Melanurus Wrasse Lockjaw?

[Cole_Voeller]

Hi all- I made a post a few days ago discussing my Melanurus wrasse, and one thing I mentioned was his mouth. Ever since getting him and introducing him into his quarantine tank, his mouth had been open. I looked all over online and apparently this is called “lock jaw”, and stems from an injury? However he is still eating completely fine- his mouth just never closes. I’ve read that some people managed to close their wrasses mouth themselves, some heal over time, and some other things. What I would like to know is whether or not there is anything I can do or use to try to help his mouth heal? I feel bad for the dude, so if anyone had any ideas please let me know! Thank you!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi all- I made a post a few days ago discussing my Melanurus wrasse, and one thing I mentioned was his mouth. Ever since getting him and introducing him into his quarantine tank, his mouth had been open. I looked all over online and apparently this is called “lock jaw”, and stems from an injury? However he is still eating completely fine- his mouth just never closes. I’ve read that some people managed to close their wrasses mouth themselves, some heal over time, and some other things. What I would like to know is whether or not there is anything I can do or use to try to help his mouth heal? I feel bad for the dude, so if anyone had any ideas please let me know! Thank you!

Every so often a fish acquires this and often stems from fighting, stings from biting something or large food particle.
This is a condition that eaither self corrects or it does not and you will have to wait and see. In many cases, it Does self-correct
If it goes a while without food, you can try to force feed with food thru a pipette but fish is already under stress

 

[Cole_Voeller]

Every so often a fish acquires this and often stems from fighting, stings from biting something or large food particle.
This is a condition that eaither self corrects or it does not and you will have to wait and see. In many cases, it Does self-correct
If it goes a while without food, you can try to force feed with food thru a pipette but fish is already under stress

How long do you think it would be until it corrects? That is, if it does.

 

[vetteguy53081]

How long do you think it would be until it corrects? That is, if it does.

Unfortunately there’s no time line but I’ve seen 4 day and 8 days

 

[Cole_Voeller]

Unfortunately there’s no time line but I’ve seen 4 day and 8 days

Hi, me again! Quick question!
I’ve seen some threads mention that epsom salt may help with swelling to encourage healing. Is this something I can try? Or is it better to avoid it?

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Does that tank have sand in it? Sand diving wrasses often injure their mouths trying to bury themselves in tanks with no sand, so having sand for him might help him heal the issue.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi, me again! Quick question!
I’ve seen some threads mention that epsom salt may help with swelling to encourage healing. Is this something I can try? Or is it better to avoid it?

Nope - Epsom salt is a known freshwater remedy and has no impact in marine as fish is already in a salt environment

 

[Cole_Voeller]

Does that tank have sand in it? Sand diving wrasses often injure their mouths trying to bury themselves in tanks with no sand, so having sand for him might help him heal the issue.

It does. He hasn’t used it once from what I’ve seen.

 

[Cole_Voeller]

Nope - Epsom salt is a known freshwater remedy and has no impact in marine as fish is already in a salt environment

Gotcha, alright thank you!

 

[Cole_Voeller]

Nope - Epsom salt is a known freshwater remedy and has no impact in marine as fish is already in a salt environment

Another update on the dude. Still eating, in fact he seems incredibly well. Freaks out against the glass when it’s feeding time (which obviously I would prefer him not to do) and is an absolute pig. I just did a tank transfer and out of curiosity I held him out of the water in his net for a bit to inspect his mouth. In doing so I saw he was able to fully close his mouth. Could he be keeping his mouth open from stress of being in QT or something? I just found this pretty strange.

 

[SaltyT]

I've seen halichoeres wrasses develop mouth abnormalities like this when kept for prolonged periods without sand. It occurs from them rubbing their mouth along the glass repeatedly. It's only a problem if it prevents them from eating which doesn't seem to be the case with yours so I would just consider it to be cosmetic.

 

[Cole_Voeller]

I've seen halichoeres wrasses develop mouth abnormalities like this when kept for prolonged periods without sand. It occurs from them rubbing their mouth along the glass repeatedly. It's only a problem if it prevents them from eating which doesn't seem to be the case with yours so I would just consider it to be cosmetic.

Do you think this is permanent then? Or once he is into a display tank with sand it will go back to normal?

 

[SaltyT]

Do you think this is permanent then? Or once he is into a display tank with sand it will go back to normal?

It may improve once he stops rubbing along the glass, but I haven't witnessed one have their mouth return to normal.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Another update on the dude. Still eating, in fact he seems incredibly well. Freaks out against the glass when it’s feeding time (which obviously I would prefer him not to do) and is an absolute pig. I just did a tank transfer and out of curiosity I held him out of the water in his net for a bit to inspect his mouth. In doing so I saw he was able to fully close his mouth. Could he be keeping his mouth open from stress of being in QT or something? I just found this pretty strange.

OK - Great. Like I said , with a few days it can correct. If its freaking out like that, lower light intensity a little and stand back at feedings

 

[vetteguy53081]

Another update on the dude. Still eating, in fact he seems incredibly well. Freaks out against the glass when it’s feeding time (which obviously I would prefer him not to do) and is an absolute pig. I just did a tank transfer and out of curiosity I held him out of the water in his net for a bit to inspect his mouth. In doing so I saw he was able to fully close his mouth. Could he be keeping his mouth open from stress of being in QT or something? I just found this pretty strange.

Generally when there is gills flukes or Low oxygen but Lock-jaw is common with these guys so it sounds like corrected

 

[ReefGeezer]

My Melanurus looks like that quite often. His appetite is larger than his mouth! He also tends to try to smash larger chunks of food on the rocks. I think he either fills up his gullet to the point his mouth won't close or basically gets a fat lip banging on the rocks. Stupid fish!