Wrasse Going Blind??

[JD46]

Over the past 2 weeks, my melanarus wrasse has been acting peculiar; bumping into things and resting on the sand a lot. It appears to be worsening and I believe that it is losing sight. Took a look at the eyes today and there seems to be clouding internal to the eye around/in front of the iris. This is not the standard external clouding caused by a fungal infection. the clouding almost looks conical if look at it from the side (down the length of the fish) and round straight on. It appears to be in both eyes, although the left is worse than the right.

A little background. The wrasse is 5-6 years in my tank. Only new addition within the last year was a lawnmower blenny last August. No other symptoms with the other fish.

I have attached a few pictures to give some idea. Unfortunately, it is tough to get a picture that realy captures the clouding. Any ideas?

JD

[JHemdal]

Fish can get cataracts, and it looks like that *might* be what your fish has developed, certainly you've had it long enough for it to begin showing age-related issues. No treatment for this of course. There are some other issues that can cause cloudiness, but as you point out, most of them are on the surface of the eye.

Assuming it locates food, does it still feed?


Jay

[JD46]

Having difficulty feeding. Does take some if I am able to get the food right in front of its mouth. But not always.

An interesting side note on this fish. A few years back it had an injury to its mouth (don't know exactly when or how) but the alignment of its jaw is off. Very crooked if you look straight on. Since then, I have had to place food in specific rock nooks for it to get it. It cannot get food straight from the water column. Tries really hard but very very bad aim. So, this just adds another complexity.

I may try to put it in my smaller tank and treat with Melafix. But, I do not hold out much hope that this will cure the issue as it does look internal rather than external.

I just thought it strange that both eyes seemed to develop te problem. Does cataracts usually affect both eyes at the same time or would it develop in one and, not necessarily, the other?

Thanks for the insight.

JD

[FortyFour]

Originally Posted by JD46

Having difficulty feeding. Does take some if I am able to get the food right in front of its mouth. But not always.

An interesting side note on this fish. A few years back it had an injury to its mouth (don't know exactly when or how) but the alignment of its jaw is off. Very crooked if you look straight on. Since then, I have had to place food in specific rock nooks for it to get it. It cannot get food straight from the water column. Tries really hard but very very bad aim. So, this just adds another complexity.

I may try to put it in my smaller tank and treat with Melafix. But, I do not hold out much hope that this will cure the issue as it does look internal rather than external.

I just thought it strange that both eyes seemed to develop te problem. Does cataracts usually affect both eyes at the same time or would it develop in one and, not necessarily, the other?

Thanks for the insight.

JD

This thread is VERY old, but if you’re still around, can you tell me what happened? Did you try Melafix? Same situation here.