Clownfish upper lip ripped off

[Iannotti16]

Hey all,

I'm not really new to the clownfish establishing dominance thing but I saw this morning that the black clownfish (see video) has his upper lip pretty much ripped off. My biggest concern is will jt grow back. He does still eat and swims perfectly fine. Although he hasn't learned his lesson of messing with the other clownfish as he still goes after him sometimes.

If the video doesn't load I posted it on my Instagram @cksreef

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hey all,

I'm not really new to the clownfish establishing dominance thing but I saw this morning that the black clownfish (see video) has his upper lip pretty much ripped off. My biggest concern is will jt grow back. He does still eat and swims perfectly fine. Although he hasn't learned his lesson of messing with the other clownfish as he still goes after him sometimes.

If the video doesn't load I posted it on my Instagram @cksreef

If the underlying bone is damaged, it won't grow back. However, I've seen fish survive this just fine.

Jay

 

[Iannotti16]

If the underlying bone is damaged, it won't grow back. However, I've seen fish survive this just fine.

Jay

Is that something you can identify? Is it something you would see?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Is that something you can identify? Is it something you would see?

If it is the upper maxillary bone that is missing, it won’t grow back. If it is just damaged, it might be repaired. I guess try googling fish jaw diagram. You’ll see premaxillary and then maxillary. If those are missing, they won’t grow back, just like if you were missing a finger.
Jay

 

[D-Nak]

As long as it contiunes to eat, it should be okay. I've seen fish with mouth defects that do just fine.