# Diamond Eye



## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

Hi,
I got a betta fish just a few months ago. It's a black platinum dragon male. About a week ago I noticed that his eyes were becoming cloudy. I decided to increase the frequency of my water changes but his eyes just got worse and worse and now they are completely white and glazed over. He is very active but seems less responsive and it takes him a while to get to and find his food. I want to treat this as soon as possible to eliminate as much damage as possible to his vision. Any ideas for treatment? Thanks


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## fatblonde (Apr 20, 2020)

Hi, I _think_ a mod can move this to betta fish diseases and emergencies, but in the mean time could you fill out the form to the best of your abilities. There are several knowledgeable people that can probably advise you if this is filled out Otherwise it's just random guessing. You can also find this form at the top of diseases and emergencies. If there is something you don't know then you can put "don't know" etc. 

Many illnesses can be traced to water conditions. Your water-changing schedule is the most important element in diagnosing. Please be honest. Housing: How many gallons is your tank? Does it have a filter? Does it have a heater? What temperature is your tank? Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? Food: What food brand do you use? Do you feed flakes or pellets? Freeze-dried? How often do you feed your Betta? How much? Maintenance: Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? What percentage of water did you change? What is the source of your water? Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? Water Parameters: What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one. Ammonia: Nitrite: Nitrate: pH: Hardness (GH): Alkalinity (KH): Symptoms and Treatment: When did you first notice the symptoms? How has your Betta’s appearance changed? How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Is your Betta still eating? Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? Does your Betta have any history of being ill? How long have you owned your Betta? Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? PLEASE PROVIDE CLEAR PHOTOS NOTE: EMBED YOUR PHOTOS. PLEASE DO NOT LINK. Click on the paper clip in the toolbar. Your fish is your responsibility. When seeking help be thorough as members give advice based on the information you provide. While we have many knowledgeable fish keepers here, please remember that members' opinions are their own and that it is up to you to determine the best course of action for your fish. We are not responsible for any consequences resulting from following the advice you receive here.


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## fatblonde (Apr 20, 2020)

Thomasrm227 said:


> Hi,
> I got a betta fish just a few months ago. It's a black platinum dragon male. About a week ago I noticed that his eyes were becoming cloudy. I decided to increase the frequency of my water changes but his eyes just got worse and worse and now they are completely white and glazed over. He is very active but seems less responsive and it takes him a while to get to and find his food. I want to treat this as soon as possible to eliminate as much damage as possible to his vision. Any ideas for treatment? Thanks


Here is the link and not the copied text, my apologies. 


> [https://www.bettafish.com/threads/p...-so-we-can-best-help-your-betta.612810//QUOTE]
> 
> Betta Form


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## fatblonde (Apr 20, 2020)

Thomasrm227 said:


> Hi,
> I got a betta fish just a few months ago. It's a black platinum dragon male. About a week ago I noticed that his eyes were becoming cloudy. I decided to increase the frequency of my water changes but his eyes just got worse and worse and now they are completely white and glazed over. He is very active but seems less responsive and it takes him a while to get to and find his food. I want to treat this as soon as possible to eliminate as much damage as possible to his vision. Any ideas for treatment? Thanks


And welcome to the forum!


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## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

Sure:
Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?
3.5 
Does it have a filter?
Yes
Does it have a heater?
No
What temperature is your tank?
76
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?
No
Food:
What food brand do you use?
Wardley
Do you feed flakes or pellets?
Pellets
Freeze-dried?
No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?
Twice a day 3 pellets a day
Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
1 per week
What percentage of water did you change?
50-75%
What is the source of your water?
Tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
I would stir up the gravel a little bit then dip out the water
What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner?
Tetra Aqua Safe For Bettas
Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water _before_ the regular water change; not after one.
I don't know but I just bought a testing kit online that should come soon.
Ammonia:
Nitrite: Not sure
Nitrate:Not sure
pH:Not sure
Hardness (GH):Not sure
Alkalinity (KH):Not sure

