Ol' One Eye, the Goldfish?

[JulietV]

This is less a problem than a question, and another example of my soft-touch side overriding my common sense.

Anyone ever seen a one-eyed goldfish before?

For the past week and a half, every time I went to Meijer's I'd swing by the pet section, and for the past week and a half I've been seeing this one-eyed shubunkin. I do mean one-eyed--the right socket is completly scaled over with what looks like normal 'skin', his slime coat is in excellent condition, his fins are great, and besides a slight list (I think a result of his not being able to see on one side) he's a strong swimmer. I figured after the first time he wouldn't last in the Meijer's tanks, but I came back three days later and he was still there. I came back a week later, and he was STILL there. I decided that was a sign.

Right now, he's living alone in a one-gallon tank with an undergravel filter, and besides looking a bit odd he seems in good shape--he likes to eat (TetraMin Sinking Granules) and he likes to explore his rather small world. (It's fine for him, as he's very little right now, but the cover of the box makes my head spin--no WAY could you fit a large fantail and a couple tetras in there! What are they THINKING?) Until and unless he gets a bit bigger, he's staying in there, and he will likely not go in with my other two goldfish even when they move to their new digs--they're LARGE egg-shapes and would probably bully him. When they move and their old tank is scalded out, he'll move into that one, probably with some smaller fish.

All that assuming he lives, which he seems inclined to do at the moment. He "patrols" like the two big ones, roots in the substrate like they do, and 'naps' on the bottom like they do. The only odd thing about him is that missing eye, which I would almost guess looks congential. I'm going to ask my vet (not a fish vet, but another aquarist) if he's ever seen this--anyone here ever run across a fish like this?

And I know, I know, he's a cull and definitely not a desirable specimen of the breed, but I figured he'd held his own so well in that box-store pet section, he deserved a shot.

[Doofusmom]

I agree...give him a shot...My favorite goldfish I ever owned was a prize I got at the fair..a 1/2 inch one-eyed feeder...his name was Mr. Mustache Man (so named because he had a brown spot above his mouth...when he was small) He lived to the old age of 12 years and was over 6 inches in length...he had such a personality... give Ol' One Eye a chance...at least he will have a happier life than in a petstore tank... ;D

[abm]

This is exactly why I enjoy this forum so much - I can get all the official technical betta and fish info about choosing the best fish, breeding etc. But there's a lot of you out there (me included) who really just want to give these guys a happy life! Thanks for this thread and good luck to you and Ol' One Eye!

[palepinkvase]

I have seen a one-eyed goldfish at PetSmart. I assumed that the guy suffered an injury or was just born that way. He appeared to be living quite well with all the other 2-eyed goldfish in the tank. Perhaps you will come across some more and you can have a tank-ful of one-eyes. You could even come up with an elaborate tale about how they are some exotic, rare breed from Nepal or Tibet and that custom says that a home with a one-eye will be blessed a thousand times. ;D
Anyway, I think that he is one lucky fish to have been brought home by you.

[*~labxing790~*]

ummm..... i reallly think you should upgrade his tank soon. goldfish need ten gallons each because they produce so much ammonia. that's why they die so quickly when kept in bowls. What are your other goldfish in? I'm assuming they're in a similar setup to this. What you could do is buy a 20 gallon tank (30 would be better, but you could get away with a 20 if you don't have much room) and a tank divider made for the size tank you get. Most of them are clear and have holes so you don't need a filter for both sides. THat way the little guy would be able to see the other fish and not get lonely, but he wouldn't get hurt because he would have about 1/3 of the tank or so for himself/herself.

[JulietV]

The others are in the 20Hgal upstairs, now that they've 'grown up'. Actually, ten each is a little more than some goldfish need--it depends on the variety you keep. The big problem with their tank is the algae-controller. On the one hand the pleco is the best vegetation control I've found (in my experience, indian algae eaters can get violent and territorial, and have actually killed my small tropicals) but plecos are MESSY! They make goldfish look neat. But at least that tank has UGF/power combination, and all the fish in it are more 'dirt' tolerant than tropicals.

