Brief information about goggle eyes
Main Symptoms: eyes protrude
Causes: Inflammation, gas bubbles, kidney problems
Curability: Sometimes curable if diagnosed early
Treatment: Lots of water changes, remedies
symptoms
External symptoms:
- One eye or both eyes are prominent.
- The eyes seem cloudy.
- It appears as if a thick, cloudy lens is placed over the actual eye.
Behave
internal symptoms
Photos to goggle eyes
Photo: Henry Buchmann
pop eyes
Photo: Wolfgang Wanker
Armored catfish with goggle eyes. Because the catfish appears to have a reddened area on its body, the cause may be a bacterial infection.
Photos: Fritz Garritzmann
Butterfly cichlid with goggle eyes
Photos: Jenni Daus
Red from Rio with goggle eyes. The abdomen appears to be slightly bloated. The fish were probably suffering from an internal bacterial infection. Fin rot and goggle eyes occurred as side effects.
Photos: Catherine Küper
Honey gourami with cloudy goggle eyes. Despite treatment with Tetra General Tonic, the fish died.
Photo: Lizzy T
White Black Molly with an inflamed eye. The cause is probably an injury.
Photo: Dirk Bender
Black Molly with a goggle eye. Because only one eye was affected, it was probably the result of an eye injury.
Photo: Ralf Rückert
Swordtail female with a goggle eye
Photos: Pascal Soffiaturo
Frontosa male with goggle eye, which probably occurred in connection with hole disease.
Photo: Kathy
Betta splendens with a goggle eye. The cause was not known. A short bath in aquafuran granules with the active ingredient nifurpirinol brought no improvement, at least within the next three days.
Photo: Milena
Catfish with goggle eyes.
Photo: Neele Goetsch
Butterfly cichlid male with goggle eye.
Photo: Miley Comb
Hero with goggle eyes. Despite treatment with Trichosal from Manaus, there was no improvement. The fish died before treatment with an antibacterial agent could be carried out.
Causes of pop eyes
Pop eyes have three immediate causes:
- Gas bubbles in the tissue of the orbit
- inflammation in the eye socket
- Water retention in the body due to impaired kidney function
Pop eyes are not an independent disease, but always appear as a symptom of other diseases.
Pop-eyes are often associated with the following diseases:
If goggle eyes appear quickly and in several fish at the same time, this may be due to the CO2 content being too high. In the long run, too much CO2 can lead to kidney problems and then to ascites.
If a water change was carried out shortly before the symptoms appeared, the popping eyes can be the result of gas oversaturation in the water. Gas supersaturation can occur when water is heated.
Tap water is often oversaturated with gas from the air, which is dissolved in the water pipe under pressure.
If, after filling the aquarium with water, small bubbles settle everywhere, there is gas oversaturation. Such bubbles then also form in the fish. Although these bubbles are tiny, they are big enough to literally foam up tissue or clog blood vessels.
Inflammation of the eye can be the result of an infection by bacteria or viruses. Such inflammation can B. occur when bacteria multiply in the aquarium, z. B. due to poor water hygiene due to overstocking or insufficient water changes.
Another cause of pop eyes is water retention in the fish body due to kidney problems. Kidney problems occur e.g. B. when kept in too hard water. In this case, as a rule, both eyes protrude.
Treatment suggestions for goggle eyes
If the CO2 content is too high, the water must be changed immediately and the CO2 system checked if necessary.
In the event of gas oversaturation, the fish should be given as much rest as possible. In addition, they are fed rich in vitamins. Water should only be changed again when the popping eyes have receded.
If there is a bacterial infection, including ascites and tuberculosis, it should be treated with appropriate remedies. Even with viral infections, only the bacterial infections that often occur as a result can be combated.
If there is a suspicion of kidney damage, the husbandry conditions should be checked and, if necessary, improved.
In almost all cases, improving the water quality by changing the water, optimal housing conditions and feeding rich in vitamins can support the healing process. Water changes should only be made if the gas is oversaturated.
Pop eyes often occur together with cloudy eyes.
Further information