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
A week or two ago.
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
Eyes have gone from normal to completely white
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Struggle to find food, less responsive
Is your Betta still eating?
yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
No
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
No
How long have you owned your Betta?
A little over 6 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?
No


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## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

Here's a picture, both eyes look like this:


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Looks like diamond eye. Happens with dragon scaled bettas sometimes. It’s a genetic mutation that causes scales to grow over their eyes. Can you post a picture of his full body? I’d like to make sure he is indeed a dragon though based on his one photo he looks like one to me


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

The same thing is currently happening to both of my dragon females. I just make sure not to change any decor around now so they are familiar with their environment and I feed in the same spot everyday so they know where to go when they hear me tap on the top of the tank.


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)




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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Yes, it is Diamond or Snake Eye. As explained by X skully X it is genetic in thick-scaled Betta.


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## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

Thanks for your help! This isn’t great but it’s better than him having something more serious and health related. Do I just try and keep everything the same in his tank? How should I feed him? Thanks. Here’s a full picture of him just to confirm.


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Wow he is beautiful! Yep definitely dragon. I just don’t move anything around anymore because they seem to know how everything is set up and I don’t want to add any stress or confusion for them lol. I’m sure if you needed to change anything he would get used to the new changes as long as it isn’t done often. I use a plastic eye dropper commonly referred to as a pipette to feed frozen/thawed bloodworms or shrimp. It’s like spoon feeding them LOL but it works out. On the odd days they get pellets I have a ring floating in the top of the tank to keep the pellets from floating wherever they may and they seem to be eating just fine. I don’t think either of my females are completely blind yet so if anything falls to the bottom and they are close they still notice and chase it down. That might change as the scales grow more over their eyes. These are my first fish with this issue so I’m just doing my best as things happen.


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## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

X skully X said:


> Wow he is beautiful! Yep definitely dragon. I just don’t move anything around anymore because they seem to know how everything is set up and I don’t want to add any stress or confusion for them lol. I’m sure if you needed to change anything he would get used to the new changes as long as it isn’t done often. I use a plastic eye dropper commonly referred to as a pipette to feed frozen/thawed bloodworms or shrimp. It’s like spoon feeding them LOL but it works out. On the odd days they get pellets I have a ring floating in the top of the tank to keep the pellets from floating wherever they may and they seem to be eating just fine. I don’t think either of my females are completely blind yet so if anything falls to the bottom and they are close they still notice and chase it down. That might change as the scales grow more over their eyes. These are my first fish with this issue so I’m just doing my best as things happen.





X skully X said:


> Wow he is beautiful! Yep definitely dragon. I just don’t move anything around anymore because they seem to know how everything is set up and I don’t want to add any stress or confusion for them lol. I’m sure if you needed to change anything he would get used to the new changes as long as it isn’t done often. I use a plastic eye dropper commonly referred to as a pipette to feed frozen/thawed bloodworms or shrimp. It’s like spoon feeding them LOL but it works out. On the odd days they get pellets I have a ring floating in the top of the tank to keep the pellets from floating wherever they may and they seem to be eating just fine. I don’t think either of my females are completely blind yet so if anything falls to the bottom and they are close they still notice and chase it down. That might change as the scales grow more over their eyes. These are my first fish with this issue so I’m just doing my best as things happen.


Thanks so much for your help! I guess I’ll try not to move anything around too much. Good luck with your two!


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## fatblonde (Apr 20, 2020)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Yes, it is Diamond or Snake Eye. As explained by X skully X it is genetic in thick-scaled Betta.


 I've never heard of this. Does it set on very early for them? Do a lot of the dragon scale bettas come down with this?


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## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

Same here


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

I don’t think it happens to all dragon scales. I have another female dragon that has clear eyes and doesn’t seem to be getting any scaling over her eyes at this time and they all came in the same shipment.
I looked into the condition when I saw a giant steel blue betta male in person and noticed his eyes like that. The females I have came as a surprise but they have crazy awesome personalities. There are some people on the forum that know a lot about the different genetics of breeding bettas so I hope they see this and can explain a little about why it happens or possibilities on why/how it happens.


