Blind fish

Question
Help, the eyes of a goldfish that lives in my backyard pond are gone. I know there is not much we can do besides watch him to be sure he's getting enough food, but how can we prevent this from happening to another fish. We have goldfish and two Koi. Could it be the Koi? thanks!

Answer
Sometimes goldfish or koi can get rough with each other and even cause lost eyes.  It's more likely that either the goldfish was physically injured (perhaps during spawning or maybe he/she got stuck all by him/herself) or hurt by a predator.  You want to prevent infection.  I suggest using salt, MelaFix, and maybe antibiotics.  See http://www.fishpondinfo.com/fishcare/treat.htm for details on treatments.  The fish can eat and survive if there aren't predators or competitors for food. That means, if you want him/her to really survive, you should set an aquarium up indoors for him/her.  Good luck!