Open mouth

[5ivedrops]

Hi, one of my goldfish hasn't been able to close her mouth for about a week. She's eating and swimming fine. I can't see anything stuck in her mouth. Hess's book suggests this could be an ulcer? Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks

[Cincy Ranchu]

My experience is that it is usually a pebble, but if you have looked and this is a no go, perhaps a salt bath

[5ivedrops]

Thanks, I didn't put her in a salt bath but just raised my total salinty to .03 % and after a few days she seems better. In the meantime, I had to euthanize my little ryukin. He had gotten so floaty and even one day fasts weren't helping him. He met his maker in my freezer amongst the peas I feed them and my bottle of vodka. RIP ryukin, (he never even got a name)

[bekko]

People started talking about fish with the mouth stuck open several years ago. It seemed to be happening frequently enough to indicate that it was a new disease of some sort. Two people that I know of had it respond to nitrofuran-type antibiotics which indicates a bacteria infection. One guy in Singapore put Japanese Yellow Powder directly in the fishes mouth and cured it. A lady in Argentine used a nitrofurizone cream spread in and around the mouth and that worked too. Both people reported loosing other fish which did not have their mouth stuck open during that same time period so it is possible the open mouth is just one symptom of a systemic infection.

-steve

[johnatoranchu]

Open mouth is often a form of lock-jaw. No permanent cure but fish survive. It is "relatively" common in Bubble-Eyes.
John

[suphi]

I read that it can be caused by some sort of infection leading to scarring or loss of functionality of muscles that open-close jaw. The infection may (or may not) have been gone, but its consequential effect remains.