Goldfishes eyes have disappeared!

Question
Hi I was hoping you could help! I have cleaned my goldfish tank today (just the 1 in the tank) & have noticed its eyes seem to have disappeared! It looks like there are just two sockets left without the black eyes in! It still seems to be swimming about & eating OK so far. What has caused this too happen, do I need to do anything? The fish is over 20 yrs old now so is it old age? Is it in any pain? Any advice much appreciated....Olly

Answer
Hi Olly;

How terrible. It's very unusual for a fish to lose it's eyes when it is alone in the tank. I really don't know what would cause that other than injury of some kind. Since he is eating and acting pretty normal he is probably not in pain. You must be taking very good care of him to have such a long life. He can still continue to live a pretty  normal life with no eyes as long as there is no infection in the injured area that can spread. Add some aquarium salt and if you can find "Melafix" add that too. They are both natural and will inhibit infection. Melafix also helps soothe injuries.

Blind fish get along very well. He can "smell" his food so he should not have a problem there. Keep his tank decor the same all the time so he doesn't run into things.

I hope he does okay...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins