Albino Yellow Crystal partly blind ?

[tat]

Hello,

I have a Albino Yellow Crystal which seems to be partly blind.
He has problems finding food, even if I give the food on front of his mouth, he struggles to catch any single piece.
Lucky for him, he is the bigger on the tank, but as you can see from the photos, he looks thin, I guess he should be eating much more then he is.

What is your opinion? Do you see any problem with fish's eyes? Any suggested treatment? Any special trick to make him eat?

Thank you!


Photos:

[Tazalanche]

There are many threads on here about vision issues with albino strains of discus. It seems to be very common for albino discus to have some form of vision impairment, especially in well lit aquariums.

One of my albinos is large & healthy & he (suspected male) hits the food 90% of the time if it's moving. The other albino is healthy, but about 75% of the size she (proven female) should be for her age. She hits the food about 40% of the time if it's moving.

The best advice I can offer for a healthy albino discus is to find a food it really likes that can be stationary (freeze-dried blackworm cubes placed on the glass, sinking pellets or something in a feeder cone).


The following information was taken from wikipedia, in reference to albinism in humans, but much of it appears to apply to other species with albinism, including discus.

Visual problems
Development of the optical system is highly dependent on the presence of melanin, and the reduction or absence of this pigment in albinistic individuals may lead to

• Misrouting of the retinogeniculate projections, resulting in abnormal decussation (crossing) of optic nerve fibres
• Photophobia and decreased visual acuity due to light scattering within the eye (ocular straylight)
• Reduced visual acuity due to foveal hypoplasia and possibly light-induced retinal damage

Eye conditions common in albinism include:

• Nystagmus, irregular rapid movement of the eyes back and forth, or in circular motion.
• Astigmatism, irregular shaped cornea requiring additional cylindrical corrective lenses in spectacles.
• Amblyopia, decrease in acuity of one or both eyes due to poor transmission to the brain, often due to other conditions such as strabismus.
• Optic nerve hypoplasia, underdevelopment of the optic nerve

Some of the visual problems associated with albinism arise from a poorly developed retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) due to the lack of melanin.[citation needed] This degenerate RPE causes foveal hypoplasia (a failure in the development of normal foveae), which results in eccentric fixation and lower visual acuity, and often a minor level of strabismus.

The iris is a sphincter formed from pigmented tissue that contracts when the eye is exposed to bright light, to protect the retina by limiting the amount of light passing through the pupil. In low light conditions the iris relaxes to allow more light to enter the eye. In albinistic subjects, the iris does not have enough pigment to block the light, thus the decrease in pupil diameter is only partially successful in reducing the amount of light entering the eye. Additionally, the improper development of the RPE, which in normal eyes absorbs most of the reflected sunlight, further increases glare due to light scattering within the eye. The resulting sensitivity (photophobia) generally leads to discomfort in bright light, but this can be reduced by the use of sunglasses and/or brimmed hats.

Good luck!

[tat]

Thanks alot Tazalanche

I am now feeding brine shrimp on a feedercone and sticking spirulina to the glass. He is now able to eat much more.
Let's see if his sunken belly turns on a fat belly.

The only problem with stationary food, it's discus become much more aggressive defending their food. When I just throw the food to water, everyone was just to busy trying to get a chunk of food.
Now, the albino which is the larger fish, and a yellow marlboro which is the more aggressive and the king of the aquarium, hang around the cone or the spirulina, slowly eating and keeping everyone away from the food.

[Second Hand Pat]

tat, add a second feeding cone and split the food between the two and add a second spirulina cube in a different location.

[tat]

tat, add a second feeding cone and split the food between the two and add a second spirulina cube in a different location.

Well, I am doing that, but is not working very well.
I have 5 discus:
6cms marlboro red
7cms blue diamond
10 cms ocean green (added to the aquarium 1 week ago)
10 cms yellow marlboro
12 cms yellow cristal

The 2 small discus does not count to much on the hierarchi. The 10cm yellow marlboro and the yellow cristal formed a couple or at least they do along very, very well.
The recently introduced Ocean Green is suffering frequent agressions from the yellow Marlboro.
Even with 2 cones on each side of the aquariu, the agressor each time he sees the poor guy approximate to the food, left the food, and chase him, making him stay on a corner.

[hunterxzach14z]

im sorry to hear about your dilemma :/ i hope everything works out

[tat]

Well... I have:
6cms marlboro red
7cms blue diamond
10 cms ocean green (added to the aquarium 1 week ago)
10 cms yellow marlboro
12 cms yellow cristal

The Yellow Marlboro spends the whole day pecking on the Ocean Green. The poor guy, has to stay on a dark corner.
But he is strong, when he has the chance he also scares away the 2 small guys.

How long does it take for the hierarchy to be established and accepted, and things calm down?

I have the chance to purchase a nice 11cms Blue Diamond. This may help the poor Ocean Green, since the dominant will habe one more guy to worry, don't you think?