Are albino corys blind?

[FishyJames]

My albino corys are constantly feeling around for food.  They swim right past obvious food as if they are blind.  Does anybody know?  I have a total of 15 and they all act the same.

Edited August 4, 2021 by FishyJames
Added info

[Bobbie]

Mine do the same. I don’t think they’re completely blind, but they likely don’t have particularly good eyesight and will rely on other senses to find food - it’s probably the same for all corydoras, but the albino gene just makes it worse. 

[Guppysnail]

Corydora are mostly bottom feeders looking for worms insects etc so do not need great eyesight it’s often much darker closer to the substrate than mid to surface. In my experience with different types of Cory if you put garlic in the food (repashy). They beeline from anywhere in the tank directly to the food. So I’m guessing their feelers and sense of smell are heightened to make up for poor eyesight. When they see me in front of the tank they pause for a second so I think they can see me. Just an observational guesstimate I’m not an expert but wanted to share. 

[Keeg]

A lot if not all albino organisms experience poor eyesight. Albinism is the absence of melanin. People usually see melanin as what determines skin color and hair, but melanin is also an important ingredient to developing optic nerves. Without it, the nerves doesn't develop in a regular fashion causing poor eyesight. So they're not blind, they just can't see very well. 

[TMartins]

I love my 5 Albino Cory’s and at times when they are resting in a group and I drop food in the tank it never fails to get them going frantically.  They may have poor eyesight but they can sense whenever I feed the tank.  I thought at first they would scavenge around the Repashy or sinking pellets eating the scraps that broke off from the Platies taking bites out of the food.