Angelfish with red eyes are gorgeous creatures, but young children often do not notice the eyes, which are one of the most overlooked parts of their bodies.
It’s not always the case that angelfish eyes are clear, but they usually have a large black pupil. Angelfish might look red if they have a large pupil.
The red eyes of some angelfish species are a natural feature. Similar to albino angelfish, albino angelfish lack dark pigments, so unlike all of their other albino relatives, their eyes are small and pink in color.
In the event of bloodshot, red eyes there could be a sign that the body is fighting an infection, such as hemorrhagic septicemia caused by a virus.
The bloody eyes of angelfish may result from being poisoned by ammonia, nitrate, or CO2, all of which get converted into ammonia.
A fish’s eyes turn color occasionally, but not very often when it comes to an angelfish. It is normal for red-born eyes to remain red at birth, even if other factors change.
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Why Do Fish Have Red Eyes?
Red eyes are normally found in angelfishes in the majority of cases. Several species of angelfish are known to have naturally occurring red eyes, including the zebra angelfish.
It’s not a cause for concern and it’s actually a sign of good health and maturity.
Even though angelfish eyes cannot change color frequently, they can change color when their environment changes, such as stress and changes in their environment.
In fact, the eyes will return to their original color once everything has returned to normal.
There is one reason to worry, however. Sometimes, red eyes are a sign that something is wrong with the body, especially if they change their color to something red from another color.
Your fish will develop red eyes from the time they are young. That is how you will know if the eyes should be red in your fish.
Apparently, your fish changed its eye color overnight, which may mean that something is wrong.
There is no reason for your fish to have bloodshot or bloody eyes, so if your fish has them, take care to remedy the problem as soon as possible to prevent your fish from getting sick.
The condition of fish can quickly deteriorate when they become ill. In some cases, fish may suffer from red eyes as a result of the following factors:
Stress
A reddening of an angelfish’s eyes can be caused by stress. As has already been mentioned, this is not uncommon.
In fact, depending on how it is done, it may even affect the color of its stripes and scales.
The eyes of the angelfish should begin to return to their original color as soon as the stress factor behind their condition is eliminated. Stress can be manifested in the following ways.
- Inhaling the gas as it emitted from the top of the tank
- Appetite or willingness to eat is not present in the person
- An infection that results in red eyes and white spots on the body of fish, often accompanied by other symptoms
- Swimming is a very enjoyable sport
- Swimming in an odd pattern
- An angelfish may be stressed by a variety of factors. Here are a few of them.
+Insufficient Water Quality
The quality of water that your angelfish live in can affect its ability to breathe since the water needs to be maintained correctly.
When there is not enough oxygen in the water, ammonia or nitrate levels are high, or the water is too hot or too cold, these can lead to stress. In addition, pH levels that are too high or too low can also affect the organism.
Using a water test, you will be able to determine the exact problem and the cause of it.
When the issue has been fixed, your angelfish should be back to themselves with their original color of eyes, just as they were previously.
+Incrowded Conditions
If the aquarium is overcrowded, the space available for the fish to swim isn’t adequate. Because angelfish are territorial animals, they will fight with other fish over territory in the aquarium. Fish that are being bullied into submission as well as those being bullied by all of the other fish are stressed as a result.
Ideally, 5 fish should be kept in a single tank as this is an optimum number. Although a small group of angelfish leads to bullying as one or two fish are singled out, 5 fish in a tank is the optimal number. Creating a school of fish prevents them from bothering other fish and enables them to protect other fish from being picked on.
+Dietary Insufficiency
There is a possibility that your angelfish could be suffering from hunger if it is not receiving enough food.
Fish owners often mistakenly underfeed their fish instead of overfeeding, since overfeeding is not healthy for your fish.
Make sure that each of your angelfish has about 30 seconds of eating time before you start feeding them again.
They should have had enough to eat before you start feeding them again. Either they had enough to eat or they hadn’t had enough to eat.
The angelfish become aggressive if they don’t eat enough, and they fight for food when they can’t get enough to eat.
Due to this, all your angelfish receive red eyes and become fearful and distressed. As a result, the peaceful fish in your tank becomes afraid and stressed out.
+Noisy Sounds
The problem is that if you have young children in your house who bang on the glass of the tank every day, then this will be a real problem. Angelfish are extremely stressed when this occurs, especially when they are trying to sleep at night.
