[Shane Wellito]

I have an 8'' male frontosa that lost both of his eyes to something so he is totally blind.
I had him since he was only half inch long about a few years now, I started off with 3 of them lost two, I have him in a 80gallon tank all to himself. He was a beautiful fish till he lost his eyes to something like I said, my question is can I get any use of him as far as breeding or just adding him to my colony of frontosa that I'm going to set up in a 125gallon tank. Right now my other frontosa are 1 inch(3) and 3 inches(2). He can locate his food but I'm afraid he might be harrassed by my other male frontosa once they're as big as he is. I welcome any comments or suggestions. THX!

 

[cobalt]

Sorry to hear, It's best to keep him to himself. He will not be any good for breeding. How did he become blind and how did you lose the other two? It may be best to put him to sleep

 

[Shane Wellito]

I was afraid of that because sometimes he's just at the bottom for hours. I really don't know what happen to his eyes or his siblings, probably some sickness.

 

[tirzo13]

blindness is often caused by sharp rocks in the tank. frontosa have no control so they crash into them.
the eyes get infected or scar over and eventually after multiple trauma blindness sets in.

 

[Shane Wellito]

Oh man I can't do it. Am trying to add a video to this but can't, his fins are nipped by my new shipment from Dave in Texas but holding up well. He's beautiful that I can't kill it even though he's swimming around with eyes that are white and totally creepy.

 

[jchild40]

How long has he been blind? I have had fish with white "stuff" covering their eyes, that were able to return to normal following some medication.

I began med's within 2 days of noticing the illness.

 

[Shane Wellito]

He's been blind for over a year or maybe even more. Yeah i should've started treatment soon as I saw his eyes not clear anymore but he was so healthy, I mean he had the tank to himself. I kept his water to meticulous standards, he probably injuried it on the rocks. His eyes are totally gone, its just hollow in there.

 

[fmueller]

Having other fish in the tank who nip his fins doesn't sound right to me. Maybe you should do the responsible thing. If the fish was out in the lake, some predator would have ended his suffering a long time ago. Now that job can only fall to you, his caretaker.

Here in Ohio, I'd put him out in the snow. It's supposed to be one of the most humane ways to do this kind of thing. In Albuquerque putting him in a zip-lock bag in the freezer would seem the next best thing. With smaller fish I have also used the waste master - put it on full blast, and when the fish hits it, it should be instantaneous, but with a large fish like a frontosa that might not be practicable.

This is just about the worst aspect of fish keeping, but I feel if you keep animals, you have to take care of them all the way to the end. I had to put my dog to sleep because of a brain tumor a little over a year ago. It was one of the worst things I've ever had to do, but I still feel I did right by him in the end.

Jody - may he rest in peace!

 

[Shane Wellito]

I did it already so... put him in cold, cold water. I've put fish and even a horse down before so I know what you're talkimg about, he was my kids nemo.

 

[fmueller]

You did the right thing. Sorry for your loss

 

[tirzo13]

clove oil to sedate.
then freezing.

clove oil can also be used to ship fish.

 

[AZcichlidfreak]

Sorry to hear you had to put him "down" , but I agree that you made the right choice.

 

[newforestrob]

before I got into this hobby,I thought..its only a fish,but not anymore,they have their different quirks and personalities, ...time will heal