Think my green terror may be blind :/

[wiggywhitetrash]

Hey

I have a green terror around 8 months old and recently his behaviour became really strange and I can't figure him out. He has always been an aggressive top feeder up until recently, when his feeding started to become erratic. All of a sudden he seemed to be just randomly snatching at the surface for food, sometimes nowhere near the pellets. Seeing as his tank mates aren't top feeders, this wasn't really a problem and he could take his time. Things continued to get weirder when he started to do his snatching at invisible food routine in mid water and became more and more reluctant to feed from the top. Now he will only feed from the bottom and he seems completely oblivious to any food on the gravel even if it's right under his nose. He's getting very little to eat now as he seems to rely on getting lucky when he's sifting through the gravel.
This behaviour has had me back and forth for a while about whether he could be blind or not, so I've been watching him closely for the last few days. He seems to bump into the decor a lot, sometimes to the point that he's 'pin-balling' around. I was almost convinced he is blind at the weekend when I held a net still in the water and he swam straight into it. But then I see him react to me when I come into the room, I see him react to his tank mates, react to lights coming on or off, I see his eyes move, and sometimes he seems to navigate the decor with bumping into anything. His eyes look fine to me, but then I guess this doesn't mean anything. Would really appreciate some input here guys, does this sound like a blind fish or can the behaviour be explained? Some recent pictures below.

Thanks

Steve

 

[Crazy mike]

I don't think it's blind.


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[follen]

Does have a funny look to it tho


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[trace]

I don't think it's blind.


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And you are basing that off of...?

It very well may be completely or nearly blind by the sound of it. Fish are very sensitive to vibrations and movement so that may explain you thinking it may be reacting to you coming in the room. It may just be felling your steps vibrating the water column enough to raise awareness. And the lights coming on likely makes the other fish in the tank move again making him react. My guess is that it does have trouble seeing at the very least. There are just too many strange behaviors at play. Hope I am wrong but blindness certainly isn't a death sentence if you are willing to provide adequate care. Most people aren't.


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[wiggywhitetrash]

Thanks for the replies. Although I think it's worth mentioning that I have tried creeping into the room light footed and without making any noise and he still seems to notice me. No idea what could of caused this as I know 100% that he hasn't always been blind.

Thanks

Steve

 

[notho2000]

About two years ago, I obtained two exCichlasoma pearsei from someone who no longer had room for them. When I got them, they were in pretty rough shape but I felt I could, with a little TLC, bring them back. The first thing I noticed when I set them up, was that they had trouble feeding. The pellets literally had to hit them on the nose for them to react to the food. You could tell the fish were hungry from the rapid mouth movements as they were trying to suck in the food. They would look up at the surface expecting the food but if the pellet fell past them, it seemed that they couldn't find it. They were never able to search for food off the bottom. Neither one seemed to improve over a six month period. I have read that poor nutrition over extended periods may cause this and I believe, knowing the history of these fish, that is very likely what happened to them. The eyes were not cloudy or looked damaged, but seemed a little 'strange', like a blank stare, with the eyes not turning in the head ... much like the look on the GT pictures posted earlier by the OP. I have since euthanized them, in that they were in with other fish and since they couldn't see, they were unable to compete for food or adequately defend themselves. They had no quality of life and the prospects for improvement slim to none. Incidentally, I felt that the fish were able to sense movement outside the tank at times but things as small as food pellets ... no.

 

[BC in SK]

Although I think it's worth mentioning that I have tried creeping into the room light footed and without making any noise and he still seems to notice me.

I would think lateral lines might give fish the ability to sense that.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_line
Just with out good eye sight, difficult to pinpoint exactly where things are.

 

[wiggywhitetrash]

Thanks for the input guys, I really don't want to euthanise the fish as I've invested a lot of time on him. This sucks, I guess I'll see how things go and reevaluate the situation. As said above, if he can't compete for food and spends most of his time hungry, this is much quality of life. For the record though, this fish has not be on a poor diet for any period of time. He is fed on hikari pellets as staple with prawns, peas, frozen bloodworm, prawns etc. never any feeders. His tank is an under stocked 90g with an fx5 for filtration.

Thanks

Steve


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[Aquanero]

Take anything I say here with a grain of salt as it is total speculation. The fish seems to be looking down in your photos. This could explain why it can’t see the food above it, in front of it, or in some instances below it depending on where within its line of sight the food is located. It may not be able to see objects in front of it but can see them if approached at the correct angle. This could be a degenerative condition of the eyes or neurological in nature and might get progressively worse. Its vision may also come and go to varying degrees while still being able to perceive shades of light and dark. Like I said this is purely speculative but could be the reason for what you are describing.