Documenting Dragon Eye / Diamond Eye / Snake Eye

I want to keep a thread others can use as reference if they see that their betta has, or think their betta may develop, diamond eye.

Just as a disclaimer, I am in no way an expert, or even knowledgeable about this condition.

I picked up this beautiful, feisty little fellow from someone near me who … I’m not sure exactly what this person does, but they buy / sell / ship a lot of fish. Anyway, I had the option of choosing between this guy and his brother, both fish nearly identical. The brother had slightly more coverage on one eye, almost a perfect diamond shape, right in the middle of his eye. The fish who came home with me, right now it seems the condition is at the edges of the eye for now.

I will try to update regularly - every two weeks or maybe once per month - depending on how fast the condition progresses. Maybe if I’m lucky, I will never update (meaning, it doesn’t get any worse) but I’m not going to hold out hope for that yet.

Would love to hear thoughts or experiences with diamond eye, but really the purpose here is to contribute something (photos) to the forum that folks might find useful in the future.

As for how I’m preparing for possible future blindness, I’ve started feeding him only in the feeding ring, with two light taps on the ring before I put food down. I also have the tank arranged in a way where I know it is a lifelong setup (no rearranging).



Also - if anyone would like high res copies of these photos, feel free to reach out! Happy to send via email.

 

Looking forward to whatever may transpire here!

 

Following!

 

You guys, it is so freaking hard to get these photos
Tough to say, but I don’t think there’s significant progression from a week ago.

 

Quick little update!

I don’t see any major changes, but if anyone else has a better eye, I’d love to hear your thoughts

Is it possible he just has weird eyes and this is not dragon eye? Does dragon eye sometimes stop progressing?

also, if anyone would like better quality photos for reference, do let me know!

 

Alright, been awhile since the last update. Little fish man has not been cooperating with the camera. So much so, I only have one eye this time, the other eye has stayed about the same.
As you can see…. the condition has advanced quite a bit since July

Quality of today’s photo isn’t great, I will keep trying

 

Oh wow ! I hadn’t heard of this before . The progression is clear. It’s something I’d definitely look out for in the future. Thankyou for sharing. Is there anything that helps or maybe prevents this ?

 

Oh wow ! I hadn’t heard of this before . The progression is clear. It’s something I’d definitely look out for in the future. Thankyou for sharing. Is there anything that helps or maybe prevents this ?

Unfortunately there is no way to prevent it. It's a genetic based condition that most commonly affects dragonscale bettas.

 

Oh wow ! I hadn’t heard of this before . The progression is clear. It’s something I’d definitely look out for in the future. Thankyou for sharing. Is there anything that helps or maybe prevents this ?

Yeah, I was super into bettas 10-15 years ago and had never heard of such a thing. When I got back into the hobby earlier this year, I had never heard of it either.

It’s sad but from what I hear, they can live relatively normal lives. But ideally, breeders would selectively breed to prevent this kind of an impossible wish though I suppose

 

It’s sad but from what I hear, they can live relatively normal lives. But ideally, breeders would selectively breed to prevent this kind of an impossible wish though I suppose

Yeah I guess aesthetically pleasing colours and fins are more impressive.
A very interesting post none the less , that I’d not of know about had your not shared so thankyou

 

 

Would you be able to let us know any modifications to tank decor or specific things you have done (feeding etc) to help accommodate his condition as well? Might help future people who have bettas with diamond eye.

 

Would you be able to let us know any modifications to tank decor or specific things you have done (feeding etc) to help accommodate his condition as well? Might help future people who have bettas with diamond eye.

I feed him from the same spot, at the same time 2x per day. As for decor … all I really have is natural plants so not a lot to do there

 

I feed him from the same spot, at the same time 2x per day. As for decor … all I really have is natural plants so not a lot to do there

Do you do anything to help signal feeding time? Or does he just know since his vision is mostly fine? My betta is shy so I trained him to associated my feeding tongs tapping twice in the water with feeding time and he zooms to the front of the tank. Might be something to think about training him to do to make things easier once he fully loses his sight.

 

Updated photos … condition still progressing
Another comparison photo. I wish he was more cooperative

 

I hadn’t heard of this condition before now. Not currently keeping bettas, but thank you for posting updates. Sounds like you have a very thoughtful tank setup and feeding routine for him. He looks like a big healthy betta boy minus his eye condition in the progression photos.

 

Little update. Along with professing dragon eye, he also has a quickly growing

But does seem to be managing well despite his health.