# How to feed a blind fish?



## deenalove

My Mollie had bad pop eye, now it's gone but her eyes are all messed up. She doesnt seem to be able to see anything in the tank. Swims into the other fish and the walls of the tank. How do I feed her? She does not see the food. I watched her and she either ignored it or didnt see it. Some flakes landed on her face and she didnt seem to notice. Thanx*c/p*


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## jrman83

You'd think she'd be able to smell, but I guess not. Sounds like she will starve.


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## automatic-hydromatic

jrman83 said:


> You'd think she'd be able to smell, but I guess not. Sounds like she will starve.


unfortunately, you might be right 

it's sad when unfortunate things like that happen to our fish... be glad it's not an expensive fish at least...


my two Mollies seem to feed purely by sight (chasing flakes around), while the bottom dwellers like the Cories and the Loach use smell to find their food


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

its the flakes, they dont put off a oil trail in the water.

try feeding her bloodworms, she will eat it, but you are more then likely going to have to go frozen foods or add some garlic to the flake so she can get a scent off the flakes.

I got a juvenile half wild angel that was hatched with no eyes, its just scales kinda creepy looking but I use frozen and garlic enriched foods on that one and it is right there with the rest of the vultures at feeding time.

Fish are complex creatures, yes it might not have eyes but it has something better then eyes called the lateral line. all fish have them, its sort of like having eyes and ears all over their body, they can judge, speed,size,predator and prey just with the lateral line alone. and yes food going near that line will cause the fish to be alerted and fight or flight if they sense it being predator or prey


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## deenalove

I will try blood worms, but I dont think she will make it. Her scales seem to be being pushed out and has furry looking eyes, like white. Doesnt seem to be like Ich. It is ONLY on her eyes...


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## majerah1

If shes pineconing,then she may not make it.Its caused by many different things so no one knows a definate treatment.I had a female betta,lose an eye in the shipment to me.She would miss food quite often even though it was only one eye.It took time but i trained her with a very small spoon that comes in the atison betta starter.I would place the pellets in it,and gently touch her nose with the food in it.Out of reflex she would bite and before long she discovered there was food there.After two years she lost sight in her other eye,as many coppers do.Luckily she was used to the spoon feeding.Point is,you can train them to target eat if you stay at it.


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## deenalove

What eactly is "pineconeing" ?


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

thats dropsy and a fungal infection in the eye. Popeye is not a disease its a symptom of an internal issue.


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## Amie

I agree with trying something smelly. You might also want to separate her from the other fish for awhile until she gets used to the idea that the smell equals food. If not then by the time she gets to the food it might be gone from the others. If that doesnt work try calling the pet store and asking them what they feed blind cave tetras and ask if they have any other suggestions. Also keep in mind that if she has been sick and just went blind then she just might not feel like eating right now anyway.


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## majerah1

Pineconing is a symptom of dropsey.its where the scales are sticking out giving the look of a pinecone.


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## deenalove

Unfortunately she passed away less than an hour ago  We have 1 male Mollie left and 2 chinese algae eaters. Have been losing fish slowly. I am going to get the water tested soon and see what could be going on and fix it. I am going to turn the 5g into a planted guppy tank prob after everything is ok. Now question.... I heard DO NOT change the filter pad thing. Should I still not?


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## Amie

What exactly do you mean by filter pad thing? If you have been losing fish over a long time and have lost a lot there is something wrong with the tank or the fish compatibility or something. If you want to give some details I'd be happy to give you some suggestions.


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## deenalove

I had not tested the water. I mean the thing in the filter, I dont want to say filter because that to me sounds like the whole filter lol. I know I had something going on. It sucked. In over 2 months, none of my Mollies had any fry. I lost 3 females and gave a male to the LFS with some weird problem. I feel horrible and am not going to get any more fish in there until the water parameters get where they should be, IF they are out of wack. My last Male Mollie seems to be doing awesome now, so I dunno


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## Amie

The female molly thing: 1. are you sure they were pregnant? 2. What kind of cover did you have in the tank for the fry to hide in. With other fish in the tank if you don't have lots of hiding places then the fry usually end up eaten before you know they were there. 3. Are you sure it was not the pregnancy that killed them? My female guppys have always been more prone to dying then any other fish in the tank. I think it is probably due to the males chasing them. 4. Did you know that females can hold their fry in for a few months, if they choose (probably due to crappy water conditions or feeling unsafe). 

What type of filter is it? I ask because different types have different media.

What other fish were in the tank since you started it?


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## deenalove

Before the Mollies I had tiger barbs and neon tetras. Also a shark (catfish lol). Not all at the same time. I have 2 plants for the fry to hide in, and I figured they were preggo, they got really huge then nothing. 2 died while huge . My filter is a aqueon... i believe the name is. For a 5g tank


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## Amie

So, you have a 5gal tank and an Aqueon filter for a 5gal tank. In the tank you had: You said you lost 3 mollys and gave 1 back to the store and said that you had 1 left and 2 chinese algae eaters.....Is that right??

So that was 5 mollys and 2 Chinese algae eaters in the tank at the same time right?? What kind of algae eaters are they??

Are the plants real or artificial??


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## deenalove

Yeah I was severely overstocked, because of course, I listened to PETCO! UGH. They said 3 (2 inch) Mollies go well in a 1g!  They are chinese algae eaters. Thats all I know. I do know they get to 10 inches, and I bought them before studying up on them. And the 2 plants were artificial


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