Molly's Mouth Stuck Open

[pho3nlx]

Okay, I have a 30 gallon where I used to keep my two mollies, but they kept harassing my other fish so I moved them to a ten gallon, and got them (1 male, 1 female) another female companion.

The ten gallon itself was not established like my 30, but before adding the fish I used old aquarium water from the 30, as well as added a container of BioSpira live bacteria, and let that go through for a day.

I then introduced the fish. I was experiencing problems with temperature fluctuations (it is not in front of a window), that I believe the light has something to do with (it has live plants), so I leave the lid open. The heater never turns on, as I have it set to 81 degrees, but the tank hovers at 84 degrees.

This morning I wake up and see the new female molly, her mouth open as if she can't close it... She won't eat, and stays in the mid level of the tank. She moves around fairly easy enough, she's not confined to it...

Water changes are done every 2 weeks... and the water was changed 2 days ago.

Any ideas on what could be the problem with her?

 

[53special]

Are you running a filter. Is her mouth open constantly, or is she gasping for air? Lower the temp to 76 - 78. Do you know what is causing the high temp? Where is the tank located (by a heat vent, window or anything)? Are you sure the heater does not come on? The ones with the temp on them are not always accurate.

 

[pho3nlx]

Are you running a filter. Is her mouth open constantly, or is she gasping for air? Lower the temp to 76 - 78. Do you know what is causing the high temp? Where is the tank located (by a heat vent, window or anything)? Are you sure the heater does not come on? The ones with the temp on them are not always accurate.

Yes, a whisper power 10gL filter, the mouth is open constantly -- it is not gasping, I unfortunately had to deal with that issue during a power outage... I was using a cup to scoop and dump water until I could find a store that carried battery powered air pumps.

The tank has an air pump in addition to the whisper power filter though.

I honestly think its just the ambient temperature in the room.. I live in Miami, FL. , room temp is significantly higher than anywhere up north. My 30 gallon is in my bedroom where it stays cool (insulation), the rest of the house isn't... that and the 10 gallon has less water so its more easily influenced. its not a heat vent, theres a window about a foot away (not directly hitting it) and the window itself does not get hot, it receives very little direct sunlight (theres a porch with a roof just outside). Im actually not sure how to get the temperature down.

Its a marineland stealth 50 watt heater.. I can attempt to turn it down but that really won't do much, temp in the tank was 83 before I even put it in, I even debated not plugging it in, but figured it got cooler at night so I had to keep the temp stable then.


I'm not sure that in and of itself is the problem though... the other two mollies seem healthy.

In the tank there is also a piece of driftwood, although I'm not sure how that would affect the molly's condition.

 

[Tunez]

idk could it possibly be lockjaw? idk much about it but i saw a couple dead fish who died mouths wide open at lfs and the owner who knows alot about fish said they died of lockjaw. sorry im not much help but maybee u can google lock jaw and find out more about it

 

[53special]

That is what I was thinking, but I don't know if anything can be done.

 

[pho3nlx]

Well, the molly died before anything could be done.

The pictus I had in the tank developed ick (I kind of was expecting it because of the temperature fluctuations) but the other two mollies appear fine, I began treating the water.

The owner of one of my LFS said the molly probably got into a fight with one of the other mollies.. although I've never seen them fight. Maybe night time aggression? Regardless, I inspected the body -- aside from the busted jaw, no marks of any sort on the rest of the body.

 

[53special]

Just because you didn't see them fight, doesn't mean anything. I had EBJDs that were fighting for over a month before I caught a glimpse of it.

 

[FishiesOH28]

I have the same problem with my male molly. He isn't gasping for air but his mouth is open all the time, & its only been this way for 2 days now. I saw him shut it once today but then right back to being open...any suggestions? I'm worried about him?

 

[Onion01]

lock jaw? mondo mouth?

 

[FishiesOH28]

Ok, so I went to my lfs & asked them what they thought. The guy said that it could be lockjaw, but since my fish is still eating ok & looks healthy, he will probably be fine. Also, they said it could be that he is trying to "show off" for my female molly & that he wants to breed. Not sure what to think now. He looks fine & eats fine, he just looks funny with a wide open mouth....??...