Jaw stuck open

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SorryEh

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Wow not a good week for me. I am currently dealing with possible Ich, but the yellow lab that was scratching the most now has his jaw stuck open. This could have happened in the last 20 hours but likely in the last 6. The biggest issue is, he will not eat and is not aggressive at all ( he usually will go after me when I am near the tank.) I am going to keep this short as I have read that this type of thing is very time sensitive, if any additional information is needed I can provide. Thanks

Edit: He is and was separated from the other fish at the time of the incident. Here is what it looks like
 
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The fish either has a mouth full of eggs or he has some sort of gill infection.

Are there any other cichlids in the tank with it?
If yes it might have bred and have eggs in its buccal pouch (area under bottom of mouth).

Monitor over the next 24-48 hours and see how it goes. If it is a gill parasite or infection the fish will go down hill pretty quickly. If it is holding eggs then the bottom of the jaw should start to swell a bit over the next week. The fish won't eat if it has eggs. :)
 
The fish either has a mouth full of eggs or he has some sort of gill infection.

Are there any other cichlids in the tank with it?
If yes it might have bred and have eggs in its buccal pouch (area under bottom of mouth).

Monitor over the next 24-48 hours and see how it goes. If it is a gill parasite or infection the fish will go down hill pretty quickly. If it is holding eggs then the bottom of the jaw should start to swell a bit over the next week. The fish won't eat if it has eggs. :)

He is separate from all other fish for about a month now. What should I do once I notice him going down hill?
 
Is the fish fat just below the gill covers?
The video seems to make the fish look like it has a swelling below and behind the gill covers?

If the fish has been separate for a month then it is probably a bacterial or fungal infection on the gills. Or if the belly region is fat then it has an internal infection.

If you have some broad spectrum medication you can try treating the fish. Look for something with Methylene Blue in because it treats most bacteria and fungus.

If it is an internal infection then it probably won't make any difference, but for most gill fungus and bacterial infections it should help.

Methylene Blue will kill filter bacteria and stain silicon blue so it is best to treat the fish in a plastic container and change the water each day.
 
Is the fish fat just below the gill covers?
The video seems to make the fish look like it has a swelling below and behind the gill covers?

If the fish has been separate for a month then it is probably a bacterial or fungal infection on the gills. Or if the belly region is fat then it has an internal infection.

If you have some broad spectrum medication you can try treating the fish. Look for something with Methylene Blue in because it treats most bacteria and fungus.

If it is an internal infection then it probably won't make any difference, but for most gill fungus and bacterial infections it should help.

Methylene Blue will kill filter bacteria and stain silicon blue so it is best to treat the fish in a plastic container and change the water each day.

Okay, I will try to get that, How do I prevent the other fish from getting this? He is separated but they are still in the same water.
 
Sadly he passed away, my huge concern now is preventing whatever this is from spreading. I looked over him after he passed and he looked entirely health. A week before this he started digging out a corner of the tank and another one of my fish is now digging out a corner which they never do and it has me a bit concerned.

Things I know from him is it took around 24 hours from when he started breathing very strange to when he passed, so not much time at all.
 
Gill fungus can kill fish pretty quickly but so can an internal infection like Tuberculosis (TB). With TB the bacteria live inside the fish in their organs and slowly damage the organ/s. Eventually the organ fails and the fish bloat up, start breathing heavily and die within 24 hours of symptoms first appearing. I'm not saying your fish has TB but it might have had an internal infection. The heavy breathing and rapid death is consistent with major organ failure.

As for digging holes in the substrate, that is normal for cichlids.

If you still have the dead fish you could contact your local department of agriculture and see if they have a Fish Health section that can autopsy the fish and tell you why it died. Alternatively a fish vet can as well, but the government run Fish Health labs are usually free whereas a vet will charge you. And they might want a live fish rather than a dead one.

At this stage you can do a big (75%) water change and complete gravel clean and then monitor the others. If any more show the same symptoms then get one necropsied (autopsied) and see what the results are.
 
