Dislocated jaw?

[Mzungu]

I have a male swordtail in one of my tanks, and for about a week now his mouth has been constantly open. When I first saw it, I didn't want to do anything, maybe he would yawn and it would pop back into place, or something. But, it's still the same, and he's really having trouble eating and such. He's lost a bit of weight in the past week, as well. Is there anything I can do? Thanks.

[ItsDubC]

Re: Dislocated jaw?

This is pretty common w/ lamprologines, particularly calvus and comps.  Most  accounts say that the jaw corrects itself within 2 days, while others say they have to massage the jaw on the sides for 2 or so minutes for it to go back.  Tho this info doesn't pertain specifically to swordtails, it may be of some use:    

http://cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=61610

HTH

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Dislocated jaw?

you could pull it out if you are willing to, one of my compressiceps had that problem as well and it corrected itself. i did add a bit of aquarium salt as well but dont know if that really played a role in aiding.

[Mzungu]

Re: Dislocated jaw?

Thanks a lot, both of you. I looked at the link you gave, Chris, and that helped me a lot. Since he's only a swordtail, and still on the small side, I think I'll try to take him out when I get home today and see if I can't massage his jaw a little. But, no matter what, I am going to go ahead and put him in his own tank. Poor little guy.  :(  That way, I can more easily watch how he's doing, as he seems to hide a lot more since this has happened, and I can also try to find some vitamins for his food (if he starts eating again...)

Thanks, again!

[ItsDubC]

Re: Dislocated jaw?

Ya keep us posted on what happens.  Hopefully something in that link works for u.  With compressiceps being very vulnerable to lockjaw (as eklikewhoa has shown) and me having one of my own, I fully expect to have to deal w/ this sometime in the future.  Whatever works for u will most likely work for me as well.

[Mzungu]

Re: Dislocated jaw?

Well, then, I'll let you know. I hope it never happens with yours!

[ItsDubC]

Re: Dislocated jaw?

O ya I just remembered something.  Someone on another forum had the same problem and when he asked for help at an lfs, the lfs employee said to put the fish in a separate tank w/ a slightly higher salt content and a slightly higher temperature.  It seemed to fix the problem, but this was for a firemouth and I believe cichlids have a higher tolerance for salts.  

If u haven't done so already, u may also wanna peek inside the mouth and see if there're any foreign objects lodged in there.

[Mzungu]

Re: Dislocated jaw?

I'm pretty sure it's not blocked with anything, but like I said, I haven't taken him outta there and looked closely. Now all I want to do is go home and see him!! Thanks again for the help. And swordtails do really well with freshwater aquarium salt, of which I have some. I'm not sure if you meant epsom salts, or similar, but I will add a bit more of what I have. Don't want to change up his world too much at once, so I'll take it slowly.

[Mzungu]

Re: Dislocated jaw?

Well, he didn't make it.    I transferred him to a 10 gallon QT, massaged his jaw a little. I was able to close it with my finger, but he was so small it was hard to tell if anything was wrong. I think the move was just too much for him. Like I said, he really hadn't eaten in a week, maybe a week and a half, which I know would normally be okay but he was breathing pretty rapidly for that whole time. He looked really distressed about it. I feel horrible. I still think moving him to his own tank was a good idea, but maybe I should have done it a few days earlier. Sigh. Thanks again for the help.

[ItsDubC]

Re: Dislocated jaw?

Sorry to hear it Mary Beth.     Ya, maybe he was weak from not eating and the stress got to him.  I think u did the right thing tho.  From what I've read, sometimes it just corrects itself after a few days so there would've been no way for u to know a few days ago to put him in his own tank.  Even then there would've been no guarantees.  I woulda waited it out just like u.

:sigh: