Oscars Mouth

[chris2222]

I have two oscars which are about 5 months old. One of them has now started to get a bit of a funny looking mouth.

The bottom lip is slightly out of line with the top lip if you see what i mean. like he has a broken jaw??

There are no visible signs of an attack from the other oscar but they do occasionally make a lot of noise at night and can hear the water being splashed about as if they are jumping at the top of the tank.

Any ideas what this could be, i used to do alot of fishing and i have caught a few carp with a similar deformed mouth, is it just the way some of them are or is it injured.

Its showing no signs of distress at all.

 

[freddyk]

The first big questions
-what size tank are they in?
-did you simply purchase two young Oscars?

Do they lock jaws and fight? I'd bet this is what they're doing at night. If they are, it could be a dislocated or torn jaw. It will heal, but not if they keep fighting. I once saw an Oscar with it's entire lower lip ripped completely off from a liplock fight, though a lot of people do enjoy the entertainment.

If you simply bought two Oscars in hopes that they will get along, you will have to seperate them before one gets hurt. The chances of getting a compatible pair so randomly is very slim - the best way is to buy 4-6 juveniles and let them pair off. They are just starting to reach a size where the aggression begins to come out, and it will only get worse as they grow. If the tank is any less then 75 gallons you would need to remove one eventually anyway.

 

[Lynden]

One evening, I walked into the room and the plec was violently sucking on the oscars lip, then viola, his jaw was busted