Jaw problem.

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!

Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.

1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.

2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.

3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)

4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.

We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.

While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.

Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Post Reply
Catpuff
Puffer Fry
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2017 5:50 pm
Location (country): Cambridge, uk

Jaw problem.

Post by Catpuff »

Hello,

I have a Dwarf Puffer with what seems like part of his lower jaw missing, I hope you can see in the photographs. (I've had a really hard time uploading a photo I can't find anywhere the maximum size?) He is unhappy but is still swimming about a bit and is trying to eat but not with much effort or success? He was fine on Friday. I've never seen anything like it.
puffer jaw.jpg
other jaw pic.jpg
These are my tank parameters -

405 litre tank, fully planted with CO2 injection and ferts with a ridiculous amount of turnover.
Fluidized bed filter plus large external filter and with sediment, chloramine/chlorine, and carbon canisters on the input. Planted with Ada Amazon grit. 50% water change weekly.

Tank mates - 3 other Dwarf Puffers, 8 Diamond Neon Tetra, 5 Rummynose Tetra, 3 Lampeyes

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 50ppm
Ph 8

The tank is given a variety of food bloodworm, mysis, brineshrimp, prawn, muscles, flake food. However the puffers only eat the bloodworm which I pre-soak in liquid Vitamins. I have a few common pond snails but they don't touch them either. If there have been any snail babies they were wiped out a while ago, hoping for some more soon.

I have had dwarf puffers before but not for many years, went down the Discus fish route for a long time and am now returning to them.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Catpuff
Puffer Fry
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2017 5:50 pm
Location (country): Cambridge, uk

Re: Jaw problem.

Post by Catpuff »

Did I say something wrong? he's dead now.
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: Jaw problem.

Post by Pufferpunk »

I'm sorry, I thought I had responded to this. Possibly a deformity? How long did you have this fish, before you noticed it's jaw? Was it eating fine before? Sorry for your loss.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
User avatar
hadla
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1626
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:33 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: 2 gsps and a big Stars and stripes
Location (country): California
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Re: Jaw problem.

Post by hadla »

:( I would have replied sooner but I couldn't help. Sorry to hear that
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. -RTR
Catpuff
Puffer Fry
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2017 5:50 pm
Location (country): Cambridge, uk

Re: Jaw problem.

Post by Catpuff »

Hello!,
I had him for about a year. I suspect it was one of the other puffers. I've been having real problems feeding them, they would only accept bloodworm and I was really worrying about their lack of nutrition. So I didn't feed them for three days and then tried some muscle but they still wouldn't eat it. Only two of them will eat snails, mainly because they are so dominant I think. So I'm soaking the blood worm in vitamins and hoping that will be enough because there's not much else I can do. Anyway it was after this period of non feeding I found that puffer in that state. I don't know what else it could have been? It was quite dramatic and very sad. Thank you for responding anyway.
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: Jaw problem.

Post by Pufferpunk »

Bloodworms soaked in vits is a very nutritious meal!
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
Post Reply