Severe popeye/Kanaplex ? trying w/food now/Alternative?

[Carla]

I haven't had to deal with any issues in tanks in a while but with a broken foot, I found it difficult to keep my tanks clean and my poor fish suffered. In 1 of my tanks, a planted 20 long, I noticed 1 of my 2 Sparkling Gourami had popeye; immediately did 50% pwc and dosed Kanaplex.

Did 2 rounds (w/a pwc in betw) and then I found the other Sparkling Gourami who did not have visible popeye dead one morning (? pH/ I know my pH was high so I worked to reduce it gradually as that could have influenced this).

Decided not to treat with K'plex again and do ~50% daily pwcs. She has improved, but only nominally, and so I decided to dose with K'plex again.

Did 1 treatment yesterday. But, today (today is now after midnight 1/3) I decided that I think she's been finding it hard to see? but she does get active when I feed, so I decided that I should target feed her with turkey baster, so mixed K'plex w/focus and food. She was able to eat a few bits. So, I've frozen it and will do that each day (as I found in another of your responses to someone else, I think it was a week or 5 days, will go back and look at what I clipped).

1. Should I con't to dose H20 column or ?.
2. Should I con't to do daily H20 changes (although I did not do 1 today, 24 hrs after H20 col dose) and just target feed her? (no other fish ill, all Cory)
3. Since nitrates were high due to my probs w/pwcs, when I stopped the K'plex to give her kidneys a break and did the pwcs, I put pieces of Nitrate removing sponge that DeepBlue/Acurel sell, into the filters. I can't find info on if this removes K'plex (or other meds) from the water? If I target feed only I guess that wouldn't be an issue, but what do you think?
4. What alternative ? if target feeding doesn't improve her/how long "should" it take?

[Tech Support AN]

Thanks for the post, Carla!

I'm sorry to hear about your fish! I will answer your questions in the order they were asked for sake of clarity:

1. If the fish is not eating a lot, it may be better to treat the water column. KanaPlex is absorbed through the gills and skin when dosed to the water column, so it is just as effective as feeding the medication. If treating the water column, you can dose every other day for up to 6 doses, which would be 2 rounds back to back. However, after 2 rounds, you will want to take a break from the antibiotic. If feeding, it can be fed daily for 7 days with the Focus.

2. Instead of daily water changes, I would recommend once a week, as you are likely removing some of the medication with daily water changes. Be sure to do the water change on the day you are supposed to re-dose the KanaPlex and dose it after you have competed the water change.

3. A nitrate removing sponge should not remove medications, only chemical filtration such as carbon would remove the medication.

4. Other suggestions would be to add a beneficial bacterial supplement such as Stability to help with the high nitrates. If after the KanaPlex treatment, they are still having popeye, you may want to try a different medication.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

[Carla]

Thank you for responding,I thought I was clear but guess I wasn't. Sorry for confusion. To reiterate:

1. I was treating in the water column. Stopped after 2 rounds for a break. Then started dosing food with focus.
2. I was doing daily water changes with the med in the food not the water column.
3. Thank you for answering this re the nitrate removing sponge. I wasn't able to find that info anywhere, so I appreciate it.
4. I have been dosing Stability. I was asking what medication you would suggest as an alternative if the treatment in food did not work? So this info would be helpful. Thank you.

[Tech Support AN]

Sorry for the confusion!

KanaPlex is the best option for Popeye, is often seen in conjunction with Dropsy. Dropsy is often a result of an internal infection that leads to fluid inside the body cavity. Are you noticing any bloating in the fish? We have several other antibiotics that you can try if the KanaPlex doesn't work. See below:
NeoPlex
SulfaPlex
PolyGuard

[Carla]

Thank you. No she doesn't have symptoms of dropsy. PolyGuard unfortunately kills plants, I find. She doesn't have an external infection so I don't see how the NeoPlex would work for this. She is not getting better. I don't hold out hope. Kanaplex has always been my go to med for pop eye that I recommend. I'm surprised it hasn't worked. I should probably euthanize her but I may give the PolyGuard a shot anyway since I have it.

[Tech Support AN]

I'm sorry she is not getting better! SulfaPlex is also an option for external and internal bacterial/fungal infections and can be dosed directly to the water column or fed with Focus. If you do try the PolyGuard, keep in mind that it needs to be dosed directly to the water column and not fed. Good luck!

[Tech Support AN]

One other thing you could try is our StressGuard. This can be added daily and is an antiseptic that helps heal wounds or other external issues on fish by providing an antiseptic to the area. It is compatible with all of our medications except for Cupramine.