Following google suggestions I give him a salt bath, moved him to the only shrimp aquarium where he doesn’t get bullied (tetras in the community tank treated him badly). Unfortunately in two days I don’t see any improvement. I understand, it doesn’t work that fast. I’m just worried about this little guy.
The water parameters are good. He’s active and eats. His popped eye is not blind.
Maybe he needs some meds? I use a brackish salt from Sechem, 1 tea spoon for 2 liters of water. Is it enough or should I add more? Any suggestions?
Posted by NatyVr
1 Comment
Since your little pygmy cory has unilateral popeye (just one eye), it’s almost certainly from a physical injury. Maybe bumping into something or getting nipped by those tetras you mentioned, rather than a systemic bacterial infection, which usually hits both eyes.
The “salt bath” advice you found is a bit tricky here because corydoras are scaleless fish and are super sensitive to regular aquarium/brackish salt (sodium chloride), it can actually stress them out more. What you really want for swelling is an Epsom Salt bath (pure Magnesium Sulfate, unscented), which helps draw fluid out gently without burning their skin.
Here is what I would suggest. Ditch the brackish salt, because it’s not the right tool for swelling. Keep him in that shrimp tank (perfect safe space) and do small daily water changes to keep the water pristine. Clean water is the #1 cure for injury-based popeye. Watch closely if the eye starts getting cloudy or fuzzy, then you might need an antibiotic like Kanaplex (kanamycin) to fight infection, but as long as he’s eating and active, he’s just healing from a black eye. Give him time.