Arowana mouth injury?

[fishery]

My Silver Arowana seems to be having what looks like a mouth injury, when looked from the left side the mouth is closed, but when when looked from the right side his jaw is slightly open, he is also having difficulty in eating pellets he spits them and eats but has no problem eating shrimp.

Any ideas what it is, I can almost see his gums inside the mouth when looked from the right side.
I can't seem to be able to get a pic of the mouth he is moving pretty fast.

[Fishkeeper]

My guess is he bumped into something and hurt himself. I don't know how to help, aside from suggesting that you feed him soft foods.

[Crispy]

sounds like his jaw may have slightly dislocated to one side? hard to diagnose without good pics. look at him from the top; does it look like it is somewhat bent to one side?

[fishery]

sounds like his jaw may have slightly dislocated to one side? hard to diagnose without good pics. look at him from the top; does it look like it is somewhat bent to one side?

Well he freaks out when I open the lid to have a top side look, will try it again tomorrow so I am not sure.

Here's his original pic when I first got him its a left side look and his left looks the same even now.


http://i40.tinypic.com/mbo305.jpg

Here's the right side, I took it from my phone, but I think you can see the gap when compared to the left side image, I ll take out my Nikon tomorrow and take few snaps if you want more clarity.


http://i44.tinypic.com/wb5l36.jpg

[Fishkeeper]

Hmm... He looks like he injured his jaw somehow, maybe pulled something. Could he have bitten the castle and hurt himself?
I have to ask; are you sure he isn't stressed? I've never seen a fish that doesn't need a good place to hide, and behind a thing doesn't really count. I don't know much about arowana, but I know the sort of habitat they naturally live in and it's full of places to hide.

[mommy1]

Is he in the 63 gallon listed in your profile? He probably freaked out and banged into the side of that small (for your aro) tank. Aros are large fish and need huge tanks or they hurt themselves trying to swim and often jump out of small tanks. Get him a larger tank or give him to someone who can give him the space he deserves.

[fishery]

No this is my quarantine tank, I have him on medication for now, currently I have added an Anti-Bacterial and a stress remover.
He is one of the quietest Aro's I have had, he rarely jumps and I have almost never seen him freak out under normal conditions.
Yup I have a 63 gallon and a 120 gallon so space is not an issue, for now :ssmile:

[Crispy]

shouldn't be a need for medications. I would let it be for now since you say he is still eating fine. I would assess it again after he grows some.

just a suggestion: I would remove those rocks and castle ornament. they will just cause you future problems with your aro.

[fishery]

shouldn't be a need for medications. I would let it be for now since you say he is still eating fine. I would assess it again after he grows some.

just a suggestion: I would remove those rocks and castle ornament. they will just cause you future problems with your aro.

Thanks Crispy he seems to be healthy and is eating shrimps very well.
And yes I ll remove the ornaments and rocks asap.

Thanks for replying.

[fishery]

sounds like his jaw may have slightly dislocated to one side? does it look like it is somewhat bent to one side?
Yup its a positive dislocation and his jaw is bent to one side, what now :sconfused:

[Crispy]

Yup its a positive dislocation and his jaw is bent to one side, what now :sconfused:

well, you could drain the tank so he barely has enough water to swim and then you could grab him with a towel and try to gently pop it back into place.

its either that or you could try to sedate him (which I have never done) with some clove oil. a quick google search will show you how some people have done it.

I would just wrap him in a towel so you can get a good grip on him and try to pop it back into place.

[fishery]

well, you could drain the tank so he barely has enough water to swim and then you could grab him with a towel and try to gently pop it back into place.

its either that or you could try to sedate him (which I have never done) with some clove oil. a quick google search will show you how some people have done it.

I would just wrap him in a towel so you can get a good grip on him and try to pop it back into place.

1.Whoa well I gave him to my aquarium shopkeeper temporarily as he said he knows how to do that properly, besides I don't know how much clove oil to add to the tank.
2.I noticed something well the shopkeeper pointed it out actually, his entire top fin on his back is gone, it's in bits and cuts and almost fully gone, no damage to his tail or other fins.
Here's the original pic of him when I got him 4 months back,(top fin I am refering to is highlighted) you can notice that even in the pic that I have posted in the first page showing his open jaw, his fin on the back is present and that was taken just 2 weeks from now, now it's almost fully gone.
http://i42.tinypic.com/10nexl1.png


And to add to the horror, today I turned on the tank lights and I could see tiny wriggling worms, I saw at least 3 of them, so perhaps he broke his jaw due to violent movements initiated by the worms eating his fins?

Any preferred medications to treat the water, does it indicate the gravel filter is not functioning properly?
I do 50% water changes every week so any ideas what caused the worm outbreak?

[Crispy]

the worms would be from dirty gravel. they shouldn't affect the arowanas fins though. I would guess his fin is getting torn up from jumping and/or poor water quality.

you said you are using a gravel filter? for as much of a bioload as an arowana will produce, you will want much better filtration. preferably a large canister and/or sump.

I would vacuum the gravel very thoroughly every 2-3 days until the worms are gone and do 50% water changes each time.

[fishery]

Thanks for the reply Crispy, I ll be getting a Canister first thing tomorrow.
Is a gravel filter a recommended type of filtration ?
My Aquarium shop swears that is it the best type of filtration and that they have used it for years in their shop without any issues.
Isn't vacuuming the gravel with a Silver Aro risky, my Aro loves to jump when I open the tank or when he is spooked.
Anyway any recommended Canister Brands ?

[Crispy]

I would recommend a fluval fx5 or larger eheim canister. I would also recommend getting rid of most of your gravel and only keep a very thin layer if you absolutely want gravel. I keep my aros with bare bottom tank so it is very easy to clean.

under gravel filters are an old-school way of filtering an aquarium. while they do work, they need to be cleaned frequently and even then are still poor filters IMO. they also do nothing for mechanical filtration. I would never use one in any of my tanks.

as for the aro jumping, he will get used to your hands and vacuum in the tank. he should stay on the opposite side when you are cleaning. aros need lots of water changes and vacuuming, so just do what you have to do and before long he shouldn't care much.