Dragon scale betta & blindness?

[Enchantress]

Hi all,
Does anyone know how prevalent blindness (diamond eye) is among dragon bettas? Do they all get it sooner or later, or is it something that only happens occasionally? I have the opportunity to adopt a dragon scale HM betta (former pet), but I've heard that this variety is prone to blindness and I'm a little concerned about that, especially since he'd be in a tank with other fish who might out-compete him for food...He seems to have some scaling beginning to descend on his right eye and I'm hesitant that with time he might progress to full-blown blindness and I wouldn't be able to give him the care that he needs...Any advice would be very helpful, as I've been on the fence about this for several days now

 

[SaraB]

Is it possible to get a separate tank for him in the event that he goes blind? That way you can target feed him. You can start to train him to eat from tongs the day you get him.

 

[Enchantress]

Is it possible to get a separate tank for him in the event that he goes blind? That way you can target feed him. You can start to train him to eat from tongs the day you get him.

Not really, I don't have the room (my 2 aquariums are already hanging on the wall for lack of space, lol). My best bet would be to get a small container or breeder box to put inside the tank and keep him in there, but I'm not sure there'd be enough room for him to feel comfortable. But it would probably be the only viable solution.

(If the worst comes to the worst I can always give it a miss and let someone else take him.)

 

[SaraB]

Whatever you think would be best for the fish

 

[Enchantress]

I did a quick online search and most of the available breeder boxes don't seem to exceed 1.5 gal...Whereas the absolute minimum for a single betta is theoretically 2.5 (ideally 5). I wouldn't be comfortable forcing him to live in such a small space, regardless of his disability. Unless of course for a blind one it would be OK? I've never had a visually impaired fish before, so I don't know what their needs are with regards to space & room to swim...