Pcallaway256 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Hello all, I finally after many months of work got my planted community tank established. So I bought a school of neon tetras, I noticed one yesterday is missing his lower lip. He just has a hole where his mouth should be. I have an old 6.5 gal tank that I’ve turned into a hospital tank. I put 2 tablespoons of salt and placed him in there. So I was wondering, will he heal from this? Or should I just cut my losses and euthanize him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriendlyLoach Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I would try to treat him first, but if it just gets worse I would euthanize him. Just note, salt takes time, so I would leave him there for a week or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Ellison Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Does it seem to be effecting his ability to eat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcallaway256 Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 For that to be honest I’m not sure. I fed them yesterday and they all seemed to eat but after I noticed him I put him in the tank by himself and wasn’t sure if I should try and feed him again. So since also posting this I noticed my Molly’s had babies haha. So I just took some ground up fish flake and water and put it near them. I might try the same with him since...well he has no lips and just a hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcallaway256 Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 This is a picture of him btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 If he is not in any distress I would not euthanize him. I have had fish with various deformities who found ways to overcome their challenges and they led normal lives with the other fishes. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bKillion Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 If there is any white growth or signs of a bacterial or fungal infection, I would try treating it with Maracyn since an infection might explain the missing flesh. Since it seems the fish are new to you, they could have gotten an infection at a fish farm, wholesaler, or your local pet store without anyone noticing. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcallaway256 Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 No I do not see any white spots at all. I think he was just hurt during transportation at some point. But I went ahead and put some bacterial remedy along with the salt in his tank. He's not eating but i will just do my due diligence and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Cull should mean move to a lifetime tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Ellison Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 I agree with @Daniel and @Streetwise. If your not doing a very selective breeding setup for sale or he isn't in distress I'd let it be. I've never been much of a fan of culling tbh because my daughters love a little gimpy fish 😉 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcallaway256 Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 I mean I’m not going to cull him just because he has a thing going on right now. I just wasn’t sure because I mean, he literally has no mouth. It’s like just a hole. Seriously lol he has no face, so my fear was he would starve to death if this wasn’t something that would grow back. But like I said, I have him in salt and some anti-bac solution. But this is my first fish tank so I’m not sure if lips on fish was something that would grow back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Ellison Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 I don't think so. Scales and fins yes. A mouth i think is a bit of a stretch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriendlyLoach Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Yeah, there jaws are very complex, I know this is true for cichlids at least. Most people put their cichlids out of their misery if they hurt there mouth lip locking or something. I would still give him a chance though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcallaway256 Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 Hey guys just to follow up, the fish didn’t make it. I guess he couldn’t eat and starved. I tried to feed him the same as you would fry, with very very fine food. But even then he couldn’t get anything. I came home and he was dead. But thanks for all the help everyone! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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