# Caring for a blind goldfish



## Red (Jun 13, 2013)

Hi everyone,

I discovered a few weeks ago that my fancy, Ronnie, is blind. I haven't been able to find much/any info on what to do, so I've decided to document his care here in case anyone else has a similar problem. He appears normal and has no treatable illness. Apparently goldfish with bulging eyes (telescope fish), like Ronnie, commonly have sight problems due to being bred more for appearance than practicality.

Symptoms of sight problems include:
-Bumping into ornaments and sides of the tank
-Avoiding open water (though some fish prefer to do this anyway)
-Not noticing food when it is first dropped in
-Not startling at visual stimuli (for example, waving your hand in front of the tank)
-Clouded or otherwise damaged eyes (though these are more likely symptoms of a treatable illness.
-Slow, cautious movements
-Some fish may develop their own coping strategies; for example Ronnie likes to swim back and forth along the front of the tank with his fins touching the glass so he knows where he is (though he hasn't yet come up with a way to know when he's about to hit the side of the tank, but he's getting better at guesstimating).

Of course there are other ways to tell - you know your fish's normal behaviour. The first step is to rule out treatable illnesses by checking for signs of infection, parasites etc. Once this is done you may have to accept that your fish might have be short-sighted, long-sighted, partially or totally blind. DO NOT GIVE UP ON HIM. There's no need to put him down. He's perfectly capable of a long and happy life with just a few extra measures taken by you.

First step is to make sure there's nothing in the tank that could hurt him if he collides with it. Most people will already be sure not to have jagged rocks or ornaments, but other fish may be the issue here; for example my horned snails frequent the same area as Ronnie and I've often seen him collide with them. No damage done so far, mostly because he moves quite slowly and cautiously, but it's something to be aware of. Use the nylon stocking test on all ornaments and artificial plants to be sure they won't tear your goldfish's delicate fins.

I initially tried moving Ronnie to the adult tank (he's only a year old and about three inches nose to tail) but he seemed very nervous and uncomfortable in the larger tank so for now he's back in the small nursery. I think it's a good idea to provide a blind fish with, if not a slightly smaller tank, then at least a good amount of cover for him to hide in (live plants are great for this, as are coconut caves and some ornaments) where he can feel his way about. It reduces the stress.

Please also consider that other fish might take advantage of your goldfish's weakness. Ronnie is my only goldfish BECAUSE (please don't shoot me) he's always been hostile to other goldies, getting into several fights, even tearing his fin at one point and killing his tankmate. I realise now that he might have felt threatened (there's nothing else in the tank even close to his size except the loaches, who mostly keep to themselves) and adopted a strike-first strategy. While I've read about a tank in which a sightless fish lived in harmony with other goldies, this depends a lot on your fishes' personalities; they may socially reject your fish, take food from him or even become hostile toward him. This applies not only to goldfish but to other species as well; a shoal of danios, for example, can do a lot of damage if they choose. The best thing to do here is just keep an eye on tank dynamics and check your fish for injuries that might mean they are fighting at night or when you are out. If this happens consider that you may need to permanently seperate your fish. However, it could also be a simple re-establishing of the pecking order. Give it a little time (and don't forget to quickly treat battle-wounds - I reccommend Melafix).

The final point, and - I've found - biggest problem with taking care of a blind fish is making sure he gets enough food. Ronnie doesn't see the food being dropped in, and takes a while to find his way to it by smell - by which point the minnows and danios have normally had more than their fill. Remember that by waiting for your blind pet to find the food you risk overfeeding your others, and all the problems that go with that. I've found that Ronnie's coping strategy for this is to give up on flakes and instead share the loaches' pellets - which are dropped in the same place each day, so easy for him to find, and too big for most of the others to steal from him. He still finds the occassional flake or bloodworm so keeps his balanced diet, but watch out for signs of constipation if your fish starts to prefer sinking pellets. If this happens, fast him for a day or two and then feed him fresh vegetables for a little while to clear his system. The only problem here is that the loaches occasionally decide they're not happy with this odd finned giant sharing their dinner and chase him off - usually making him panic and bump into things as he flees - but they have a very short attention span and always let him come back. Remember not to let him overfeed. Goldfish are creatures of habit - a routine always helps and they have a surprisingly good memory especially when it comes to the best eating places, but be sure that they still get a good mixed diet.

So to summarise, here's what I've gathered from personal experience about caring for a blind goldfish:
-First see if the condition is treatable
-Minimise the risk of damage from objects and creatures in the tank
-Provide a good hiding place where he can feel safe
-Watch for signs of bullying from other fish
-Ensure he is eating enough
-LOVE HIM. He's lovely 

Of course this isn't an exhaustive list; I'm writing from only a year's experience and what the web and my friend at the LFS say (surprisingly little in this case), and have only been aware of Ronnie's condition for about a month (before that I just thought he was a bit un-coordinated). If anyone's got anything to add (or corrections for my totally irresponsible (?) behaviour) I'd love to hear it. Ronnie's the last of my very first batch of fish and I want him to have a long and happy life! Hope this helps.

~Red


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

I enjoyed reading this post. Thank you for writing it. Ronnie is fortunate to have such a thoughtful person looking after him.


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## Dingodogboy (Jan 3, 2013)

Thanks for posting! I thought my Black Moor was blind at first, but then I realized he just can't see things directly in front of him. It's almost as if he'll see the food out of the corner of his eye, dash over, then wonder where it is. He seems to mostly feed on the stuff that falls to the bottom. Best of luck with your fish Ronnie, and I hope he continues to have a long and happy life.


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