Blue devils Jaw torn open???

alexfevery · 01-12-2007, 11:00 PM

I have a blue devil in a 30 gallon, and he seemed perfectly healthy for a few weeks but i caught Ich in the water and now it looks like his jaw is torn open, It looks just like what happend to that t-rex in king kong. But he dosent seem to distressed about it, I wounder if he can still eat, is this part of an ich infection? or part of that hole in head disese, he dosent have any white spots on his body or flaws at all save for his bottom jaw flops down and his top one is bent up, the area looks a little red and quite torn. Whats going on?

Tommy Gun · 01-12-2007, 11:16 PM

Welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear about your troubles though.

I dont think that this is common of a fish who only has Ich. There could be quite a few things here really.

What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)?

Are there any other fish in the tank with this one?

Are there any sharp edges on your decor or any rocks that you have in the tank?

Are there any other symptoms other than this one and the white spots from Ich?

How did you treat for Ich?

This could be hole in the head, but again, it could be a lot of things including just an injury from a fight or from something in the tank. Need more information to narrow things down before making any guesses other than an educated guess.

alexfevery · 01-12-2007, 11:19 PM

The tank is well cycled

amonia: undetectable amounts,
nitrites: usualy undectatble amounts,
nitrates: under 25ppm
Ive treated the tank for itch with fermaldehyde in the past few days but now theres no treatment in it, i waterchanged it all out and re added the live rouck
yes, there is a picasso trigger in the tank with him and some of the rocks are a little sharp

BJP · 01-13-2007, 07:38 AM

I would lean towards an agressive territorial fight he lost if your other fish has any size to it. The other option is he slammed into the glass. One slim chance is something is stuck in the mouth forcing it open like another fish or tank deco. You'll have to look for that.

If he can't open and close his mouth he can't generate the current to suck in food and will end up slowly starving to death if he doesn't succumb to illness in the weakend state first.

If recovery from the injury isn't soon, you'll need to do something to ease the transition.

Tommy Gun · 01-13-2007, 04:19 PM

I would also think it is from a fight or injury myself. I am curious now though because there are two types of fish common called "blue devil"...either this one: http://www.theartgallery.com.au/davi...ue_devil_fish/

Or the blue devil damsel fish here: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=111

I think that would matter as far as like BJP points out, whether or not it has another fish or something pushing its mouth open. I also agree about how this could hurt his ability to eat and would also add that a secondary infection could be pretty likely in this case so that is something to prepare for or take some actions to prevent it the best you can.

In general though, I dont think that your trigger is all that aggressive, at least not compared to the other triggers. If your fish is the one that is in the first link above, then it may be the agressor and probrably was defending its cave or place in the tank.

alexfevery · 01-14-2007, 12:17 PM

IT is the second one, his jaw is healing up now and I see him doing some very risky things, I think i know what happend now, The picasso trigger is about 4 times his size and i think The damsel tryed to steal some food out of the triggers mouth and he got bitten, but he is doing it again trying to steal pieces of fish the trigger is chewing on, How can i prevent a secondary infection though?

Tommy Gun · 01-14-2007, 01:28 PM

IN a saltwater tank, you do not want to add a bunch of meds or antibiotics 'just in case' becuase of the sensitive fish, that is my opinion anyways but I think that makes logical sense here. Geting a quarantine tank/hospital tank ready would be a good idea and a better 'just in case' situation in my mind.

The damsels are pretty territorial fish and so this is probrably something that is going to happen from time to time. I would say that you could try to spot feed a little bit more so you are feeding one fish at a time, including using a feeding stick to feed krill directly to the trigger would help out some. Since i have both big and small fish in my tank, I like to use frozen foods like brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, etc... I just thaw them out and add them to the tank. It looks kind of like it is snowing in the tank because the water current takes the food every where, but all the fish can go after what they want and they are not fighting as much. Not sure if that would work for your situation or not.

alexfevery · 01-16-2007, 12:33 AM

Hes missing some of the bone, will that be able to heal fully? He still can not eat, he tries to but he cant get anytthing in his mouth.

Tommy Gun · 01-16-2007, 01:56 AM

How can you tell that he is missing bone? Not to be pessimistic, but if it cannot eat soon, I am not sure how long it could last to be honest. I have heard about fish going a long time between meals, but never more than a month really. That is not to say it cannot be done, but this small fish seems to me like it would need to eat sooner rather than later.

I would wait until it appears the fish is healing...or worst case, is suffering...to make any guess as to its survivability.

alexfevery · 01-16-2007, 06:40 PM

I force feeding an option? Ive never heard of this done though.

thanks