Help my Dwarf Lion Fish, Please

bettamamad

bettamamad

New Member
Hi All, I have just joined, and I can tell that I will be here often. So much info.
My problem is my 2 yr old lion fish. The other day I noticed that his mouth did not close completely. Over the last 2 days, his jawbone on the left side of his mouth is exposed and the flesh(lip) is missing. My thinking is that this is a wound, perhaps inflicted by my snowflake eel(2ND choice) or my Porcupine Puffer Fish. I did notice some hostility between them to the point where the puffer actually took food from the lion fish mouth. What can I do ?
I am having trouble feeding him. I am very attached to this fish, so if anyone has any suggestions, please answer. By the way, I have isolated him in a floating basket. Thanks
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
You may be dealing with two things here, Lockjaw plus the open wound. Your lion should be removed and placed in a quarantine tank. Treat with kanamycin for 5 - 7 days, I have used this with lions to treat open wounds.
The other day I noticed that his mouth did not close completely.
Lockjaw is when the jaw does not close completely, hopefully this lion will be able to work it's jaw back into place.
Kaye
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to Saltwaterfish.com. Glad to see you join us.
Unfortunately the the answer is not easy. If there is aggression going on, then the aggressor needs to be separated from the harassed.
V-L is correct in that the Lion may as well have a locked jaw condition. Myself, I don't have experience with this fish, so I'm going to copy this topic over to the Aggressive Forum as well. Check in both places.
What size tank do you have?
 
bettamamad

bettamamad

New Member
Hey Beth and Kaye, Thanks for responding. I have a 90 gal, with live rock and aggronite substrate. there are only 5 fish in this tank and this is the first aggression I've seen. All are over 2 years old. I have been feeding a anti-bacterial pellet by syringe with liquid B-Complex. It's a bit hard to get it in his mouth.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
I would not try to do that. You may injury this fish. Without a qurantine, it is impossible to actually try to do anything, especially if the harrassment continues.
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
You can feed orally but allow the lion to take the food on it's own. You can inject this mix into a small piece of krill or feed this mixture to small ghost shrimp than feed them to your lion, but I agree with Beth, I would not attempt this if the lions jaw is injured.
**What exactly does the jaw look like?
**Is the mouth slightly open?
**Is just the side that is injured hanging?
**Is the whole bottom jaw hanging?
This may not be lock jaw but a dislocated jaw, and you could do more harm than good by moving the jaw. If the eel or puffer tugged at the jaw than it may be dislocated.
Your lion really should be placed in a quarantine tank and water conditions kept pristine , we need to avoid infection, attempted feedings will be easier on you, the food will not be stolen by other fish, along with water changes, try to reduce the stress in this lion, which in itself can be damaging. Or consider setting up a separate tank for your dwarf to permanently house this lion, which is your best bet.
I understand that a 90g with 5 fish does not sound like a lot but a 90g with a Puffer that gets large along with the SFE, Dwarf Lion and two others really is quite a bit, especially as these fish mature. You may start seeing more of these issues or worse death. A lion being injured by a Puffer or Eel is not uncommon.
If you are going to keep the dwarf in your 90g than monitor your water and more water changes are necessary, keep your water in pristine condition, watch for aggression especially on a fish that is injured, your lion is vulnerable right now to infections plus tank mates.
I am definably interested in an update and the condition the jaw is in.
Kaye
 
bettamamad

bettamamad

New Member
Kaye, Thank you so much for all your info, its great to find some one who knows about lions. To your questions, as of today, their is no jaw, seems the bone is broken and the flesh has disintegrated. I can actually see inside his mouth.There is still movement in the hinges of the jaw, but no flesh to close his mouth. I do not see any fungus, He is isolated in the main tank, so the others cannot reach him. I will try to take a picture of him or just his mouth. Thanks again for your interest. I will definitely keep you posted.
 
bettamamad

bettamamad

New Member
Hey all, I have some pics of Spike, but to big a file,not able to upload to here. Can I email them to you separatley, Kaye or Beth? These were taken last night, and this morning he seems more energetic abet his gaping mouth,lol.
 
bettamamad

bettamamad

New Member
Hey Kaye, I will send you the pics, but Spike passed during the night. He was responding to the medication but I suppose the stress got to him. I will miss him very much.
I want to thank you and Beth for your interest and help.
Donna
 
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