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Old 03-08-2005, 01:41 AM   #5
Vetduck
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I'll have to disagree that diet is the main cause of drop eyes. I've seen obese aros with perfect eyes. All the aros I've owned, I feed them well. Some do develop drop eyes while others don't.

I've noticed that the more inquisitive aros that tend to swim to & fro the front of the tank looking out tend to be the ones that develop drop eyes.

The way the eyes are set also has a part to play. Aros with eyes that protrude more or what people call dragon eyes, never develop drop eyes. This should not be confused with bilateral exophthalmos, which would mean osmoregulatory failure, eg kidney failure. You would expect dropsy with that as well.

While genetics would determine the way the eyes are set. The environment exacerbates the problem. Tanks with high human traffic, esp with children playing on the floor in front of the tank. These aros seem to be more proned to drop eyes. I think it's a multifactorial problem, but diet is definitely not one of them.