Royal Gramma Injured or Sick

[OneMerissa]

My royal grandma has been acting funny for months. She’ll lay on her side, very close to the bottom. She’ll sit there, motionless for hours but when I try to catch her, she flips out and swims all over the place. I also think she’s blind… when I give her food, she will come for it, but always misses it like it’s right out of her reach. It’s pretty much like she can’t see it. She also has this pale patch on her head and a little bit of pale on the side of her. Not sure if it’s injury or illness. it started happening when I got my lawnmower blenny. I think he was bullying her and kicked her out of her normal spot. No other fish in the tank seem injured or any type of illness at all. I’m trying to catch her to get a freshwater dip, but I can’t. Here’s a picture of her, don’t mind the algae. Water parameters are all in spec except for phosphates and nitrates are a little high, I am admittedly an over feeder hence the algae. My tank is nine months old 32 gallon bio cube.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My royal grandma has been acting funny for months. She’ll lay on her side, very close to the bottom. She’ll sit there, motionless for hours but when I try to catch her, she flips out and swims all over the place. I also think she’s blind… when I give her food, she will come for it, but always misses it like it’s right out of her reach. It’s pretty much like she can’t see it. She also has this pale patch on her head and a little bit of pale on the side of her. Not sure if it’s injury or illness. it started happening when I got my lawnmower blenny. I think he was bullying her and kicked her out of her normal spot. No other fish in the tank seem injured or any type of illness at all. I’m trying to catch her to get a freshwater dip, but I can’t. Here’s a picture of her, don’t mind the algae. Water parameters are all in spec except for phosphates and nitrates are a little high, I am admittedly an over feeder hence the algae. My tank is nine months old 32 gallon bio cube.

I can't tell if it is the angle of the shot, but the fish looks thin, That would go in line with not being able to see its food. You can test for true blindness by waving your hands near it, but outside the tank. If it reacts to the motion, then it can still see, at least partially. There isn't any treatment for true blindness in fish though. If you want to take a deeper dive, here is an article I wrote on fish eye health:

Aquarium Fish: The ‘Eyes’ Have it: A Review of Eye Health in Aquarium Fishes

Aquarists need to inspect their fish closely every day, for signs of impending health problems. It is much easier to resolve a problem when it first starts, than to attempt a drastic emergency treatment when the fish is close to dying.

reefs.com

Jay