You always want to do your best to take care of your fish. When your fish aren’t in good health, you know that it’s likely the result of some mistake that you’ve made.
If the cichlids in your tank aren’t looking good, you’re probably fairly worried. When the cichlids appear to have cloudy eyes, you might be wondering what is going on.
What causes cichlids to get cloudy eyes? Is this some type of disease or a symptom of a disease?
Continue reading to learn everything that you need to know about this issue. It’ll ensure that you can make good decisions to help your fish.
Cloudy Eyes Should Be Seen as an Indication of Disease or Infection
It isn’t normal for cichlids to have cloudy eyes. If one or more of your fish has cloudy eyes, it’s a sign that something is wrong.
There are quite a number of different eye issues that can arise in cichlids. Usually, this situation is caused by the fish having a compromised immune system.
When fish are made to live in dirty water, they’re not going to be able to stay healthy. If you don’t take the time to clean the tank regularly, it’ll be to the detriment of your fish.
The water conditions likely caused the cichlids to become infected in some way. They might have been exposed to bacteria or they could have developed some type of sickness.
Either way, you’re going to need to take action. You should try cleaning the fish tank and then treat the fish appropriately.
Physical Injuries
It’s possible for fish to get cloudy eyes when they have experienced physical injuries. Some sort of trauma to the eye can cause the fish to develop this issue.
There are many reasons why fish might become injured in this fashion. They could get injured due to fighting with other fish.
Cichlids are very aggressive fish that are known to fight with each other. They also bother their tank mates sometimes in community aquariums.
Sometimes fish might get injured by being mishandled by humans, too. A fish could even suffer an eye injury due to colliding with an object in the fish tank.
An injury such as this can lead to inflammation and general cloudiness in the eyes. Do your best to help the fish get better by treating it.
Parasitic Infections
You should also know that parasitic infections can cause fish to develop cloud eye issues. Sometimes when fish get infected with ich, it’ll cause them to have cloudy eyes.
Ich is a parasitic infection that causes the fish to develop white spots on their bodies. It causes them to itch and it’s very uncomfortable for them.
Fish will usually become lethargic when they have ich and they might even stop eating. Thankfully, this is something that can be treated.
Don’t ignore issues with ich since it can eventually get so bad that it’ll cause breathing issues. Of course, if a fish has ich, it’s likely that you’ll notice the white spots much earlier than you’ll notice cloudy eyes.
Dietary Issues
Have you been doing a good job of feeding your fish? If you haven’t, it’s possible that dietary issues could be the cause of the cloudy eye problem.
Some types of fish are tough to keep fed because they’re picky. This isn’t the case with cichlids, but you can still do a poor job of feeding them.
For example, you might be feeding them the wrong types of foods. It’s possible that the cichlids might not be getting enough nutrients.
Unhealthy fish can develop cloudy eyes. You’ll want to turn things around and start feeding the fish appropriately.
To get the best results, cichlids should be fed fish flakes, nutritional pellets, freeze-dried foods, and live foods. Mix things up sometimes and ensure that the fish are fed enough protein.
Don’t go overboard, though. You’re only supposed to feed cichlids as much as they can eat in two minutes or else they might become constipated.
Cancer and Tumors
Sadly, cichlids can develop tumors, and sometimes, they will be cancerous. A fish that has developed cancer might get cloudy eyes.
Tumors can potentially form anywhere in the body. They can grow in the eyes of cichlids, too.
If you suspect that your fish might be sick, you can talk to an exotic veterinarian to get advice. They will be able to give you the best course of action to take.
Of course, it isn’t likely that you can save the fish if it’s on the verge of death. Hopefully, what’s wrong with your fish has nothing to do with cancers or tumors.
How to Treat Cloudy Eye Problems in Cichlids
Treating cloudy eye problems in cichlids involves giving the fish medicine. It’s recommended to treat fish with antibiotic medications to clear up issues with infections.
Of course, this is only going to help if the eye problem is being caused by an infection of some sort. The most common causes of infections such as this involve bacterial or parasitic infections.
Otherwise, you’re supposed to improve the water quality and continue to monitor the fish. Feed the fish healthy foods and try to nurse it back to health.
If the fish needs extra help, it might be beneficial to use aquarium salt. Salt treatment can help sick fish, but you have to be careful not to overdo it.
Follow the instructions and don’t use more salt than you’re supposed to. It’d be detrimental to the fish if you mistakenly add too much salt to the water.
Final Thoughts
Knowing that cloudy eye issues are caused by many different things should help you to figure out what’s going on. You’ll need to try to narrow things down based on what’s happening in your aquarium.
It could be that the fish has developed some type of infection. Fish can develop cloudy eyes when they have bacterial or parasitic infections.
Physical injuries can cause the same problem. So can poor water quality and dietary issues.
You’ll want to keep an eye on the cichlids and try to help them however you can. Determine if the fish are sick and then take the appropriate steps to treat them.
If you leave things alone, the fish could get worse. Never ignore signs of sickness because your fish rely on you for care.
Jeff has always enjoyed having pets, but as a child, he was drawn to his family’s fish tank. Being able to maintain a small ecosystem and observe the behaviors and interactions in the underwater world peaked his interest early on and has kept him hooked until this day. On Avid Aquarist, Jeff shares everything he’s learned about helping aquatic life survive and thrive in a home aquarium.