catfish has lost an eye

[deanneb]

My catfish seems to have lost an eye. i was given him by a friend and he hides behind my filter day and night i never see him untill i do a partial water change and then he still finds somewhere to hide. Yesterday i seen him properly for the first time and i noticed he only has one eye on the left hand side he doesnt look in any pain or like he is suffering still finds his way around o.k. just wondering if he could of lost this eye by hiding behind the filter? or would it of been when my friend had him in his tank. has anyone else had a catfish with this problem?

[showcatbenga]

You'll never really know because the fish could have been born without it! Or lost it at any time due to disease or injury from rough handling, bumping aquarium fixtures (including an internal power filter) or attack by another fish. As it's managing ok now it will probably be ok with one eye for the rest of it's life. Your best chance to see it is at night, feeding on the glass - but leave a small side light on overnight because as soon as you put a light on it will disappear. Good luck.