droopy eye

[crazystereo]

Does anyone know what causes droopy eye in aro's? I think mine has the beginnings of it, even tho I have been very careful about diet and everything. It is only in one eye too, which is strange to me. :feedback: :help2: HELP!!!

[Kutty]

Droop-eye is a very common occurance with Silver arowanas kept in captivity today. Most will develop it in at least one eye at around 12". My 23" one had it in one eye and he was fed the very best of diets. I believe that it has to do with the fact that Silver Aros are now being mass produced on farms. This obviously will lower the gene pool which could lead to a genetic predisposition towards the condition. Droop-eye is still only common with Silvers and some color morphs of Asians, which are both massively captive bred. Jardini Aros are also now being bred on farms, so in time they will also probably develop this condition.

[kriztu]

there is no real answer to that question, just a lot of theories and speculations. there is no documented reliable cure either, but you can try covering the tank sides or place your fish in a pond to keep it looking up. ive tried the float a ball thing but to no avail. some experts say its even a genetic problem in commercially bred arowanas. but also try not to feed feeders, theyre never good for your fish

[rayman45]

bingo

[crazystereo]

man, that sucks. at least I know that it wasn't me, I guess.

[redtailfool]

With commercially bred silver aros. its all genetics and not your fault.
All others like black aros and asians - its hit and miss.. but try make your
aro lean and not to give it too much fatty foods. Thats one factor that causes
droop eye.

Curing droop eye is controversial. Its better to just leave the droop eye be. its
not a disesase anyways and the aro will continue to live a healthy life even with it.

[waKu^waKu]

Does anyone know what causes droopy eye in aro's? I think mine has the beginnings of it, even tho I have been very careful about diet and everything. It is only in one eye too, which is strange to me. :feedback: :help2: HELP!!!

its supposed to be the fats that accumulate behind the eye socket... or that there is something below the tank that attracts the aro's attention that makes it wanna look down very often...

[IoStrisciare]

Does anyone know what causes droopy eye in aro's? I think mine has the beginnings of it, even tho I have been very careful about diet and everything. It is only in one eye too, which is strange to me. :feedback: :help2: HELP!!!

all in the genetics.... maybe adding surface swimming tankmates or feeding less fatty foods may help... but its just theory.

[ashdavid]

Here in Japan we can get wild caught silvers and 95% of the time they develope turned down eyes. I don't know where the theory that it is genetics came from but I tend to believe it is not true. The general censes over here is b/c when in the wild silvers majority of their diet come from the surface including a lot of insects,( thats why they are jumpers ) and being kept in an aquarium especialy with tank mates , they tend to be looking down all the time and this then gradualy over time becomes more and more noticable. The other theorys that fats build up behind the eye is somewhat true b/c when the eye turns down as explained above fats do tend to build up in the eye socket.

[IoStrisciare]

Here in Japan we can get wild caught silvers and 95% of the time they develope turned down eyes. I don't know where the theory that it is genetics came from but I tend to believe it is not true. The general censes over here is b/c when in the wild silvers majority of their diet come from the surface including a lot of insects,( thats why they are jumpers ) and being kept in an aquarium especialy with tank mates , they tend to be looking down all the time and this then gradualy over time becomes more and more noticable. The other theorys that fats build up behind the eye is somewhat true b/c when the eye turns down as explained above fats do tend to build up in the eye socket.

normally an aro w no tankmates tends to get droop eye more easily than one with. Droop eye is the build up of fats above the eye, we say its genetic because like a person who may be fat or skinny... it depends on the genetic make up to see if he/she depends to determine the likeliness of the body shape.

this is the same with aros as i have come across a batch of aros of the same batch and yet some will not develop droop eye while some do. All fed the same diet and kept in the same tank.

[aquafan2001]

Through my experience, the drop eye in Silver Aros are genetics. I have had community tanks of silvers in the past and some aros will develope drop eye while others won't. It is just by luck that your silver will or will not devlope drop eye.

[ashdavid]

If it is genetics, why is it that wild caught silvers rairly have this problem???

[piranha45]

If it is genetics, why is it that wild caught silvers rairly have this problem???
because they aren't heavily inbred, or so the theory goes...

