Mouth injury or disease on Bartlett?

[pokerdobe]

Hey all, I was looking at my tank last night and I noticed that my bartlett's mouth had some kind of deformation on it's left side. I'm not quite sure if it's caused by a disease or if it's just an injury. Anyone who can chime in would be great. Also, any steps I can take to treat it, whether it's an injury or a disease. Personally, it looks like he ripped/tore part of his jaw somehow...

I know the pictures aren't the best, but it's what I was able to snap on my iphone. Plus, they never really stay still long enough...

 

[melypr1985]

Certainly looks like an injury. Is he able to eat still?

 

[pokerdobe]

Certainly looks like an injury. Is he able to eat still?

Didn't seem to have a problem eating last night. Fed 2x, once with LRS chunks and once with Ocean Nutrition ROE. He took to both without issue. I had also fed 3x more times before I noticed he had an injury and he ate all those times as well.

Any idea as to what may have caused it?

 

[melypr1985]

fighting maybe. You could treat him with antibiotics like furan-2 or kanaplex to ward off infection while it heals. You can add those to the food with a binder like Focus to make it reef safe.

 

[Humblefish]

Certainly looks like an injury. Is he able to eat still?

^^This. I would give it a few days before taking any action, to see if it gets worse or subsides. Can you list all your other fish? How long have you had this anthias?

 

[pokerdobe]

^^This. I would give it a few days before taking any action, to see if it gets worse or subsides. Can you list all your other fish? How long have you had this anthias?

The anthias has been in the tank for about 2 weeks. My male bartlett is the largest and most dominant fish in the tank right now. I bought the 2x bartletts as females and he made the transition to male a week ago.

Other fish:

• 1x female bartlett
• 1x male lyretail (smaller than bartletts)
• 2x female lyretail (smaller than the male lyretail)
• 1x vanderbilt chromis, size of a quarter at best.

 

[Humblefish]

So, if I'm understanding this correctly... you now have two male anthias? A male lyretail and a male bartlett? I'm no anthias expert, but I don't think that's gonna work. How large is your DT?

 

[pokerdobe]

So, if I'm understanding this correctly... you now have two male anthias? A male lyretail and a male bartlett? I'm no anthias expert, but I don't think that's gonna work. How large is your DT?

There are now 2 males in the tank. They're in holding in a Reefer 250 while the Reefer 450 cycles. The original plan was hoping that the male lyretail would keep all of them female, but I've read several instances were multiple males of varying species were kept together without issue... If it helps, they were all introduced at the same time.

 

[melypr1985]

There are now 2 males in the tank. They're in holding in a Reefer 250 while the Reefer 450 cycles. The original plan was hoping that the male lyretail would keep all of them female, but I've read several instances were multiple males of varying species were kept together without issue... If it helps, they were all introduced at the same time.

We can consult with the fish guys.... @eatbreakfast @evolved They can tell you what the compatibility will be for these guys for sure.

 

[Humblefish]

I'm gonna move this over to the fish forum, so you can get better advice about male anthias compatibility. But I'll monitor this thread closely and move it back if it looks like a disease is actually in play here.

 

[pokerdobe]

We can consult with the fish guys.... @eatbreakfast @evolved They can tell you what the compatibility will be for these guys for sure.

I'm gonna move this over to the fish forum, so you can get more views about male anthias compatibility. But I'll monitor this thread closely and move it back if it looks like a disease is actually in play here.

Awesome, thank you both!

 

[melypr1985]

anytime good luck!

 

[evolved]

We can consult with the fish guys.... @eatbreakfast @evolved They can tell you what the compatibility will be for these guys for sure.

It's a bit of a coin toss; they'll either live separate with their own territories or one will pick the other off. Unfortunately there's no solid way to predict an outcome.

 

[pokerdobe]

It's a bit of a coin toss; they'll either live separate with their own territories or one will pick the other off. Unfortunately there's no solid way to predict an outcome.

Ah got it. If they do pick each other off, there's not really any other way of preventing the other females from turning into a male is there...

 

[evolved]

Unfortunately, no.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Mouth injuries are not uncommon with anthias, particularly with some of the more aggressive species such as bartlett and squamipinnis. Rival males and even dominant females will grapple with their rivals for dominance in the hierarchy.

Some anthias are more tolerant of other anthias than others, but some things tjat can help are feeding more frequently and increasing the flow.

 

[pokerdobe]

Got it. Thanks for the input @eatbreakfast and @evolved .

I currently feed anywhere from 4-5 times a day. I'll see if upping my flow will do anything for them. I have an MP40 on reefcrest mode. Should I just turn up the MP40 I have now or should I add another MP40?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Got it. Thanks for the input @eatbreakfast and @evolved .

I currently feed anywhere from 4-5 times a day. I'll see if upping my flow will do anything for them. I have an MP40 on reefcrest mode. Should I just turn up the MP40 I have now or should I add another MP40?

Just turn up your current one and observe their behavior from there.