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## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

Definitely


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## fatblonde (Apr 20, 2020)

Very interesting! Hopefully they can breed that trait out of them. So the ones that have this, are they still sassy and feisty? I bet they adapt to hearing your voice and such


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Saki from the top pic has been hanging out in that one area for the last few days and it definitely seems like her sight has gotten worse but she still rushes to the “feeding spot” and meanders back to her chosen spot when she is finished. I assume she just feels secure there and the plants are long enough for her to rest on top. Steel is the bottom pic and she is a goof ball. She prefers to eat at the bottom of the tank and often wags her tail back and forth while she chews which makes it look like she is rubbing her belly in the sand. She reminds me of a goby almost lol, especially with her short pudgy little body. They were all in a sorority together but two females didn’t like the sorority life and I gave them away to a friend. Big red my other dragon female was the alpha in their tank and kept the order. Broke up fights and had a general imposing presence. She is now in her own tank and the saki and steel are still in the 20 long with the male guppies. No fighting between the two kinda blind girls but I have a divider set on the way to split my 20 long into 4 sections. I’d rather get them into spaces of their own for the long term now that things are progressing rapidly with their eye sight. It will probably be an adjustment for them but maybe I can squeeze the dividers in without having to move to many things out of the way. Keep saki in the section she has chosen and move steel to another part that has her favorite Anubias plant. Teach her a new eating spot before her eyes get as bad as saki’s.


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

I allowed PM on my profile here so if y’all ever want to just chat about fish I’m always happy to do that LOL just start a conversation and I’ll respond when I can 💜 you can even add more than one person to a conversation if you’d like 👍🏻


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Betta use their sense of smell to locate things. This includes food. Tapping the tank and feeding in the same spot is great; especially if you feed frozen or live. As as x skully x noted, it's like hand feeding. They learn quickly exactly why that "tube-thing" is in the tank.

Call it a personal quirk, but I do not use flaked food or float pellets because I am concerned that my Bettas will also gulp in air. So, I lightly tap the tanks and throw in the pellets or use a pipette for frozen and live. I've been very fortunate as , I've had one Dragon with Diamond Eye out of 60+ Dragons. Lamar was able to use his nose and sense of taste to search for and find any food I offered. I think he preferred the pipette feeding of Grindal worms and frozen foods, though. 

As an aside, I love watching my Betta "hunt" for their food. It takes them a while so I'm not concerned about overfeeding. And floating food won't float if thrown

You should know that your boy will live a long, good life and act and respond just like a sighted Betta. He's a lovely boy. Black Dragons are among my favorites.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Unlike other types of scales, dragon scales develop as it ages - scales look thicker. Those having severe dragon genes often develop dragon scales over the eyes. To my knowledge this can't be bred out. The only solution is cross breeding dragons to non dragons every few generations, which I always do.

Some breeders are reluctant to out breed because it will create partial dragon scales which isn't as attractive as a full dragon. There is no way to tell when buying young fish, unless we know what the breeder produces. If within a batch there are, let's say, about 30% partial dragons, you will more likely be buying "safe" dragons. On the other hand, if you know the breeder produces 100% full dragons, especially if so for a few generations earlier, it's more likely (not always) his dragons will develop diamond eyes at a later age.


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## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

Thanks!


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## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

Actually, one more thing. I was planning to add some smaller fish like a few cardinal or neon tetras to the tank. Do you think it’s still okay to do that or will it stress out the betta to much given that he won’t be able to see them?


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

3.5g is rather small to add neons, even though your betta will unlikely be able to chase/kill them. Further you must consider possible fin nippers. Your betta won't be able to evade them


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Ive never owned a betta with diamond eye but I have a question. If you took the gravel out of the tank so that the betta can eat leftover food directly off the bottom of the tank would that help?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

A 3.5 doesn't have a footprint large enough for any fish other than a Betta.


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## Thomasrm227 (Aug 11, 2020)

Ok thanks.


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