Tang hurt mouth in net

[feegus]

Hi, about 20 minutes ago I released my Sohal tang alongside a desjardini tang and copperband butterfly into my aquarium. The Sohal tang went absolutely nuts when I used the net on him. His mouth got caught on the net and I had to pry it out from his teeth. His mouth is now swollen and looks like it’s too open.
Any idea if I should be worried? He was fine and eating before the introduction.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi, about 20 minutes ago I released my Sohal tang alongside a desjardini tang and copperband butterfly into my aquarium. The Sohal tang went absolutely nuts when I used the net on him. His mouth got caught on the net and I had to pry it out from his teeth. His mouth is now swollen and looks like it’s too open.
Any idea if I should be worried? He was fine and eating before the introduction.

When a fish's teeth get caught in a net, it is pretty common for the jaw to become damaged when they are dislodged. Depending on the severity of the damage, the fish may or may not recover fully. I've had some success with groupers by gently pressing the jaw back into shape. I've never tried that on a tang. There is a risk with this because if you don't use an anesthetic, the fish will struggle, just making the damage worse.

In you fish's cases, I think you just need to watch it to see if it heals on its own. One good sign is if the fish still can feed.

Jay