Ocular Albino pics

[mursey]

Did you know he was blind when you got him? What is the story? Where did you get him? Are most albino bettas blind? Can you tell when they are in a cup at a pet store?

He is really very beautiful. I am glad he has such a nice owner to take care of him. :)

[copperarabian]

Originally Posted by mursey

Did you know he was blind when you got him? What is the story? Where did you get him? Are most albino bettas blind? Can you tell when they are in a cup at a pet store?

He is really very beautiful. I am glad he has such a nice owner to take care of him. :)

I didn't know at first, and he's from petsmart. From what I've heard most bettas who are albino are blind and that's why it's so difficult to breed them.

[bettalover2033]

Quoting an article I read on www.bettysplendens.com:

"True albinos happen in the betta world but they are usually either blind or nearly so, which makes both survival and spawning very difficult; hence no albino strain has been established and the relationship between albinism and the C locus has not been tested."

I was actually reading about Cambodians and read that little blurp.

[bettalover2033]

This actually is a pretty good question.

My theory is that since bettas have sensory organs I'm sure they can tell male from female. Even if the betta is blind, they will know I it's a male or female in the tank with it.

Males and females five out distinctive hormones when in the same tank and I think this is the way they can tell a male from a female when in the tame tank with the same water flow and aeration.

Now if let's say two males are in separate tanks beside each other, my theory is that they will flare and display their fins also create bubblenests even in the sight of other males because bettas build nests not only for spawning, but out of excitement and as a territorial display. This is why some people mistaken the bubblenest only as 'he wants to spawn.'

Originally Posted by Bethydan

I'm wondering if multiple blind males could be safely housed together. Or if there are other cues they could rely on to identify other males besides sight.

[Purple]

Donald has a sight problem that I believe is age-related. When I feed him, I have to dip my finger in the water to create ripples. Then he knows it's feeding time. I shine a light over his food to help him as well. If his food isn't moving, it's hard for him to see it.