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My friend recently found a convict that another friend of mine didnt want/couldnt take care of anymore. So being the good and spontanious friend he happens to be, he grabbed him and brought him over. Dont worry he gave me a call to warn me..(he was down the street). So i had a 10 gallon sick bay that was empty and I couldnt refuse him so i took him in. He did fine, ate well and had great vision. Well in this sick bay I had red lights instead of the conventional white or flourescent. So he grew accustomed to the dim reddish colored tank. Well i was at my LFS last week and decided to pick up some regular lights (white). Well i put them in this tank he was in and suddenly he is having a hard time seeing the food i present to him. He kind of hovers around and just stays in the back of the tank. I have not noticed anything physically wrong with his eyes so i kind of ruled out blindness but iam not positive. Will he recover and readjust or is he BLIND?

20 GALLON LONG CURRENTLY EMPTY ~~~~ 10 GALLON W/ STRIPPED CONVICT

He may be blind to all the other colors temporarily or he sees them and he has to readjust. But just seeing red I pretty sure wouldn't make you completely blind. Reminds me of a story I was once told. These explorers went into a cave and got lost. They were in absolute darkness for a few weeks. When they finally found their way out they were blinded by the light literally but only temporarily. It took their eyes a few days to readjust to light. It would be the same only he can see just a small part of the spectrum istead of the whole spectrum being gone. Give him time he'll most likely be all right. I'd keep the light dim and slowly increase it over time so as to not overly stress him.

Owner of 20g with 7 diamond tetras, 1 mosquito eater,& 1 lyretail molly.

Most fish actually can't see red light; both fishkeepers and scientists use the fact that fish can't see red lights to study fish in the dark. The convict has basically been kept in the dark for a while, except for the lights around the tank. If there were lights around the tank, however, I doubt that this fish is blind. On the other hand, if the tank had no lights nearby than the convict hasn't seen anything for quite some time. Ability for recovery will differ by how long the situation continued.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Yup shini is right, its probably acclimational photoshock from the radical change in lighting level and the non-feeding a sign of stress. Its worth checking for flukes , bacterial and fungal lesions, but ambient light from the room alone should have been sufficient to prevent blindness. Most fish convicts included, actually have a blind spot in front of the head and aft of the tail, the vision there is peripheral at best, and other senses such as taste and smell usually guide the fish to the actual final bite for consumption of food. There are a few fish species that can see in red light but they are usually exclusively night hunters well used to low light conditions, a convict is not a night active fish, and perhaps that most of all explains his reaction. It will have taken a significant psychological adjustment for said fish to acclimate to low light, indeed many of his natural instincts including the flight response may have been subdued. In a return to normal light conditions he may have found his sense of panic return with a vengeance, and it is this stress rather than a sight related issue that will be causing the feeding issues.

Cover , decor, a shaded area and livefoods should in theory see the convict back into a more normal frame of mind.

Yeah this all makes sense now..today i left the light completley on for about 8-8 1/2 hours. He can now see the food better and once in a while will get a pellet or two. Improvement is still to come considering his aim is a little off. I cannot wai until he gets back to normal, I would love to see him in full swing.. Thanks guys youve been a real help.

20 GALLON LONG CURRENTLY EMPTY ~~~~ 10 GALLON W/ STRIPPED CONVICT