Genetically blind betta care?

[Sena Hansler]

He swims into walls, corners, he did not react to the net, or a cup, or to another male betta (placed in a bowl and placed into the tank, rim well above water line) in fact he ran into the bowl... His eyes have purple like his fins, then red, then the black pupil. He reacts a little to light.

The tank he is in is what I believe to be a 1.5 gallon tank, soon to have heater. I have a few questions.

1. Feeding is not a problem, although he is much slower. Because he does not eat everything before it sinks (3-4 flakes) how many should we feed him? We also occassionally give bloodworms.

Right now he is in a small tank, by himself. The tank size I reckon is 1.5 if anything - yes we will upgrade as needed. There is a heater, and she is dedicated to cleaning the tank properly (which is today, where I can show her how - I have many fish and betta :) ), so not too worried about a filter yet.

2. Because he is blind, would a filter bother him much? I have found ones made for bowls and tanks - so I guess it would be small enough. I am pretty sure that one is a bubbler.

3. What size of tank should he stay in? I do have a 3 gallon 360 view tank with bubbler. He seems to just follow/bump the sides of his tank and sleep on the top.

4, Are there really any problems people have had with blind bettas? Remember, his is genetic, and he is completely healthy and active.

He is very healthy otherwise, so we determined its genetic (all well).

[Sakura8]

Hi Sena and welcome to the forum. :)

In answer to your first question, I would actually recommend pellets. They're easier to feed, they don't sink so fast, and they won't cloud the water. Good brands of betta pellets are Omega One Betta Buffet and New Life Spectrum Betta Formula. You can also feed New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula .5mm pellets if he needs really small pellets. If you feed regular betta pellets, you can usually feed about 4-6 per day depending on the size and activity level of your betta. If he's on the larger side or is active and swims a lot, feed more. If he's smaller and calmer, feed less.

Getting a filter really depends on you. In a small tank, you don't really need a filter unless you want one to filter out any discoloration in the water. Smaller tanks are really hard to cycle and the cycle is usually why we use filters. If you want a filter, I would suggest baffling it with either a sponge or a soda bottle baffle to keep the flow as calm as possible. That way it won't toss him around as much and he won't lose his bearings.

Since fish rely just as much on their lateral line to maneuver around, a blind fish will do well in any reasonably sized tank. The only problem you might run into with a larger tank is getting him to find his food. So I would say any size tank you can heat and you feel comfortable with is best. Bear in mind that the larger the tank, the fewer the water changes. In his 1.5g, you'll probably need to do twice weekly changes, 1 50% and 1 100%. If you're okay with that and he's happy in it, you can leave him there. Otherwise, you can move him into the 360 3g or any other tank you can heat.

I have not personally kept a blind betta so I'm afraid I can't answer your final question. But what I've heard from people who have had them is they are generally happy, healthy fish. I'm very glad you are keeping him and giving him lots of love and care and I wish you the best of luck with him. Also, I love your sig. :)

[Sena Hansler]

Yeah we use a mixture of flakes (betta food, tropical food, bloodworms) for him. He took a while to get used to the bloodworms however. We'll see if pellets is what he prefers - I mean I have had bettas who wanted flakes, when I had pellets, and wanted pellets, when I had flakes -.- Picky picky....

[dramaqueen]

I have a betta tht I believe is blind or is at least partially blind. I put food in the tank and he's very slow to find it. I started using a feeding ring to keep the food from floating all over the place. I feed him pellets and sometimes they sink. Sometimes he will chase them which leads me to believe that he can see movement. He'll grab at food and miss it. Sometimes he'll find the food on the bottom.

[Sena Hansler]

Haha yeah he can see light and shadows.... other than that we deemed him a definite blind betta. With most of my bettas I usually make sure to train them that:
see my hand above tank = food
Hear snap of my fingers = food
feel the water surface get tapped = food

Therefore none of mine have had a problem, no matter what happens :/ They all react to those too lol (other than admiral)

[jman828]

I agree with Sakura8, nothing to add

[cajunamy]

I have a purple dragon betta and he is partially blind. His dragon scaling was covering one eye when I bought him, and now it is moving onto his other eye. His pupils are HUGE. He can see movement, but has trouble finding his pellets. I was actually going to go buy him a ring tomorrow, as he is getting rather skinny :(

I've had him about a month or two now, and really that is his only problem, finding the food.

eta: I also turned down his flow from his filter, he was hiding alot more with it higher.

[Sena Hansler]

cajunamy turning down the filter is a good idea :) I told my friend not to bother with a filter for her betta because it could disorient him... She'll get him a heater of course!!

And hey, cajunamy, how did you do your first spawn? I put my male and female together, the second day he became terribly vicious and she had complete stress (and raggy fins because of day two) so I felt I needed to remove her...