# Open mouth!



## crownfire (Nov 25, 2003)

My elong is constantly opening his mouth and extending his lower jaw. What the hell is this normal?


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## rbP NUT (Dec 2, 2003)

may be oxygen levels are low and he is gasping?


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

I was reading your other post about your fish scratching... It's normal for a fish to "yawn", but if done excessively, it means that it's trying to get rid of something that's irritating the gills. This combined with the flashing against decorations, are symptoms of a parasitic infestation (my guess is gill flukes), high ammonia, or a sudden pH drop. Test your water for ammonia and pH. If those parameters are fine, than it's most likely parasites. You can try slowly elevating the temp and a salt treatment. That should help against many parasites, but gill flukes are more resilient. If salt doesn't work, you will need to treat with a med that specifically kills flukes. Test your water first before doing anything. Good luck.


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## crownfire (Nov 25, 2003)

Gill fluke sound possible because it seems he's trying to scratch his gill's. My parameters are Am 0, nit 0, ph steady at 8, temp constant 82, great surface agitation plus air injected powerhead and I always have the right amount of salt. I think i'll medicate with something for Gill flukes. Thanks Don H. !


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Make sure your choice of med is safe for piranhas. Many med are not... and some will need to be half dosed. Read the labels carefully. Good luck.


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

what is a gill fluke? is it something really bad? is it contagouse?


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## crownfire (Nov 25, 2003)

I have no idea but i'm taking don h's advice and medicating as of yesterday.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

crownfire said:


> I have no idea but i'm taking don h's advice and medicating as of yesterday.


 Please do not follow my advice blindly... My advice is based on the symptoms you have given us and is a "best guess" at best. The only way to truly identify the cause is through a skin/gill biopsy and observe it through a microscope. Then, you can compare what you see with pics that can easily be found on the web for a positive identification. I always recommend more research before medicating because I truly believe that more fish have been killed by misuse of meds than the disease itself.

Sweet Lu: Flukes are parasites that are not visible to the naked eye (hence a microscope is needed to identify it). They have hooks that attaches to the body and gills which cause tissue damage, but most fish die of secondary infections from these wounds. They are very contagious, especially in over crowded tanks with poor water quality.


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## crownfire (Nov 25, 2003)

I have been observing his behavior and gotten info form this site and trusted lfs and all things point to gill flukes. I hope that the use of copper safe and a antiboiotic will nip this thing in the bud. I'm documenting each day's event and have recorded a slight rise in amn, and nitrates. If they continue to rise i am going to use amquel plus to dtoxify. ray for "scrappy". Where do these gill flukes come from?


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

All sorts of bacteria and parasites exist in the aquarium. The fish's immune system usually fend them off with no problem. Problems arise when water quality starts to drop or other factors that may lead to stress. This is when bacteria/parasites usually take hold (when the immune system is down) and start to multiply. Another cause is the introduction of an infected fish without proper quarantine.

BTW, you are reading an ammonia/nitrite spike due to the use of antibiotics because nitrifiers are bacteria also.


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## crownfire (Nov 25, 2003)

How long until i notice some result's? It's been 4 day's since the copper safe and antibody were introduced to the tank yet my elong is still showing the sign's and sympton's.


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