Melanurus wrasse broken jaw

[Chris8232]

I'm pretty sure he has a jaw injury. I've had him ten months or so. Hes about 4.5". I transferred him from a 60 to 180 bout three months ago.The past four days I've been home noticed he's been swimming around with his mouth open. I've seen him close it to take a chunk out of food so I thought maybe it's nothing. Usually he buries himself before the lights go out. He should be out for the night, just snapped a picture. What are his chances of making it ?

 

[Maritimer]

Probably better than 50/50 ... I've seen fish (not sand-sleeping wrasses, necessarily) survive for many years with jaw distortions that made me wonder how they ate. They were able to ease up to bits of food and inhale them.

~Bruce

 

[Payson]

Keep an eye on him i lost a clownfish to jaw issues

 

[Chris8232]

Probably better than 50/50 ... I've seen fish (not sand-sleeping wrasses, necessarily) survive for many years with jaw distortions that made me wonder how they ate. They were able to ease up to bits of food and inhale them.

~Bruce

Thanks, Hope he recovers. Although it's nassarius snail slinger days may be over!

 

[Sabellafella]

Probably better than 50/50 ... I've seen fish (not sand-sleeping wrasses, necessarily) survive for many years with jaw distortions that made me wonder how they ate. They were able to ease up to bits of food and inhale them.

~Bruce

You think a bristle worm didnt settle well? Lol

 

[Maritimer]

Also a distinct possibility!

In which case, he'll be sore for a few days, but will likely bounce back just fine.

~Bruce

 

[eatbreakfast]

You think a bristle worm didnt settle well? Lol

This looks like a bristleworm injury to me. They can go after smaller bristleworms and get stuck with the bristles. It should fix itself in a few days.

 

[Sabellafella]

Also a distinct possibility!

In which case, he'll be sore for a few days, but will likely bounce back just fine.

~Bruce

This looks like a bristleworm injury to me. They can go after smaller bristleworms and get stuck with the bristles. It should fix itself in a few days.

Mee too! Ive seen this a few times when I used to keep a melanurus. If hes still eating he should be fine.

 

[Chris8232]

Well sadly the little guy didn't make it. I noticed the past few nights he wasn't burying himself at all. Not as active, never saw him eating, could see it coming.

 

[4FordFamily]

Well sadly the little guy didn't make it. I noticed the past few nights he wasn't burying himself at all. Not as active, never saw him eating, could see it coming.

Sorry for your loss

 

[mfinn]

I was searching for a answer to this exact problem.

As of this morning my melenarus wrasse has been swimming around with his mouth wide open and looks as if he can't close it.
He is also swimming near the glass and pacing back and forth and up and down, which I've never seen this behaviour before.
I've had him for a couple years and would hate to lose him.
Hopefully it's not too serious of a injury and he recovers.
I added some food earlier and he ignored it completely, which is unusual.

 

[Jesterrace]

Funny you should mention it. My Melanurus too has had this problem for over a month. Overnight he developed a cyst on his lower jaw. At first I thought it was ick but it hasn't changed in over a month and the cyst has actually shrunk but not gone away completely, and has no other visible signs (fins are clear, no spots). His jaw isn't that wide open but he can't close it completely. He still eats pretty good though. I am beginning to think he may have gotten too close to my Foxface when it spiked up and it got him.

 

[rkpetersen]

OK you guys are making me nervous; my melanurus is (knock wood) healthy, active, gorgeous and a ferocious eater. He's the alpha fish in the tank and knows it. I want him to stay that way.

I hope both of your wrasses recover.

 

[mfinn]

I fed the tank last night and watched the melenarus closely and he did not eat or even look at the food.
Then this morning I looked for him before the lights have come on and he is not up yet, which is unusual for him.
He is usually one of the first to appear when the kitchen lights are turned on no matter what time in the morning I get up.
So, this may not be good.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Can you post a pic?

 

[mfinn]

Can you post a pic?

I'll see if I can get one today.
He did appear about the time the lights started ramping up at 9.
His mouth was still open, but at the night feeding I watched him swim around and inhale frozen brine.
With his mouth in the open position he just aimed at the food and swam into it.

 

[mfinn]

Can you post a pic?

I could not get a clear picture of this fish no matter what camera I used and how many I took. If I look at him from across the room he swims at a normal speed, but when I get close enough to take pictures, he ups the speed.
I give up after 60+
His mouth seems to be not as open as it was a couple days ago.
He still swims around with it open.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I wonder if he tangled with a bristleworm and ended up with a mouthful of bristles. Inwhich case they will dissolve in a few days.

 

[Captain Quint]

also sorry my Mac is running slow and had a triple post.

 

[mfinn]

I wonder if he tangled with a bristleworm and ended up with a mouthful of bristles. Inwhich case they will dissolve in a few days.

I looked as close as I could. I took out a large magnifying glass and tried to see inside the mouth, but I only got a couple chances before he got freaked out and hid in the rocks for a while.
I can only imagine what it looked like to him.
I was looking specifically for bristles. Didn't see any.

 

[Jesterrace]

Mine seems to be on the mend as it's jaw is almost completely closed today (just a slight gap that's barely visible) and it has stayed eating this whole time. Very resilient fish for sure. He's the only thing left from my old 36 gallon tank.