PlanetCatfish.com

Hi PC,
I have a problem with one of my new corys.
I rescued them from someone on Craigslist.

So, I've been keeping them in QT
(5 gallon, 78 deg, ph 6.8,
100% water change every 5 days,
no substrate)

The guy brought them to me,
and they had no barbels. Great.....
They are now regrowing the barbels,
and getting healthy, but one has a very strange problem.


One of these corys seems to have
it's mouth scarred shut, which might have
happened after the barbel loss.

There seems to be no opening for
the mouth, or it's too small to see.
I did an exam on it,
and it really seems the mouth is scarred shut,
or the hole is tiny.
It can only eat the smallest particles of food,
and is skinnier than the other cory.
It feeds constantly, unlike the other cory who is getting fat.

I can see it's jaw moving thru the skin,
but there is no hole to open.

It seems to breathe heavy,
as it must be hard to pass water over the gills wihout a large enough mouth slit.

It is eating somehow, just managing to suck in
very small shrimp pellet powder.
It can't eat live blackworms
(but it tries so hard, it just pushes them),
or bloodworms due to it's
problem.
The other cory eats everything just fine.

My question is if you think it would be possible to open the mouth hole a bit
with some fish surgery.
I would be willing to try it,
as when I did the exam, it was very calm, and
went back to feeding right away after
being put back into the tank.
I am very good with my hands,
and feel this is something I could do to help
it's health.

Have you ever seen this problem,
and if so, is surgery an option?

Jay

This would be very difficult at best. You can make an incision to open the maouth, but it is very likely that the fish would not be able to control the opening and closing of the incision in the manner of a normal mouth, given that there would be no muscle connections there.

I just got a very close up view of the cory's mouth.

It does have a hole for it's mouth,
it's 1/8 the size of the other cory.

It's right in front of the cory,
as there are no barbels to
hide it.

I don't believe the mouth slit controls the opening and closing,as it's always open.
The jaw muscles open and close the mouth area, and it is moving fine.

Maybe I need to be more specific here,
The cory doesn't have a mouth(ie. lips or barbels),
probably from horrible parameters in it's previous owners tank.
I'm trying to do whatever I can to help it
live a better life,
as right now it can't eat well enough.

I spoke with a surgeon friend of mine,
and she said she'd help.

She said that the opening could be widened by
inserting successively larger instruments,
basically stretching the opening larger.

Any idea of any good topical
meds I could use on the area after the procedure,
to stop bacterial/fungal growth?
Jay

It could also be a genetic deformity.

My personal feeling is that it would be best to either leave the fish alone, or, and this would be my choice, to euthanize it. You can't win them all, and sometimes it's kindest to the fish to not even try.

If you have observed the fish eating, then it is getting nutrition. You've done a good thing by taking this fish in. I would think comfort measures would be the prudent course. It is distressing for any of us to see a fish with a deformity. But, it may be more distressing to see the results of the surgery. The fish wouldn't be able to eat at all and would need to be quarantined from its tankmates. Corydoras are very social creatures and don't do well alone. Please respectfully take this into consideration before doing anything.
Amanda

After getting the same response from everyone,
I will just leave her be.
I won't euthanize though,
as she is still eating,
and was a rescue.
She's actually started eating a lot,
and is getting larger.

She and her friend were put into the main 29 gallon yesterday,
and they are having a great time exploring.

Yeah, I know about deformed critters,
I have African Dwarf Frogs
who metamorphized without flippers.
I made them a shallow little home,
a 5 gallon with a raised bottom, to keep it shallow enough for them,
but to keep them in a large enough body of water to keep the tank cycled and healthy.

Thanks again Catfish folks....
Jay

When a fish first arrives in your care, it can be stressful for both of you(fish and human). It's not easy to see all the "pieces and parts" of the animal. It can take a while for the animal to relax. Something that will also help this tank of Corydoras will be water changes. This will be particularly important to help prevent any disease in this already compromised fish and with the other healthy fish. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Amanda