I recently purchased (from WalMart, sadly the only fish supplier in our area) so maybe the appropriate word would be "rescued", but that is besides the point.
My young Pleco happens to be blind (or very severely vision impared). There is no real way for me to know for sure, but there are a few signs:
-He is not startled by sudden movement outside of the tank
-He is not shy of the bright tank light (even though my other Pleco does not come out)
-Even shining very bright hand-held lights directly into his eyes does not even cause him to bristle
-Rapid movement of a bright light doesn't startle him either
-His eyes have a white blotch in front of the pupil and the white of the eye is greyed
And he clearly isn't deaf or unfeeling, for tapping on the glass makes him flare up as does sudden movement in the water around him.
This blindness has many advantages to a Pleco that can see clearly. He comes out and cleans during the day when the light is on, he rarely gets startled and knocks over orniments, he is very easy to catch if I go about it slowly, it is nice to see my Pleco while the light is on rather than hiding in my colosseum orniment, and he appears to be well fed because he does not limit himself to one area of the tank while the lights are on.
Although, I have questions. He strangly has a white blotch on his head just like the one on his eyes that does not appear to be ick or a fungal disease that is harming him- he is very active for a blind Pleco. Has anyone else seen a scenario such as this? Or have an explanation for his white blotch on his head or his blindness?
Thank you for your responses =]
My young Pleco happens to be blind (or very severely vision impared). There is no real way for me to know for sure, but there are a few signs:
-He is not startled by sudden movement outside of the tank
-He is not shy of the bright tank light (even though my other Pleco does not come out)
-Even shining very bright hand-held lights directly into his eyes does not even cause him to bristle
-Rapid movement of a bright light doesn't startle him either
-His eyes have a white blotch in front of the pupil and the white of the eye is greyed
And he clearly isn't deaf or unfeeling, for tapping on the glass makes him flare up as does sudden movement in the water around him.
This blindness has many advantages to a Pleco that can see clearly. He comes out and cleans during the day when the light is on, he rarely gets startled and knocks over orniments, he is very easy to catch if I go about it slowly, it is nice to see my Pleco while the light is on rather than hiding in my colosseum orniment, and he appears to be well fed because he does not limit himself to one area of the tank while the lights are on.
Although, I have questions. He strangly has a white blotch on his head just like the one on his eyes that does not appear to be ick or a fungal disease that is harming him- he is very active for a blind Pleco. Has anyone else seen a scenario such as this? Or have an explanation for his white blotch on his head or his blindness?
Thank you for your responses =]