A tank that has been placed in a room where there is a lot of noise, may turn the angelfish’s eyes red due to the disturbance caused by the loud noise.
Children should not be left unsupervised near the aquarium, and the importance of showing angelfish respect should be emphasized to parents.
You should also make sure that when you set up your tank it is located in a quiet part of your house so that the angelfish will be at ease.
Water Contamination
Depending on the source of the irritation within the water, your angelfish might suffer from bloodshot eyes and a reddened appearance.
In the absence of any treatment, toxic water is likely to lead to poisoning. Through its gills, the toxin gets into the fish’s bloodstream, where it causes significant damage to the fish’s organs.
An angelfish with toxic levels of poison will have its eyes turn red when it haemorrhages or ruptures.
When your fish are in their tank’s water, the following toxins can cause them to become unwell:
+Ammonia
Among the many toxic substances that fish encounter on a regular basis is ammonia. In addition to a change in the bio-load, there can also be a change in the set-up, harmful bacteria, or chemical contaminants. Some of the other factors that might affect it include:
- Tapping into water that has undergone chemical treatment
- In the case of plants, excrement and uneaten fish food, vegetation decomposition occurs
- Deficiencies in cleaning, which caused bacteria to build up, as a result of overfeeding and lack of cleanng
There is a toxic angelfish that hovers at the bottom of the tank, seemingly motionless, as if it is poisoned.
In addition, there may be other signs, such as external and internal bleeding, along with red patches or spots on your skin.
Make sure that the pH level of the water is at a safe level in order for ammonia poisoning to be prevented.
Usually, the optimum ammonia level for angelfish is in the range of 6.8 and 7.8. Fortunately, anything higher than this level will not kill them, but anything below it can.
Make sure to allow the aquarium water to drop below the safe ammonia concentration level by changing half of the water at the same temperature as the rest of the aquarium.
+Nitrite
A fish’s blood turns brown when it is poisoned with nitrates (also known as brown blood disease) because methemoglobin levels increase when the levels of nitrites increase.
It has been reported that some owners of fish have reported that their fish turned red after eating nitrite-contaminated food.
Nitrite is a fish toxicity agent that has been well-known since Fresenius Environmental Bulletin was published in 1990.
Even though the levels of nitrates are not as harmful as ammonia, if they are allowed to affect fish over the long term, they can still cause a number of health problems.
An aquarium that is brand new is most likely to experience this phenomenon. It is caused by impurities being expelled through the fish’s gills.
A resident aquarium bacterium turns the ammonia in the tank into nitrite, which is then deposited in the soil. Ammonia can be toxic. However, if it is kept in an established tank, it is consumed only by beneficial bacteria, which makes it harmless.
If a tank has not had time to cycle before the new tank is used, a buildup of ammonia may occur due to a lack of bacteria to convert the ammonia to nitrogen. Nitrite poisoning can occur as a result.
It can eventually lead to the suffocation of fish that are exposed to high levels of nitrite after entering their bloodstreams.
The fish can often be found gasping for air before it occurs. This can result in their eyes turning red as they gasp for air.
To see how much salt helps fish deal with toxins, you might try adding one teaspoon of salt for every 300 gallons of water in the aquarium.
+CO2
There are several hazard factors that can lead to CO2 poisoning, such as its rapid onset and its fatal consequences.
The fish will gulp for air at the surface when there is too much fish in the tank and will become lethargic as a result.
If there are too many fish in the tank, the fish will eventually suffocate. There can be dangers associated with CO2 levels of 25-30 ppm.
Probably the most likely causes of the degrading of CO2 reactors are caused by faulty reactors or a lack of plants in the tank to absorb them.
Furthermore, natural errors can also result in a buildup of CO2 in the tank as a result of human error. By utilizing surface agitation and air stones, you will be able to remove excess CO2 from the water.
+Hydrogen Sulfide
This poisoning is very rare, but it is easy to detect by its rotten egg odor because of the high levels of hydrogen sulfide in the air.
There are two main causes of this poisoning: a power outage and unattended tanks. There are a number of symptoms associated with hydrogen sulfide poisoning.
- Eyes with bloodshot
- An increased appetite is a sign of a reduced appetite
- Floating in the sideways direction
- The tank’s surface is filled with methane, and I am gulping it in
Angelfish poisoned by hydrogen sulfide are at risk of death unless they are saved by prevention.
