Deformed Fish Face Or Is It More?

[snowflake311]

Here goes...

I got these red-tail Rasboras to cycle my tank about a year ago. They all lived through the cycling and have been great. There is one that has always kind of looked funny. I bought them when they were all only an inch they have all grown to be 2 inches.

Ever since I had brought this one home he has had a messed up face. I always thought he was just deformed or an inbred freak. He has a major under bite and his eye sticks out BUT not out of its socked his whole socket sticks out. like the gold fish with the eyes. He has always been happy and healthy no problems. BUT I am freaking thinking it is pop eye. Mainly because My one betta definitely has DROPSY.

This betta has always been really fat. In the back of my head I knew she might have it, but she has been fine so I never worried. I saved her from walmart about 10 months ago. Just now her scales have started to stick out and she is not active any more. I don't know how much longer she will live. So this makes me think that all my fish have been exposed to some kind of bacteria and they all are going to die. SO I AM FREAKING OUT.

Then I think that the bettas problem is due to kidney failure or some type of organ failure. I have read that DROPSY is not contagious. YET 3 month ago I separated another betta from the same tank. She has what looked like a tumour on one side. I read tumours are common in bettas. This fish is doing well still active, swimming, and eating. Since being in the hospital tank she has gotten cloudy eyes. I have been treating that with PimaFix & MelaFix. This seems to be helping. BUT I read that cloudy eye can be caused by bacteria. SO I am freaking out again. Yet these are the only fish with problems. All others are doing great only thing they ever had was a little bit of ich when I introduced a new fish that had it.

Are bacteria infections easy for fish to catch? Because I have a big blue female betta in the tank with the tumour fish and she has no signs of infections at all. She has been in the hospital tank with her the whole time. The reason I put her in the hospital tank was because of white stringy poop. I don't see any more of that. Yet I keep her in that tank just to be sure.

The other 2 bettas left in the big tank are fine and healthy. GRRRR they just don't make bettas like they use to is what I am thinking. My first betta that I got well over 10 years ago lived to be 5 years old never had ANY problems. I kept him in a 1 gal unheated unfiltered bowl.

Back to my deformed fish ...
Here are photo of my Rasbora with the messed up face. What do you think?

In this photo you can see the eye that sticks out and his funny mouth compared to the normal fish at bottom.
http/i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/p.../messedface.jpg

Here is what I call his good side. But still notice his under-bite.
http/i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/p...sedfacegood.jpg

Here is a photo of him straight on. Look at that funny face.
http/i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/p...sseedfaceon.jpg





PS. Yes I do regular maintenance on my tank. I vacuum the gravel every 2 weeks at the most. lots of times I will do it once a week or more. I Do a 25 - 50% water change. I have been really careful but I am just freaking out. I test my nitrites, ammonia, and nitrates. They are all at 0. I'm thinking that these bettas are just defective and that my rasbora is just deformed.

Thanks for reading all that. Hope it was not to boring or crazy sounding.

 

[snowflake311]

Since no one has answered my question I have been doing excessive research on this topic of bacteria in fish. I am not so freaked out any more.

Here is way.

http/www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/bacterial.htm

basically it is not contagious and is brought on by stress to the individual fish. Bacteria infections are normal a secondly infection that has invaded the body during its weakened state. Keep the fish environment as clean and stress free as possible will keep others from ever getting the problem.

SO I am going to keep doing my 25% water changes twice a week for a while and treat the water with PimaFix & MelaFix. I think everyone will be ok. So far they are all still doing great.

 

[snowflake311]

OK so I am not going to be useing PimaFix & MelaFix any more I just found some interesting info on it. Check it out.

http/www.reefland.com/forum/marine-fish-...don-t-work.html

 

[WILDER]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

Cloudy eye is a symtom of a desease not a desease in its own right.
Causes.
Bad water quality.
Stress.
Old age.
Poor diet.
Irration.
Parasites.
Bacterial.

Long stringy white poo.
Constipation, bacterial, internal parasites.

Do any fish look thin.
Check the anus of the fish to see if its enlarged or red and inflamed.
Any fish with sunken in belly.
Any fish ever had a bent spine.

The swelling on the head was it fluid or hard looking.
The fish deformed face does it look like the flesh is being eaten away.

