my betta went blind!

dobiekad

dobiekad

dobiekad
Apr 24, 2006
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0
0
hello,
I would really appreciate some help on this one. I just finished treating my betta for fin rot (of which he recovered) and transfered him into a near gallon sized "tank". I added the same water softener and did a 90% water change (as usual, every couple weeks).
So anyway he has been blowing a bubble nest and swimming around happy. Then i tried to feed him just now, and realized he had gone blind in the last 24 hours. (I changed his water ~48-72 hours ago) What would cause this? Is it permanent?

usually he is a pig at eating time and puffing up towards my other bettas. tonight i could only get him to eat by using an eye dropper.

i'm really worried! :(

~Dobiekad
 
how do you know he's blind?
 
I wouldn't assume he is blind just because he doesn't react to anything, especially food. In my experience, fish head for food because they "smell" it, not because they see it. If you doesn't reacte to you coming realy near his head with your finger without touching the water, but he does reacte to actually touching him, then I would say maybe blind. But there are numerous reasons why a fish wouldn't go for food such as fungus, infection, or disease that could be something other than blindness. He might be blind, I dunno, but look for other things first. If he is blind, he should still be able to find food.
 
Did you mean to say that you say that you change a gallon sized tank once every 2 weeks? And that when you do, you change out 90% of the water? on an unfiltered tank I assume?

If so, he may not being eating because of the water quality.

Sounds like he isn't interested in food (I agree with Nerdguy). also consider that bettas are hunters. Dangling infront of their face isn't effective. You should to move it around and put it out of their line of sight to encourage interest.
 
the fish probably has cloudy eye which is usually from poor water quality. The only way to clear it up usually is to keep on with weekly water changes and at a consistent amount. The tank needs a filter in order to get a bacterial colony going for the better of the fish and maybe 20% water changes a week. Each time you change the water 90% every 2 weeks, you're causing shock and his immune system is probably lower than normal.
 
i agree, fish are very sensitive to smell and most likely this is how they locate food, along with vision. for instance, blind cave tetras were found in dark caves, so they developed into fish that have no skin pigment or even eyes because they do not need it. yet they are still able to find food, same in an aquarium.

all those water changes and fin rot treatment probably stressed it a little. wait a day before feeding it again normally.
 
I have a betta in my 10 gal community tank which I have always fed by hand because the platies can easily outrace him to the floating pellet. He has gotten used to following my fingers anticipating a meal, but no matter how carefully I drop each pellet, misses about half of them. Sometimes he tries to lunge even before the pellet hits the water, other times they float right past his head. I figure he's just not very hungry at that moment.
 
yeah, sounds like cloudy eye. you need to change the water in that container once, maybe even twice, a week, until it goes away.
 
Dangerdoll said:
the fish probably has cloudy eye which is usually from poor water quality. The only way to clear it up usually is to keep on with weekly water changes and at a consistent amount. The tank needs a filter in order to get a bacterial colony going for the better of the fish and maybe 20% water changes a week. Each time you change the water 90% every 2 weeks, you're causing shock and his immune system is probably lower than normal.
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All these suggestions are awesome, thanks! I'm going to change how i clean him now, i had no idea that the 90% was bad. At the pet store they say 100% is fine as long as you let the water sit over night. great help huh? *sarcastic

Thats why i always ask here first now! I'm going to let him chill for 24 hrs, and see if he will eat.

really thank you for the advice!
 
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