Are you noticing that your puffer fish has cloudy eyes all of a sudden? Is it due to an infection, water quality or aging? In this article, we’ll dive into the subject of cloudy eyes in puffer fish.
Why Does My Puffer Fish Have Cloudy Eyes? It’s a common condition for puffer fish that is usually caused by changes in water quality. Poor diet, parasites, injuries and even cataracts can cause cloudy eyes in your puffer fish.
Should I Be Worried About Cloudy Eyes In Puffer Fish?
Cloudy eyes are usually a result of something external in and around the tank your puffer fish is swimming in. We need to figure out what is causing it in order to treat it.
Cloudiness in the eyes may go away on their own, but we can help to clear them up faster by figuring out what’s wrong.
What Are The Causes Of Cloudy Eyes In Puffer Fish?
We are going to explore 5 reasons or possible causes for cloudy eyes in your puffer fish.
- Poor water conditions
- Poor Diet
- Infections and Parasites
- Injuries
- Cataracts
It’s going to be hard diagnosing your puffer fish online or in this article. You are on the front line and your observation is more valuable than anyone else. Stay diligent and continue to notice if the cloudy eyes get worse, remain the same or clear up.
1. Does Poor Water Quality Cause Cloudy Eyes In Puffer Fish?
Your puffer fish may have cloudy eyes when the water quality is not ideal for them. They may experience other symptoms at the same time. We’re hoping to avoid medicating them, so it’s best to test the water first.
Cloudy eyes are sign of a puffer’s weakened immune system. Harmful bacteria could be multiplying and causing a foggy tank to influence foggy eyes.
Ammonia Nitrite and Nitrate
Ammonia and nitrite levels should be kept at 0 by monitoring the nitrogen cycle in the tank. New tanks are more common to have spiking levels of ammonia. Nitrate levels should be below 20ppm.
Water Changes
Water changes at 25% or more should be done more often when you notice that your puffer fish has cloudy eyes. A buildup of waste and debris in the tank could be causing the cloudiness.
Chlorine and Chloramine
Chlorine and Chloramine must be removed by letting the former dissipate after letting the water sit for about a day before adding your puffer fish. Chloramine is removed with conditioning and filtering of the water.
2. Am I Feeding My Puffer Fish A Diet That Is Causing Cloudy Eyes?
Cloudy eyes can be a result in a poor diet. We enjoy feeding our puffer fish live or frozen food. We know they are omnivores and need some plant matter as well. A deficiency in vitamin A could lead to cloudy eyes.
Consider adding blanched, softened, cut up pieces of carrots to your puffer in small amounts. Carrots are loaded with vitamin A and carotene which are great for healthy eyes.
Overfeeding could lead to excess waste and leftover food falling into the substrate. Both can lead to a rise in ammonia and can throw off your nitrogen cycle. This is how poor water quality and poor diet intersect in causing cloudy eyes.
- More vitamin A (soft carrots)
- Less Food = Less waste
- Pick up leftovers
- Vacuum the substrate
3. Are Cloudy Eyes In Puffer Fish A Sign of Infection or Parasites?
If a puffer fish is stressed or living in a tank with poor water quality, their immune system could be weakened. Aggressive tankmates or inability to adjust to a new tank could lead to illness or bacterial infections.
Medication
At this point, medications enter the picture. Adding Meafix, Pimafix, Maracyn to the water has worked for some puffer fish keepers, but not for others. Trying to add drops of medicine doesn’t tend to work as the puffer fish scuttle away and not allow for the medication to set in.
Apply medicine into the whole tank or separate the puffer fish with cloudy eyes into a quarantine tank where the medication could be applied. We don’t want the chemicals in the medicine to mess up the delicate balance of your aquarium ecosystem.
Flukes
Flukes are small parasites that aquarium fish can fight off around their gills and sometimes in their eyes causing them to be cloudy. Copper based medication could help get rid of them, but a puffer fish with a strong immune system shouldn’t need the medicine. Start with water changes first.
Salt
Some may recommend adding aquarium salt into the tank or quarantine tank to purify the water and help eliminate infections or parasites. This could harm your puffer fish as they are sensitive to salt. This method is recommended by some, but not in this article. Try other methods and avoid adding salt.
Cleaning
Clean up the tank thoroughly. That means all plants, decorations, the substrate and glass walls too. The water is the main focus, but if you want to be safe, it’s time for a full cleaning to help clear up the problem of cloudy eyes in your puffer fish.
4. Does My Puffer Fish Have Cloudy Eyes From Bumping Into Something?
Injuries are common in aquariums. Some go unnoticed, while others show up with wounds, abrasions or even cloudy eyes.
Puffer fish have rather bulgy eyes that are not protected from injury as well as most fish and humans alike. A puffer’s eyes are spherical and its vision is clear in the middle, but blurry around the edges.
Cloudy eyes are common when puffer fish injure their eyes. If the cornea ruptures or is bloodstained, then its definitely due to an injury.
There are cases of bored or curious puffer fish “surfing the glass” and rubbing their eyes along the walls of the tank. It’s unclear why they are doing this, but stress or boredom could be the reasons. Either way, the contact and rubbing could injure their eyes and make them cloudy.
5. Does My Puffer Fish Have Cataracts?
Genetics, poor nutrition and untreated infections could lead to cataracts in your puffer fish as well as many other fish and humans alike. Older puffer fish are more susceptible to cataracts.
It’s a very common problem in fish with cloudy eyes. It will not be curable once the cataracts set in. Avoiding this is the key with water changes, high quality diet and making sure to treat any infections before they get worse. There will be no cataract surgery for your puffer fish.
Some puffer fish may recover and some may persist. We feel sorry for those inflicted, but the best you can do is to provide and clean and stress free environment for any puffer fish with cloudy eyes.
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