why the one eye has blood in it.
both eyes are still cloudy. they look kinda weird tho...its almost like starbursts of cloudiness in his eyes. weird.
i tried taking a picture but it didnt turn out at all.
he has a voracious appetite.
i fasted him yesterday and fed him some peas today.
i did see that maracyn 2 is for gram negative bacteria on THIS website.
has anyone used it before? i will be close to a pet/smart/co this weekend if i need to pick up any meds...

well its been almost a week since i got him, and winky is doing much better. i treated his tank with melafix for the time being and it seems to be doing the job. the blood has cleared from his eye and both eyes are not cloudy anymore. i did pick up some maracyn 2 just in case but he seems to be doing really well. he has two more days of melafix and then i'll do another assessment to see if we need to switch to another med.