Red Wolf fish eye problem

[DMD123]

Im not sure what is going on with my Red Wolf's eyes. It appears as if there is a white spot in the lens.

It definitely seems internal. There is no eye swelling or 'pop eye'. It is not a cloudy eye but like a white dot. Could this be a cataract? He is not that old...

Ive treated with Kanaplex, 4 treatments so far and no change. He is in a 65B and it gets at least one 50% water change once a week along with some touch ups to remove Bn pleco waste.

Ideas?

 

[sir_keith]

Define 'not that old.' Fishes do get cataracts as they age...

 

[DMD123]

Define 'not that old.' Fishes do get cataracts as they age...

I purchased him from Pet Works in Olympia in November of 2021, So I have not even had him one year yet. He was about 4" when I got him and now sits way over 6". Im not sure on the lifespan to expect so Im not sure how old he is in comparison to his lifespan but I just feel this is way too soon to be having these issues...

 

[DMD123]

Ugh, Google info is not super clear on lifespan. The fish seems to easily live 5 to 6 years with some reports saying they can live up to 10.

 

[FishBeast]

HELLOOOOO MY FRIEND! Nice wolf!! Looks like a traumatic cataract. Probably scraped it on something.

 

[DMD123]

HELLOOOOO MY FRIEND! Nice wolf!! Looks like a traumatic cataract. Probably scraped it on something.

Nice to see you! Thank you for looking. It is on both eyes and he seems to be able to see but he sometimes swims at some odd angles which makes me think it may affect his vision to a small degree. Overall very healthy and happy just has the issues in the middle of the lens.

 

[DMD123]

So... not sure what to do with this fish. Love his personality but the eyes kind of bother me. I just picture this condition getting worse, not better. Plus its tough to gauge this fishes condition since he likes to hide in his log most of the times. At times I wonder if he sees things, when young would go after sinking pellets as they hit the water and fell but now waits till they hit the bottom of the tank to go after them. Partly wondering if he is using a combo of his smell to find food? He does respond to movement outside the tank but not to the extent expected. Other fish seem a lot more responsive so either he is the boldest thing in the world or maybe there is a little gap in his sight.

Ugh, not sure what I should do... Is there a possibility of these traumatic cataracts healing themselves over time?

 

[sir_keith]

Ugh, not sure what I should do... Is there a possibility of these traumatic cataracts healing themselves over time?

Yes, I've seen them heal on several occasions, but it does take time. These fishes are not blind, they just have clouded vision, but otherwise they are perfectly viable. Which makes me wonder, what other course of action can you envision except giving him a chance to heal? I can't imagine euthanizing a fish for something like this, which is in no way life-threatening.

 

[DMD123]

Yes, I've seen them heal on several occasions, but it does take time. These fishes are not blind, they just have clouded vision, but otherwise they are perfectly viable. Which makes me wonder, what other course of action can you envision except giving him a chance to heal? I can't imagine euthanizing a fish for something like this, which is in no way life-threatening.

No I would never euthanize a fish for that reason. At this moment its limitations are not bad, but if it worsened, like became blind... I might consider a rehome option. At the present I just hope he doesnt get worse. I continue doing water changes, feeding and everything like normal but there is that feeling of guilt that this 'traumatic' incident happened on my my watch. I just feel a bit helpless since at this point time is going to be the healing factor and not much else I can do to speed it up.

 

[sir_keith]

No I would never euthanize a fish for that reason. At this moment its limitations are not bad, but if it worsened, like became blind... I might consider a rehome option. At the present I just hope he doesnt get worse. I continue doing water changes, feeding and everything like normal but there is that feeling of guilt that this 'traumatic' incident happened on my my watch. I just feel a bit helpless since at this point time is going to be the healing factor and not much else I can do to speed it up.

All very true, and not much you can do except to be patient. And no reason to feel guilty: s**t happens. IME, the healing process generally takes months, not weeks, but even small improvements in lens clarity are reasons for optimism. Good luck.

 

[DMD123]

This guy is so elusive that its hard to see what is going on but it seems as if I am seeing some improvement. Not drastic improvement but a bit more clarity now where the white area seems to have shrank a bit on the one side. Will check on him more on my day off from work and see if I can get a better look and possibly a updated pic.

 

[lloyd378]

Mine is coming out more and more… I’ve noticed that he even ate the aqueon predator pellets you gave me recently.

 

[DMD123]

Mine has been on pellets from the get go, very easy to feed him. The Hikari sinking carnivore was what I started him on but the Aqueon predator was just a hair bigger and better priced. Ive got mine on Hikari Massivore now... as long as he eats it all there is no tank stink.

 

[DMD123]

Bit of an update. Seems as if his eyes look a little better with one side seeming to be clearer than the other. Very hard to tell with this guy since he darts into the log decor. I have been trying to keep the water super clean, even pulled out all decor to be able to gravel vac every bit of gunk out of the tank. Im very seriously considering rehoming this guy due to the shear lack of activity, lol. Looks like a completely empty tank 99% of the time. Dont know if I should just remove his log hide out and see how it goes or rehome.

 

[DMD123]

The eyes have cleared up considerably. I see a little spot on one eye and the other seems all clear. I wonder if that is why he was so elusive for a while? Today he was actively cruising the tank and ate a bunch of krill. Was great interaction time with him. This behavior makes me want to keep him. He became interesting.

 

[sir_keith]

The eyes have cleared up considerably. I see a little spot on one eye and the other seems all clear. I wonder if that is why he was so elusive for a while? Today he was actively cruising the tank and ate a bunch of krill. Was great interaction time with him. This behavior makes me want to keep him. He became interesting.

I wonder if he thinks you're interesting...

 

[DMD123]

I wonder if he thinks you're interesting...

Only when I come bearing krill

 

[DMD123]

Still see a small spot on the one eye but very much improved. He is very outgoing now and is very territorial. When I gravel vac and get close to his log hideout, he nails the tube hard! It sometimes takes me by surprise. I was feeding silversides the other day and as I was lowering the fish in with the tongs to his cave, he came out and grabbed the fish right out of the tongs. He is a bold one. This is one fish Im a bit afraid to stick my hand into the tank with, I do believe he would bite and draw blood. He is getting to be kind of fun now. Seems to be getting better with age.

 

[DMD123]

Small spot still visible on both eyes but only a little spot on the left and a bit bigger one on the right. He is very bold and outgoing now so I really do think a lot of his elusive behaviors were because of the sight issue. Natural fear of predators and he wasnt 100% seeing clearly, so he hid a lot? He even eats the pellets as they fall along with other food items, no more just picking it off the gravel. Hopefully continues to clear up and he continues to be outgoing.

 

[DMD123]

Can see it a bit but doing much better