My peacock bass is a mono I believe and he just started swimming around with his mouth open and I’ve tried to feed him and I don’t want to lose him. He ate today but his mouth is still stuck open and he’s puffing out his gills a lot.
Peacock Bass Mouth is stuck open
- Thread starter Mikeyy
- Start date
H
Huntercockkeeper24
, have you had this fish for awhile and does his lips look larger now than they usually do?
I suppose they look a little bigger than usual it just started 3days ago. I have had him for about 10months.
Hard to tell from the photo, its not clear enough in detail.
I have had Petenia splendida get a dislocated jaw.
I fixed it by gently massaging the jaw back into place, with thumb and forefinger, and it went on living after the adjustment, healthily.
If it is colomnaris, the jaw begins to atrophy and is impossible to reset, it is immoveable.
The fish usually just hovers, and cannot eat, its colors often intensify as the disease progresses.
Below is a Mayaheros beanii, with the start of Columnaris.
As the disease progresses, the jaw extends more and more each day.
Water temps of 82'F and above make the disease more virulent, and the infection progresses faster.
I have heard of success treating with Gram negative bacterial antibiotics, but I "never" had success once the jaw became atrophied.
I tried to edit the photo to get clarity, but editing didn't do it for me.
And if it is Columnaris it may be in an early stage, so not obvious.
If it were me, I'd try adjusting the jaw, and if that didn't work, I'd try whatever gram negative antibiotic, available in your area as a treatment.
I'd also not feed Tilapia, just in case the Tilapia is a carrier, the Coiumnaris spores are able to tolerate dry, and even freezing conditions.
And if it is Columnaris it may be in an early stage, so not obvious.
If it were me, I'd try adjusting the jaw, and if that didn't work, I'd try whatever gram negative antibiotic, available in your area as a treatment.
I'd also not feed Tilapia, just in case the Tilapia is a carrier, the Coiumnaris spores are able to tolerate dry, and even freezing conditions.
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It is clearer.
What I was looking for, was to see if the lip part of the jaw was starting to separate from the rest of the fish, as in my beanii pics above.
I don't see that, but its been a long tie since I've kept P-Bass, so I'm not as adept as others keeping them now might be.
Update: his mouth closes now and seems to be doing great recently moved him into a 180 gallon tank??
