Cichlids are fish native to tropical freshwaters in America, Africa and Asia. The small varieties are popular aquarium fish. While many different diseases afflict cichlids' entire bodies, certain diseases affect their eyes.
Symptoms
Bulging eyes, cloudy eyes, or growths of cotton-like tufts over the eyes are all signs of eye disease in cichlids. Note that cloudy eyes are also sometimes a sign of a fight with another fish, according to cichlidresearch.com.
Types of Eye Diseases
Exophthalmia, commonly known as Pop-eye, is a disease characterized by bulging eyes. Ichtyophthirius is a disease that shows itself with white, salt-like deposits all over the fish's body. If your cichlid has Ich, as it is commonly called, its eyes will appear cloudy..
Causes of Disease
Parasites, fungi and bacteria are the usual causes of diseases in cichlids, according to cichlid.infocrux.com.
Treatment
Cichlid.infocrux.com recommends salt treatment for most diseases, but no treatment is guaranteed to work. Separate your cichlid from the other fish in a quarantine tank to administer this treatment. To treat Ich, cichildresearch.com advises an immediate addition of Ich medicine to the tank, with daily applications for up to a week.
Prevention
Cleaning your aquarium regularly is the best way to ensure your cichlid does not contract a disease.
References
Photo Credits
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Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Lee Nachtigal
Writer Bio
Amy Francisco has been a writer and editor since 1996. Her experience ranges from advertisements to features in "Hillviews" magazine and "ATPE News," the magazine of the largest educators association in Texas. Francisco holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