Thoroughly clean the gravel and every part of it that may contain hydrogen sulfide. To be sure your filter is working properly, rinse it out and allow it to restart.
After this has been accomplished, it is important to carefully monitor and measure the water quality so that this problem has been remedied.
Injury
Angelfish can suffer from injuries which can cause them to see red in their eyes. A common issue when purchasing fish is that it is often handled in an unprofessional manner, especially when the fish are purchased from unreliable breeders.
Angelfish that are fighting sometimes attack the eyes of each other’s opponents in a similar way as well.
If you’ve sustained a severe injury, your eye may have red spots or bloodshot eyes where the blood vessels have ruptured, as a result of blood collecting in the eye.
Injuries to the fish eye can be very difficult to treat. The swelling usually disappears on its own after a few days, but if you want to alleviate the swelling, you can use up to three teaspoons of Epsom salts per gallon of water.
There may have been an infection and if they don’t respond, they will need to be treated by a veterinarian.
In order to detect whether the redness is disappearing, keep an eye on the eye – it is a sign that it is healing.
Viral Hemorrhagic Septicaemia
It is imperative that you understand that “viral hemorrhagic septicemia” is a highly infectious disease and potentially fatal for many patients.
There are many species of fish that will be affected, but angelfish is one of the most common ones.
Approximately 50 percent of fish infected with viral hemorrhagic septicemia may suffer haemorrhages on the eyes, and some may have bleeding on the body, gills and around the fins.
As the fish develops Popeye, which is a condition in which their eyes bulge out of their sockets, another condition might develop simultaneously.
Symptoms of VHS are: Besides bloodshot eyes, VHS is characterized by the following symptoms:
– An increase in abdominal swelling
– A darkening of the skin color could be caused by a number of factors
– There are various types of abnormal swimming behaviors that can be observed
– Irritation of the muscles and organs due to haemorrhaging
It is not unusual for angelfish to appear ill even when they show no signs at all. Angelfish infect a wide range of fishes with their disease, however, so they must be taken care of. It is likely that all fish in the tank will die if all of them contract the disease.
The season of viral hemorrhagic septicemia outbreaks is generally between the months of December and March.
At that time of the year, the temperature of the water drops below 59°F. If the temperature of the water is more than 64 °F, there are fewer chances of deaths happening due to VHS.
If VHS is what causes red eyes on your angelfish, quarantine each fish individually before letting it spread to the rest of the fish in your aquarium.
It is recommended that you drain the tank and thoroughly clean the inside of it to ensure that all traces of infection are removed.
Video About Angelfish With Red Eyes
FAQs
What causes the red eyes on my fish?
Popeye attacks are most usually caused by injuries or infections, or they may be due to poor water conditions in the aquarium.
Occasionally, popeye attacks are caused by an infection. The infection tends to affect both eyes simultaneously.
Bacteria, fungi, and parasites may cause infection, as can other organisms such as parasites, fungi, and viruses.
Are water conditioners capable of removing ammonia?
The little miracles that come in a bottle are water conditioners. You use a water conditioner to remove ammonia, nitrites, and even nitrates from your aquarium in the same way you would use cycling products to add more ammonia to a new tank. These 2 different products are very similar in that thought.
How do aquariums reduce ammonia?
Changing 30% of the water in a fish tank each week will help lower levels of ammonia in the tank.
Remove around 30% of the water in the tank on a weekly basis and replace it with fresh, dechlorinated water.
It is also a good idea to scoop out any organic matter that shouldn’t be in your aquarium, such as uneaten food, unconsumed fish food, and unconsumed plant matter.
Annette M. Chaney is an experienced marine biologist with over 20 years of experience as an aquarist and fishkeeper. She started her first aquarium at a young age, filling it with frogs and goldfish obtained from the ten-cent pet store.
Annette grew up caring for and breeding African Cichlids, which led to a hobby in high school that doubled as a profitable means. Attending Reed College gave her time to solidify herself as an accomplished aquarium caretaker with an eye for sales. After that, from 2009 – 2013, she studied at Roger Williams University – one of the most prestigious universities for Aquaculture and Aquarium in USA. She is the founder of AquariumCircle since 2010.