[ashdavid]

That goes back to my first post that I did,
Here in Japan we can get wild caught silvers and 95% of the time they develope turned down eyes.

How do you explain that? I pressume that there is no inbreeding in the wild. The biggest factor is most likely the enviroment that is provided.

[neoprodigy]

That goes back to my first post that I did,


How do you explain that? I pressume that there is no inbreeding in the wild. The biggest factor is most likely the enviroment that is provided.
in japan how they prove that this fish is "wild caught" wont it be cheaper to get silver from fish farm then wild caught?

[neoprodigy]

EYES OP (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/524)

[redtailfool]

Love sucking on the juice . I hear it good luck.

[Cafe Iguana]

Maybe its just a matter of exercise to the eye muscles, like Ashdavid say, they also eat insects from above the surface. And the lack of excercise tends to acumulate fat behind the eye.... but like everything, thats just maybe.

[neoprodigy]

Maybe its just a matter of exercise to the eye muscles, like Ashdavid say, they also eat insects from above the surface. And the lack of excercise tends to acumulate fat behind the eye.... but like everything, thats just maybe.
i heard people feed crickets... and still the has the drop eyes...

[redtailfool]

i heard people feed crickets... and still the has the drop eyes...


You have to attribute it to genetics and living in a unnatural environment ( glass tanks )

[neoprodigy]

You have to attribute it to genetics and living in a unnatural environment ( glass tanks )
yes... if you put an drop eyed aro in pond... will that fix the problem?...

[Cafe Iguana]

Maybe if there are enough branches and isects in the surface, I think they have to be hunting for them, and keep watching up. Imagine always be looking at the lamps on top of the acuarium, when they are used to keep looking for food. I really don´t think its genetics..... but thats my point of view.

[Cafe Iguana]

What I tried to say is that I think its living in an unnatural habitat, like redtailfool said.
I have problems expressing in english... :drool:

[ashdavid]

in japan how they prove that this fish is "wild caught" wont it be cheaper to get silver from fish farm then wild caught?

Usually wild caught fish come with a certificate of proof, not all the time I must add. And yes they are much more expensive, but people over here apprecite wild caught fish. For example if you had a breed fish of some sort and a wild fish lined up together in your LFS, even if the price was 5 times the price( which in most cases it is ) the wild caught one will never become dead stock.

[redtailfool]

What I tried to say is that I think its living in an unnatural habitat, like redtailfool said.
I have problems expressing in english... :drool:


You express fine to me. :)

Li - there has been documented instances where aros with droop eye recover when thrown into a pond or an enclosed tank. But you already know that im sure... LOL

[crazystereo]

I feed mine crickets. And shrimp, still frozen so it floats.

[Masa_Rov]

Does anyone have pictures of aros with droop-eye?

Genetics may not be a sufficient explanation, but I guess it would be a necessary condition present in all cases of droopy eyes.

If it is a only a matter of having to look down because of the unnatural conditions of the tank, then the lack of exercise of eye muscles, and consequent accumulation of fat, might not be a factor. After all, it would seem that the silver aro would actually be moving its eye muscles more in a tank (up, down, etc.) than in its natural Amazonian environment, would it not?

If silver aros get it significantly more often than black and asian aros, but their environmental conditions are the same, then would not genetics play a significant role here?

On the other hand, if it is the case that 95 % of wild caught silver aros sold in the Japanese market get it, then could there be other environmental factors (besides the necessary genetic predisposition) such as nitrates? higher alkalinity and hardness of water? What are the percentages of adult wild caught versus baby wild caught (after father's head has been chopped of, or so I have read) with droopy eyes? How would those numbers compare to farm-raised?

On the other, other, hand, how much inbreeding goes on with asian aros, particularly with the problem of a fish in imminent danger of extinction in the wild (CITES category I)? Why is it that many fewer of them get droopy eyes? Also, what's the deal with black aros? Someone posted that many fewer of them get droopy eyes? What about australian and african aros? Do they get droopy eyes?

Does anyone know about any studies on this issue? I am just learning about these matters, but I am curious about it. (I would also like to find out whether it is possible to avoid droopy eyes in Assassination Tango :))

Thanks.

Masa