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How To Care For A Blind Goldfish!

Although the vast majority of goldfish are healthy, there are a number of problems ranging from problems with genetics to bacterial or parasitic infections that can cause your goldfish to go blind.

We have noticed a number of people reaching out recently and asking about taking care of a blind goldfish so we have decided to make that the main focus of today’s article.

Our hope is that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible take better care of their blind goldfish and offer it the best quality of life possible.

Due to the breeding practises that some chain pet stores implement for their goldfish, the genetic problems that may cause blindness in goldfish are becoming increasingly popular too so blind goldfish may become more popular in the future too.

We have noticed a range of different questions being asked about looking after a blind goldfish recently so we have decided to add a table of contents blow and cover the four main questions that we see from the community.

This allows us to put all of the information in one place to make it as easy as possible to help more people who have a blind goldfish.

How Do I Know If My Goldfish Is Blind?

Signs of a blind goldfish range from the more obvious signs such as the goldfish not having eyes at all down to a slight cloudiness in the goldfish’ eyes as you look at it.

Some blind goldfish will not show any signs in their eyes but you will be able to tell that they are blind by the way they move in their tank or pond.

Keep in mind, signs of potential blindness like cloudiness in your goldfish’ eyes do not actually mean that your goldfish is already blind and you may be able to treat the issue to save your goldfish’ sight.

Booking a short video call with a vet is usually the best route to take as they will be able to go into detail on exactly what’s wrong with the fish and how to treat it though.

Due to goldfish not having any eyelids, a slight abrasion to their eye may be enough for an infection to set in.

This can then cause the goldfish’ eye to turn cloudy while its immune system fights the infection in your fish and may clear on its own. It is still usually better to get some specific input from a vet on the exact situation and circumstances for your pet goldfish though.

Can A Blind Goldfish Survive?

A blind goldfish can definitely survive and there is usually only a small change in the amount of care that a blind goldfish will require over a goldfish who is able to see.

Many people think that they will have to go out of their way to help care for a blind goldfish but this is not the case.

Sight is not as important for fish as it is for other animals, especially goldfish in a small aquarium or pond as they will often be able to smell their food and get to within eating distance of it.

Sometimes the fish may need longer than usual to actually eat the food but think of a goldfish feeding itself at night or when in a covered tank, they are still able to do it even if they are not blind but have lost their sight due to the light being out.

If you have your goldfish in a deep pond, try to think of how the goldfish forage for food in the deep areas of the pond without light. It is almost always through their sense of smell rather than their eyesight.

Can Blind Fish Find Food?

A blind goldfish is usually able to find most types of suitable food for it via its highly developed sense of smell. This is normal for most goldfish though as they rarely use their eyesight when it comes to finding food.

The majority of suitable goldfish pellets should be fine for most goldfish as they can have a unique smell that goldfish will be able to detect.

Some people do try to put their blind goldfish on a garlic infused fish food but this is usually not required.

The garlic infused fish foods are designed to help deal with various types of infection in the fish rather than use the scent of the garlic to help a blind goldfish find its food.

We know that some of our readers are against live feeding their goldfish but using something like live bloodworm as a food source for your blind goldfish can be a great way to go.

Not only is your goldfish able to smell the bloodworm but they are usually able to detect their tiny movements in the water to help the fish eat them easier.

How Do You Feed A Blind Goldfish?

To feed your blind goldfish simply add the food of choice to the tank or pond the goldfish is in and wait for it to approach. If the goldfish is hungry, this shouldn’t take too long as most goldfish will smell the food as soon as it is added to the water.

Once the blind goldfish is there let it eat the food but you may have to push some of the pellets towards your blind goldfish to help it.

It will take longer for a blind goldfish to get the pellets in their mouth as they will miss them most of the time. If there are other fish in your tank or pond then there is a good chance that they will eat them before the blind goldfish has a chance to get them.

This is where you may have to push the pellets towards your blind goldfish to make it as easy as possible for it to eat them. Some people may move their blind goldfish to its own tank to make caring for it a little easier and to stop other fish from bullying it too.

Conclusion

That brings our article going over taking care of blind goldfish to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you better understand how you are able to care for a blind goldfish, especially how you are able to feed one but in reality, it really doesn’t take that much more effort than most people initially think.