One-Eye, at the moment, is fine in his one-gallon, since it's well-aerated and gets the water changed like the bettas. I'd be more concerned dumping him straight into the other tank before it has a chance to cycle--I've lost fish to uncycled tanks before when the filters stopped being able to cope. Hopefully he'll be able to move in today (by saving the old filters and mixing some of his water in I think I kept enough of the bacterial colony that it shouldn't take too long). And much as I dislike using a fish as a canary, I won't be introducing any other fish until he's been there alone for a while--I've found non-goldfish are far less tolerant of a new tank than goldfish. (All my tanks are in the mid-seventies, with or without heaters, so I don't have the cold-water problem that sometimes arises in keeping goldfish with other species, but the non-goldfish tend to be much touchier while the tank is cycling.)

He won't move to the 20gal unless he seriously outgrows this one, though. The five who are in there (the two golds, the two corys, and the pleco) are pretty much as much as it can take for now, and are also much too big for him to compete with, except the corys. And they'd be very unhappy if I partitioned it, since they need the swimming room. It might be possible if it were a 20galL, not H, but unfortunately the store didn't have any (and I'm not sure it would have fit on the stand even if they did.) The 20galLs have more surface area and as such can hold more fish, but again, store didn't have it, and even if the had, they didn't have the correct hood.

Believe me, I probably put even more thought into proper space for the goldfish than for the bettas.. In fact the next big decision is, once One-Eye moves, which betta gets his tank when the filter's gone and I've cleaned it! (Probably Cookie. He's in one of the smallest tanks.) The one-gallon was not ideal, but the newer tank wasn't ready for the others yet, and he probably would not have survived being put in with them--they're too big compared to him. (And while I have a spare 3-gallon Kritter Keeper, besides goldfish needing a filter, that's been the hospital tank for the bettas and I'd rather not put anyone in there unless they're being medicated.)

I just hope that he really is a comet or shubunkin, however oddly colored. There were two species in the tank he was from, and if he's the other one we're digging a pond come spring, because to tank-keep koi you need a bare minimum of 100 gallons, and I don't have space or a strong enough floor (no matter how much I drool over that 220gal model!) I hope he's not, but he does have markings like a koi...no whiskers that I can see, though, so maybe we're safe...

[JulietV]

A One-Eye update: He's been in the ten-gallon for several days now, and I just checked all the levels again--his water's excellent, and he seems to be enjoying himself. He loves zipping back and forth and then 'riding' up the tube for the UGF (reminds me of the fish in "Finding Nemo"--"My bubbles...mine....")

Yesterday, while I was drooling over a female betta who'd just arrived at Meijer's (I may cave and buy one yet) the fish lady (I wish I knew her name) came over, and we were talking fish. She pointed out that tank's troublemaker, an albino tetra, who may be on his way to the big flush if he keeps harrassing his tankmates. Then I happened to mention I'd bought a one-eyed goldfish out of the 'pond fish' tank, and she said, "That was my little friend!" Apparently, One-Eye was at Meijer's for FOUR WEEKS in that tank before I bought him. She was happy to hear that he's now living contentedly in a ten-gallon where he's big fish on campus (okay, only fish on campus for the moment; he may get some guppy or platy roommates soon--probably guppies, I could fit in four rather than two and they could school together) and is apparently growing.

We also got to see a "girl fight." (I checked--they were definitely females.) Two of the female bettas from the new shipment were having a tussle, and looking very impressive in the process. Fortunately, one backed down without any fin-biting. The fish lady was pretty relieved that they were girls, as apparently some shoppers have actually taken one of the males in their cups and dumped them into the tank with the females (also some guppies, tetras, and blue gouramis) and she's had to fish out what's left after the fights. Idiot shoppers.

[jedicat]

My housemate's parents have a one-eyed goldie. Originally, he had a matched set of peepers, but he had developed an infection years ago which led to the loss of one eye. Last time I saw him, he was healthy and swimming normally in a tank with goldies many times his size.

[Doofusmom]

I hope Ol' One Eye is still doing good...I love goldfish...they are great and they have really neat personalities just like bettas....

[*~labxing790~*]

IMO, don't put any more fish with the goldie except for corydoras. the others need warm water, or livebeearers will reproduce like crazy. the goldie will probably accidentally eat them and think "yum! those were good! i better try the bigger ones as a main course"! lol but the guppies wont be able to tolerate the high levels of ammonia that the goldfish make. turtles make about the same amount of waste, maybe a little more. I had guppies with my turtle, and they all got sick because of the waste.