Gill fungus can kill fish pretty quickly but so can an internal infection like Tuberculosis (TB). With TB the bacteria live inside the fish in their organs and slowly damage the organ/s. Eventually the organ fails and the fish bloat up, start breathing heavily and die within 24 hours of symptoms first appearing. I'm not saying your fish has TB but it might have had an internal infection. The heavy breathing and rapid death is consistent with major organ failure.

As for digging holes in the substrate, that is normal for cichlids.

If you still have the dead fish you could contact your local department of agriculture and see if they have a Fish Health section that can autopsy the fish and tell you why it died. Alternatively a fish vet can as well, but the government run Fish Health labs are usually free whereas a vet will charge you. And they might want a live fish rather than a dead one.

At this stage you can do a big (75%) water change and complete gravel clean and then monitor the others. If any more show the same symptoms then get one necropsied (autopsied) and see what the results are.

Okay I will do that big change and a gravel clean. I did already bury him but if I do have another go down I will see if I can get it necropsied. He did show all the signs of TB, which is incredibley worrisome because I was handling him and correct me if I am wrong this is one of the diseases that can be contracted by humans from fish. As of this time no one else is showing signs like him, and actually there has been no one itching either which is good.
 
Another possible issue if the fish was itching and breathing heavily is velvet (Oodinium). This parasite can infect gills and the body and if there is a heavy gill infection the fish can suffocate.

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TB (Mycobacterium) in fish can spread to people but only if you have cuts, scratches or open wounds on your skin and the contaminated water gets into the wounds. If you wash your hands with warm soapy water after working in a tank, you should be fine. And if you have cuts, scratches or any breaks in your skin, don't go in the tank, alternatively wear long rubber gloves so the water can't get onto your skin.

Most people that get TB infections from fish have a weak immune system. People with diabetes, heart disease, the really old and really young are most commonly infected, but anyone can be infected if they have open sores that get contaminated water on the sore.

TB infections in people show up as small sores usually located on the fingers, hands or forearms. The sores don't heal and gradually become small hard lumps called granulomas. They are very slow growing localised infections but can be very hard to treat without identifying the actual species and strain of bacteria in the wound.

If you have a sore on your hand or arm and it doesn't heal within a couple a weeks, then get it checked by a doctor. Tell the doctor you keep fish and have concerns about TB. DO NOT take any anti-biotics until the doctor takes a swab of the wound and sends it off for culturing at a lab, and wait for the lab results. A swab of the wound will be cultured at a lab and they can identify the actual organism in the wound and they will test various anti-biotics and suggest which medication is the best to use. Different bacteria respond to different anti-biotics and TB bacteria are only killed by certain anti-biotics.

A lot of people get put onto anti-biotics without knowing what species of bacterium is causing the problem, and quite often the medication does nothing to help. So you only take the appropriate anti-biotic for the specific infection.

If you do have an infection, don't scratch it because you can spread the infection to the scratched skin/ area.

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Most people are fine and never contract a TB infection. I had it in my tanks for over 10 years and never developed any infections. I do know of 2 people who have contracted it and both had cuts on their hands and worked in wholesale/ retail establishments with TB in the tanks.
 
I am getting slightly concerned with one of the fish, actually another yellow lab. He is acting not normal at all, he is chasing every single fish in the tank including the BN plec's which he never does and keeps attacking the glass. Could this just be because of the raise in temperature? this started today.
 
The fish could be coming into breeding condition due to the warmer water. Cichlids will chase other fish away from their territory and attack other fish that come into their territory, even if that fish is a reflection in the glass.

By removing the fish that died, you might have disrupted the pecking order and the fish that is chasing everyone, is taking over the tank and bullying everyone to make sure they know who is boss.

It should settle down in a few days and electric yellow cichlids are normally pretty peaceful (for a cichlid), so monitor and see how things go. Once the fish has thrown its weight around things should settle down and go back to normal.
 
So I had that fish on one side of the tank separated with a divider, how long should I wait to open that side back up to everyone else? I just cleaned the sand and removed all the décor to be cleaned.
 
keep them separate for a couple of day to a week, then put them back together and watch them :)
 

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