help!my octo is blind..

[cloud_253]

HI..Anyone can help?my octo's eyes got white coating..i believe that it is blind..i try a few sudden movement on it,but it has no respond...
anyone knows why it has gone blind??
is it becoz of my water condition or any other reason...
thx for reply...

 

[Nancy]

Hi Cloud,

Sorry to hear about your octopus going blind.
How old is your octopus and what species? When octos get near the end of their lives, sometimes they have eye problems. Is it completely blind, or can it see a bit?

Nancy

 

[Colin]

what are your water conditions too?

Nancy is right about the eyes during senesence, they can white up a fair bit

 

[corw314]

One of my octos, lived blind for quite a few months. It was after she had laid eggs.

Carol

 

[chrono_war01]

I wonder does it have anything to do with the octo's liver's enzyme productions as chinese medicien often says that all things are contacted and if one part of your body is malfunctioning, it might mean that something else too, is malfuctionning inside your body.

 

[Jean]

Dunno about the octos liver CW (although I've looked at the condition of ones that have died of old age and the "liver/kidney" is very thin and floppy so you never know!)

But blindness in old octos is really common.

What are you water params and any idea of an age for your friend. They can survive in a tank fairly well even if blind. Just don't do any major rearranging of tank rockwork etc and put food very close to your friend. Try to keep things the same at all times. Most octis seem to have a good spatial memeory.

Cheers

J

 

[cloud_253]

oh..when i bought my octo,it was quite big already..i have been having him for abt 3 mths..i dun tink it was quite old after all...it is a o.valgaris..i tink i got the spelling wrong..hehe..

i tink it is close to complete blindness..it has no respond to my sudden movement..

my nitrate is ard 25..i have been adding sugar for a mth to bring down the nitrate..is it due to the sugar??

or is it becoz of the light that is too bright for it??

thx for all of your help..deep appreciation..

 

[Jean]

What is your lighting?


And sugar????????? How long had your tank cycled before you added the octi. These guys produce mega quantities of waste, so the tank need to be really stable.

Cheers

J

 

[cloud_253]

my lighting is 15w fluorescent lamp..my tank is 2ft..i cycled my tank for abt 2 wks..at first i used to use volka to cycle..recently ten i started sugar..

but if my tank were to be unstable,it would been gone after a mth..and would not have survived for so long right?

and now it refused to eat..when i push the food to it..it will oni bite a bit..is it the signs that it's time is up??

 

[corw314]

Have you tested your water? 2 weeks is not long enough cycling time. I would venture to guess your amonia is up. Plus an octo gives off so much waste, I am not so sure the tank is stable enough to handle an octo. Have you done a water change? Any chance you have a mature tank you could move him to?

 

[cloud_253]

thats the oni tank i have..
i juz change abt a week ago..i tink i will be changing in tis few days time..

i oni test the nitrate..i will be testing ammonia in tis few days time..

izzit that when the octo is going to die,they will not eat?i will offer the food to its mouth,it juz wouldn't chew the food...

ammonia really will cause the octo to malfunction like blindness and lose of appetite??

thx..

 

[Jean]

thats the oni tank i have..
i juz change abt a week ago..i tink i will be changing in tis few days time..

i oni test the nitrate..i will be testing ammonia in tis few days time..

izzit that when the octo is going to die,they will not eat?i will offer the food to its mouth,it juz wouldn't chew the food...

ammonia really will cause the octo to malfunction like blindness and lose of appetite??

thx..

ANY waste will cause problems but ammonia is really nasty. Just imagine breathing in floor cleaner all the time, and then for good measure getting it in your eyes. This stuff is caustic and burns so yes it could cause the symptoms you describe.

Lack of appetite is a sign that the octi may be dieing I afraid.

Sorry

J

 

[corw314]

Any news????

 

[cloud_253]

my ammonia was about 5..will tis affect much???

and my octo has not been eating for a week..but it is still moving around.and looks quite energetic..is it that they can survive without eating for a long time?

i tried putting food to its mouth,it will hold it for a while ten threw it away...

i got a banded brittle star in it..i was thinking whether the star has been feeding food to my octo since the octo cant see...hehe..what the heck am i thinking..

 

[cthulhu77]

Yes, you need to lower the ammonia level as soon as possible...if you haven't done a water change in a while, you might want to !
greg