Cichlids without eyes

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

TSUSnakeguy

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Messages
10
I have a convict that I have had for about 2 years now. I adopted him when I worked at Petsmart because I knew that with other convicts he wouldn't make it. He appears to have been born without them. He now lives in my 55 with an assortment of fish from many different catfish, blood parrot, African cichlids and a few pesky tropical community that just won't kick the bucket. He eats fine. I feed floating cichlid pellets on the same side of the tank every day and he cruises the edge until he bumps into one and then eats it.

I was just curious if anyone else had eyeless cichlids and also had luck with them like me. I would love to see pictures if anyone has them.
 
I had a brood of babies born, some with no eyes and some with no tails.
 
Here he is. It may be hard to tell but there are no real eyes in those places. They look like they were popped and all the eye liquid is gone haha. It's like the eye spots were painted on.
 

Attachments

  • image-3425828274.jpg
    image-3425828274.jpg
    144.3 KB · Views: 143
  • image-1371636125.jpg
    image-1371636125.jpg
    138.3 KB · Views: 163
I'll humbly submit that "he" looks more like a "she". :) I've never had a fish with no eyes, but have had numerous fish from different families with one eye that did fine.

WYite
 
its not a cichlid, BUT I had a goldfish for many years with no eyes, i can't find a pic.
Anyways he had completely empty eyesockets, but was still able to slowly find food through smell I guess, I tried to swish my finger in the water before feeding so he'd associate it with feeding time.
My guess was that they might've been eaten out by the betta that was in the tank with him (this was at one of those infamous stores that will rename unnamed, that you generally shouldn't buy fish from)
He was my favorite fish, bc he was so unique,
 
Again not a cichlid but in my small tank I have the blind cavefish. Pretty cool to watch them especially feeding time because they go crazy
 
Hmm interesting. I wonder if a blind fishs sense of smell will become stronger to compensate like a person
 
Weird I have seen blind albino fish before I have many convicts my self he looks normal in the pics how does he cope with the parrot fish? I would love to get 1 although I think my tank has enough fish for now
 
No one in the tank messes with it. The only fish that the parrot really pics on is the blue gourami I have. They really are the only two fish that "fight" in the entire tank. Every now and then my feather fin cat and the parrot will get into it a little.
 
Back
Top Bottom