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My jack dempsey has his jaw stuck open and he cant get food anyone have any ideas?

how big is the jack? he could have had some bad gravel i remember when my oscars ould try to eat the gravel, maybe it just ent too far.

It could be a bad gase of gill fungus. If the Jack looks like it has swollen gills or discoloration around the mouth, treat your tank with pimafix or maracyn. It's best to isolate the fish and attempt to feed him crushed food that will be easier to consume. Good luck!

I had a rainbowfish that broke its jaw- I fed it specifically and it swam at food but often was unsuccessful in keeping it down. He lasted over a year, which was longer than expected, but eventually he became so debilitated i had to euthanise him. Hopefully the size of your fish means he will have more feeding options and last indefinately. Gill flukes and mycobacterium can cause loss of jaw function is some cases too, so as with the advice on gill fungus its got to be worth checking out. Rarely can the jaw be fixed though, even if the initial cause is rectified, usually because even if an extraordinarily skilled vet was able to relocate the jaw or fix the break, the muscles would be very hard to align and the muscles waste quickly .

You should seperate the fish as he no longer has any means of self defence should territoriality occur in addition to the feeding issue.

Best of luck with your fish.





Last edited by longhairedgit at 10-Sep-2005 18:51

thank u everyone

How old is this fish?

Teh reason I ask is because I've seen this in Cardinals before today. In Cardinals, it's usually a sign of extreme old age (approaching 7 years or more). There may be other causes as cited above, but chances are those causes are related to the running down of the fish's immune system once it reaches an extreme age. If your Dempsey is over 10 years old then this is probably a sign that it's on its way out: however, if it is over 10 years old, it's probably had a good life in your care, so you can console yourself with this when the moment to say the final goodbye arises.

If the fish is much younger, however, it's time to quarantine it and medicate as cited above.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002