Goldfish's eye highly reflective, can she see?

Question

My female goldfish's eye was injured by the males in the tank a few months ago while they were attempting to spawn. It bulged for a day or so and then the swelling when down and the eye returned to normal. Except now when she turns in the light that same eye is very reflective, more so than the other. I'm aware goldfish can see in the dark and have eye shine but one out reflects the other. My question is...is she blind? Its not cloudy at all, and she's in perfect health. My water is fine ph 6.8 ammonia and nitrite are zero, and the nitrate is around 30 ppm. I change 75% of my water every 2 weeks. Had these 4 fish for over 3 years in the tank together. Anyone know exactly what's up with her eye? MM?

Answer 1

Two things come to mind:

Is the shine silvery in color? If so it could be a cataract from the damage or a mild infection post damage. If this is the case, she probably is blind or nearly so in that eye.

Is the shine more like red eye in a photo? If so the pupil may have been damaged from the same potential reasons and her eye is permanently dilated. If that's the case she would see blurry spots of color and still see motion with that eye.

Some infections can start as a dilated eye, but this long after the damage I wouldn't look to a current infection as the cause. You may wish to watch for any cloudiness over the iris (colored part) or the ey of any cloudiness that starts deep in the eye and works it's way out. If either happen in the next few days then treat with medicated antibacterial foods and possibly an antibiotic in the water depending on how fast the infection seems to spread. Furanace or Furan -2 are good for internal infections.

MM