Sick Cherry Barb

[batmansocks117]

I came home and fed my fish and noticed that one of my cherry barbs was acting a little weird. When I got a good look at it, it looked like its mouth was stuck open and it was just swimming along the top. My parameters are fine, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and >20 nitrates.. I separated the fish for now, but since I don't have an extra tank I don't want to keep him in the cup for long...

Is there something wrong with it? Is there anything I can do if there is? Will it spread to my other fish?

 

[Fishfur]

Is there anything you can see that might be stuck in the mouth ? Is there any sign of any off colour anything near the mouth ?

If not, I suppose it may have a dislocated jaw. If so, might or might not get better, and if it can't eat, you might have to euthanize it at some point.

If something is stuck, it may manage to dislodge it, but if it can't you might need to try and help. If you must, fish can be anesthetized.. clove oil is the standard anesthetic, it's only lethal if you overdose it quite a bit. But I'd give it a day or two to see if it can sort itself out before you try intervening. If the only thing you can see is the open mouth, it is probably ok to put it back in the tank, though it might be picked on by other fish, possibly.

If you can get a breeder net, that would be a good thing to keep it in while you see if it's going to get better, if you can't manage a QT.

 

[batmansocks117]

Is there anything you can see that might be stuck in the mouth ? Is there any sign of any off colour anything near the mouth ? If not, I suppose it may have a dislocated jaw. If so, might or might not get better, and if it can't eat, you might have to euthanize it at some point. If something is stuck, it may manage to dislodge it, but if it can't you might need to try and help. If you must, fish can be anesthetized.. clove oil is the standard anesthetic, it's only lethal if you overdose it quite a bit. But I'd give it a day or two to see if it can sort itself out before you try intervening. If the only thing you can see is the open mouth, it is probably ok to put it back in the tank, though it might be picked on by other fish, possibly. If you can get a breeder net, that would be a good thing to keep it in while you see if it's going to get better, if you can't manage a QT.

Thanks for the response, unfortunately the fish ended up dying not too long after I posted this. =( I checked its mouth and it didn't look like anything was stuck, so I'm going to guess it had a dislocated jaw..

 

[Fishfur]

That's a shame. Poor fish. At least he didn't suffer too long.