Help ! my blue damsels lips are strange..

[MissDeffiance]

Hey there all, thank you for taking the time to read this.
My small blue damsels lips are white, they look big and stuck in a O.
I fed everyone and it didn't bother to even attempt to eat ...
Any suggestions ??
Other then that it does not seem to be acting weird ..

 

[Innovator]

Stuck in an O? So the jaw will not unflex back to the closed state? If the jaw remains open there is nothing you can do except hope for the best, if that is the case.

 

[MissDeffiance]

Thank you very much. What causes this ?

 

[Innovator]

Is it indeed the jaw extended? You mentioned white lips so I am assuming that what you are seeing is the skin stretched making it look transparent? Anyways, hard to say what causes lock-jaw, but many point to nutrition. If you get desperate, since fish eventually succumb to this, you can catch the fish and try to very gently massage the jowls back into place.

 

[MissDeffiance]

OK stupid question but I've never done this before, so gently rub the sides of his jaw?
Won't this just stress him out ?
Thanks

 

[Innovator]

Yes, it will stress the fish out. I would give it some time, several hours to overnight depending on how the fish is reacting to it; otherwise, it will eventually succumb to starvation and general stress. If you decide to massage the sides of its jaw you don't have to bring it our of the water (cup or bowl should suffice). Wish I could be of more help.

 

[MissDeffiance]

I just appreciate your help .. I think I will give it to morning and see what happens then. Then make a decision..

 

[melosu58]

I`ve seen it happen also from injury. The treatment is what James said either way.

 

[CaptainAhab]

You also have a thread asking about NitroMax. Any chance your tank isn't cycled yet?

 

[MissDeffiance]

I am not sure,I did use it and after about 1 wk all my parameters were right where they should be. I had a local LFS helping me and they agreed that my levels were right.
I then added 3 damsels and a wk later added 1 clown fish.
About 2 days ago I noticed that my levels were no longer perfect here is what they are
PH 7.8 Alk high Nitrite 1 or above Ammonia 0 Nitrate is 20. Not so good
So I did a 30% water change but they are the same.
I do have some live rock in my tank but not a lot, my blue damsel with the open mouth died during the night.
I wish I had just stuck to the old fashioned way, but I didn't know much and when I asked at the LFS they suggested doing it this way. Figured they knew more then me.
I am wondering if I should do another WC ??
Now I see that my lg black damsel is faded, twitching and scratching against things in the tank ... Help

 

[melosu58]

Post some water test results so we can see if your tank is cycled.

 

[andysam]

Hi Miss
Very sorry to hear about your situation. What Im am about to say wont help you in the present situation but it might in the future. In my experience the worst place to go for advice is a lfs,for two reasons, one the stores interest is vastly different then yours.They want to sell you stuff and as often as possible[and replacement fish] The other reason is the low wages they pay to their staff, this brings in people that have no clue what they are talking about many of them still give advice like they were experts. I had one guy here in a large fish store try to sell me a trigger covered in white spots as a rare color variation of the fish, when the fish died in his tank week later it was not due to ich but a total mystery. The best place for advice is a place like this where fish hobbyists offer advice with no personal interest in mind. You still must screen the information as some post for the sake of posting but most of the information is great Good luck

 

[MissDeffiance]

I agree with you ...

Thanks for responding...SO do you have any advice as to what to do now??
How do I fix the problem, I feel bad for the fish that are in it if something is wrong such as the lg damsel twitching and scratching acting strange although there is nothing on it anywhere...
Help ...

 

[andysam]

Melosu asked for water tests to see what is happening in your tank at the present time that in my opinion is the place to start. Can you post water SG temp ammo nitrite nitrate levels etc

 

[Innovator]

She previously posted them: PH 7.8 Alk high Nitrite 1 or above Ammonia 0 Nitrate is 20

The numbers are not bad (salinity?). Assuming you cycled your tank it is common for nitrates to increase in new tanks with the added nitrogen (fish waste and food). The scratching is a common sign of ich so 'Search' the forums for some good identifiers of it.

 

[MissDeffiance]

salinity readings

The salinity in my tank is 1.022 and as for the Ich I see nothing white on him anywhere as a matter fact I see nothing abnormal on him at all except for the color fading ...

 

[andysam]

Sorry I thought the water tests were 2 days old. The PH is on the low end of the scale. I find that if the number falls below 8.2 that is a good indicator that pollutants are present in the water, do you use a skimmer? also in a fully cycled tank you should not have any nitrites. What is your SG? For now I would do several WCs to try to get the PH and the nitrates closer to the norm.

 

[andysam]

At this stage I would not go straight to the ich explanation however ich first attacks the gills, by the time you see white spots its been there for a while. The color fading could be due to stress

 

[Innovator]

pH has nothing to do with pollutants in the water columns and just an indicator of the water's acidic or alkaline nature. A pH of 7.8-8.2 is the average with 7.6 and 8.4 being in the extremes, but not necessarily detrimental. Also, there are always residual nitrites, but most test kits are unable to test low enough. 1.022 is what, about 29ppt? It is considered acceptable for fish-only systems, but I prefer a natural salinity between 32-35ppt myself. Alkalinity was mentioned as high, but a number would be best since "high" is interpretive to each person. So the color is fading, during the day or just at night?

 

[MissDeffiance]

OK , I hope I am giving good info sorry if it is not ..
The 1.022 is the salinity
My Alk test doesn't show me numbers it only says low, med, high .
The color fading is during the day and night for the last 24hrs.
I am going to do another 20% WC
also it was suggested by a friend that I ad some Macro Alge to the tank and more LR.
I was thinking if the Macro Alge is good maybe just setting up a refugium instead.??
Any input on this ?