Anyone have blind fish?

Costareefer · Dec 29, 2023

I have this blue throat trigger. Had him 2 years. And it’s like he has no depth perception. When he goes after food he misses and it seems the food has to really be moving for him to see it. Sometimes I put shrimp right in front of his face and have to guide it to his mouth. Anyone else with a vision impaired fish ? Btw his eyes look normal.

littlefoxx · Dec 29, 2023

I did have a blind clownfish. I do not have her anymore as they were sold to me as a “bonded pair” from an ebay seller. But she was blind for sure and I had to squirt food and let it hit her face for her to eat it. I also made the aquascape more minimal for her so she could learn where the caves were. Sadly the male who was always by her and helped her swim ended up killing her while I was at work

vetteguy53081 · Dec 29, 2023

Costareefer said:
I have this blue throat trigger. Had him 2 years. And it’s like he has no depth perception. When he goes after food he misses and it seems the food has to really be moving for him to see it. Sometimes I put shrimp right in front of his face and have to guide it to his mouth. Anyone else with a vision impaired fish ? Btw his eyes look normal.

Yes this does occur and is indeed a blindness. Here is article by Jay hemdal

Aquarium Fish: The ‘Eyes’ Have it: A Review of Eye Health in Aquarium Fishes

Aquarists need to inspect their fish closely every day, for signs of impending health problems. It is much easier to resolve a problem when it first starts, than to attempt a drastic emergency treatment when the fish is close to dying.

reefs.com

GoldenStateCorals · Dec 29, 2023

Costareefer said:
I have this blue throat trigger. Had him 2 years. And it’s like he has no depth perception. When he goes after food he misses and it seems the food has to really be moving for him to see it. Sometimes I put shrimp right in front of his face and have to guide it to his mouth. Anyone else with a vision impaired fish ? Btw his eyes look normal.

That’s pretty fascinating. We have had a few fish over the years, as well as in our clients tanks that have gone blind in one eye. It usually due to scratching their eye on a rock or getting “popeye” at some point and never recovering fully.

But what you are describing is different. Curious on the long term care and its longevity. Single eye-d fish seem to do quite well overall.

dennis romano · Dec 29, 2023

I have owned two Rock Beauties, one twenty years ago, the other recently. Both went blind after several months. The only reason that I could come up with is that a major part of their diet is sponge. Twenty years ago, there was no real sponge included food. Maybe the latest didn't get enough. I figure that the lack of sponge caused their decline.

Costareefer · Dec 29, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Yes this does occur and is indeed a blindness. Here is article by Jay hemdal

Aquarium Fish: The ‘Eyes’ Have it: A Review of Eye Health in Aquarium Fishes

Aquarists need to inspect their fish closely every day, for signs of impending health problems. It is much easier to resolve a problem when it first starts, than to attempt a drastic emergency treatment when the fish is close to dying.

reefs.com

That’s a good article. I don’t know the specific cause for this fish but I suspect it may be the light. He likes to be out during the day but hangs out in the darkest spot of the tank by the overflow during the day. The vision is getting worse though over the last few days because his feeding has gone down quite a bit. I could pull him and try to medicate or isolate him but what meds? And would isolating him give him what he needs? He wouldn’t have to compete for food and I could feed him more directly. Thoughts? Thanks for the article btw

Edit: maybe the light on triggered by something else. It’s definitely both eyes and he isn’t completely blind but he is close and the depth perception is awful.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 29, 2023

Costareefer said:
That’s a good article. I don’t know the specific cause for this fish but I suspect it may be the light. He likes to be out during the day but hangs out in the darkest spot of the tank by the overflow during the day. The vision is getting worse though over the last few days because his feeding has gone down quite a bit. I could pull him and try to medicate or isolate him but what meds? And would isolating him give him what he needs? He wouldn’t have to compete for food and I could feed him more directly. Thoughts? Thanks for the article btw

Edit: maybe the light on triggered by something else. It’s definitely both eyes and he isn’t completely blind but he is close and the depth perception is awful.

And I’ve seen this
Adjust light accordingly

Costareefer · Dec 29, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
And I’ve seen this
Adjust light accordingly

I may have to remove him because the lights are at 50%. It’s possible that in nature something happened and he avoided light then too. It took him 8 months before he would come out and stay out so maybe some sort of photophobia. I could put him in my fuge that has much lower light