Going to leave a tb link just to rule it out.
http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html

 

[snowflake311]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

Cloudy eye is a symtom of a desease not a desease in its own right.
Causes.
Bad water quality.
Stress.
Old age.
Poor diet.
Irration.
Parasites.
Bacterial.

Long stringy white poo.
Constipation, bacterial, internal parasites.

Do any fish look thin.
Check the anus of the fish to see if its enlarged or red and inflamed.
Any fish with sunken in belly.
Any fish ever had a bent spine.

The swelling on the head was it fluid or hard looking.
The fish deformed face does it look like the flesh is being eaten away.

Going to leave a tb link just to rule it out.
<a href="http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html" target="_blank">http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html</a>

Never mind. I have it under control I just freaked out for a moment. It's all good and my fish are not dyeing they never were I was freaking out thinking they were going to all dye because one has dropsy. They are doing great. All but the betta with DROPSY.

I did see that coming it's been an on going thing. now that it is advanced she is safe in a hospital tank doing fine. Still eating and moving around. I am treating her as best I can to keep her comfortable during her last days. She is hanging in there. Maybe I will save her but I'm not getting my hopes up. I am going to be getting some Epsom salt to help with the swelling. We will see how that goes.

The one with the messed up face I am 98% sure that this fish is deformed. HIS FLESH IS BEING EATEN AWAY!!!! His Flesh is fine his scales around his face are all perfectly normal. I think I would have notice if that was happening. Honestly I am offended by that comment. All that is different about him is his extreme under-bite and his whole eye sticks out. His huge under bite makes his face look funny. It is not his flesh being eaten away. His eye is healthy and clear. It's not falling out its not popped out of it's socket. HIS FLESH IS FINE. This fish has looked like this since I got him and he is now a year old. I have been researching pop eye and his eye looks nothing like it. He just is deformed and I have always though it was cute. Not till recently did I think what if. I was over reacting yet again.

As for string poop well I have had that under control for months now. I just put that up to tell why I put that fish in the hospital tank. She is perfectly fine now but I keep her in that tank because she is happy there. The Cloudy eye is clearing up with treatment I am not worried about that. Like I said I have it under control I just was freaking out and started second guessing myself.

Never mind I know what's going on and everything is fine. I just freaked out and posted this with out thinking. My fish are not dyeing. I know what I am doing. I just thought maybe someone had dealt with fish with the same problems as mine. I should have made my question short and sweet. Oh well.

 

[WILDER]

Is it possible to load a pic up of the deformed fish.
Good that the flesh it not being eaten away.

I know I have panicked in the past its normal its like having kids.

 

[snowflake311]

Is it possible to load a pic up of the deformed fish.
Good that the flesh it not being eaten away.

I know I have panicked in the past its normal its like having kids.

I posted links at the top. click on them and you will see the photos. They are too big and I can't load them I don't feel like fighting with resizing the photos. So I just post links.

 

[WILDER]

I found that article the same one on pimafix and melafix and to be honest there not that good the meds and there pricey.
Melafix is only good on cuts and wounds.

If he was bought that way he could of been born like that.
its hard to say if its genetic or an injury.
Not sure why the eyes stick out like on a stalk.

Sorry missed the pics as I read through all three reply and forgot about them.

 

[snowflake311]

I am pretty sure its genetic because that under-bite is very noticeable. I don't know what type of injury would give an under-bite. Yeah his eye is funny it gives him character that's for sure. Maybe I should breed him and make bug eye rasboras. HAHA JK.

 

[WILDER]

If he's still eating and acting fine I would just let him live his life out.
Once scales stick out its the last stage of dropsy organ failure.
Fish rarely surive once scales stick out.
All you can do really is issolate, try a bacterial med, epson salt baths.

 

[snowflake311]

If he's still eating and acting fine I would just let him live his life out.
Once scales stick out its the last stage of dropsy organ failure.
Fish rarely surive once scales stick out.
All you can do really is issolate, try a bacterial med, epson salt baths.

Yup that's what I am doing for my female betta. Just keeping her comfortable. She is still a piggy, she does not move around as much but she manages to get up and look for food.

 

[WILDER]

Ok.
Good Luck.