rosalie68

my bala shark just developed white film over one of his eyes. also his gills on that side are red, either that or maybe he cut hisself by the gill. its very hard to tell bc he swims around everywhere. the other side of him is perfectly fine. is this some kind of disease or do u think that he possible ran into something. he is not sluggish. he eats all the time and swims around everywhere just like normal. im very confused. its been this way for about a week and looks exactly the same from when i first noticed it. anyone have any ideas?

kim

Lucy

Hi Kim, Is is possible to post a pic of him? Maybe that'll help the members figure out what's going on.

rosalie68

i will try. he is soooo jumpy and its hard to get a good one. i have to see if i can remember how to post it too.
kim

rosalie68

well i took a whole bunch of pics and ended up only getting a few of the side with the messed up eye that actually turned out. but u cant see what im talking about in the pic so i wont post them. it does seem a little better than it was a few days ago. its just like his eye is cloudy. i think he can actually see out of it now but the other day it was very white. i wish i couldve gotten a good pic that showed it. im very curious to know what it is.
kim

lilFishyfish

Are there other fish in the tank? Sounds like a bacteria infection, I'd add some aquarium salt (the right amount for your size tank) and see if after a few days that doesn't help. Be sure to do a 25% water change asap also. If its not better in a couple days you will probably need to get some some maracyn TC. Hope this helps!!

rosalie68

yah i have other fish in the tank. none of them have it. i had ICH about a month ago and added copper. i just did a pretty big water change 2 days ago and since i have done that he seems to be getting better. im hoping the cloudy eye continues to clear up. i also put salt in when i added new water. would the copper have killed a bacteria infection? anytime i have ever seen white over the eyes like that its usually on both eyes and on the body when the fish is sick or dying. u know when they get all pale and have a white film. i have not had it in this tank though. if this fish has a bacteria infection do u think the other fish would have it or does it effect only one fish sometimes? i really hate to put chemicals in this tank bc its 220 gallons. i used copper as a last resort for ich but usually dont put things in that one. thank u for your advice!
kim

lilFishyfish

Wow 220 gallons!!! Sounds awesome!!! I can totally understand why you wouldn't want to treat that size!!!! I think that the other fish should be okay if they've seemed alright while your bala has had the eye and gill problem. Did you use copper "safe" by mardel? I've used it before and it has seemed to help with parasite type infections not bacteria ones though. If it seems like he isn't getting better in the next couple days I would take him out if possible and put the little guy into a smaller care tank and treat him with Maracyn TC since if its not going away it could spread to the other fish. I hope he gets better soon!!!!!!!!!!

cpk

Hi how is he now?I totally agree with lilfishyfish a Quarantine tank is a neccessity when you have a sick fish and a lovely big tank i am sooo jealous

Steen16

Your aquarium info says you have some ammonia? that could be contributing to the inflamation of the gill