# Tooth in my piranha



## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

so my 75 gal has 4 reds in it.
and i went to clean the tank, and i see what looks like a tooth stuck in the side of one of my smaller guys. and as i waited to take a pic, i saw that one of my other fish (Benjamin Franklin) has a tooth missing from his front jaw. these pics are really bad, as my fish are never really still. but its the best i could do with a dying camera.














in this one below, the one guy on the left i believe is the one who is missing his front tooth








what do you guys think i should do? im pretty sure its a tooth, but i could be wrong. 
you think i should attempt taking it out, or just wait for it to fall out on its own.... i dont know what to do.
the guy who has the tooth stuck in his side doesnt show any discomfort at all (as can be seen in the bad photos because he wouldnt stay still.)
and he isnt otherwise chewed up.
any opinions would be great.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

if it's a tooth, it doesn't look like it's in there too far, i'm sure it'll come out on it's own whether it just falls out or he rubs up against something. other than that, i would just keep an eye on the bite and add salt or melafix if necessary


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

yeah i hope your right, it def doesnt seem to be in there too far, im just a little worried of it getting in there deeper.


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

What I would be worried about is him rubbing on rocks/wood/glass to get it out. I would have to say it's up to you what to do. If it looks very shallow and you wouldn't harm him pull it out, on the other hand if you don't want to take the chance let nature take it's course. Personally if it's barely in their, I would net him get it out and prevent the risk of him getting infected or hurting himself further.


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## -NBKK- (Jun 22, 2007)

Tough call, if you try to get it out yourself he will be stressed and probably jam it in more while freaking out in the net, But on the flip side if you leave it in there it might stay for a while, which cant be good and like mentioned above he might rub against stuff in the tank that might do even more harm.

Strange situation none the less......

It looks really big to be a piranha tooth though doesn't it ?


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## PygoLover (Mar 22, 2007)

heheheheh that's funny....i've never seen a tooth sticked in a piranha







cool pics

PS don't worry, as someone allready said, it's going to fell in a while...








Tommy


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Yeah I had to laugh at that too.
That looks like a HUGE tooth though! At least in the last picture.
I would try to take it out but thats just me.
Good luck!


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

It just seems to be what is the better thing to do. What ever option you think will cause the most harm in the long run I guess would be the way to go. Either way...you have a sweet piranha tooth now.


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

thanks for the replies guys.
it is kinda funny in a way, just because, its almost like he doesnt even know its there. haha. these are great animals.
im afraid to try to take him out because im pretty sure trying to net him will make him crash around like crazy. but i am going to change water tonight, and i think that if its still in there, i might try to get him to swim into a bucket when the water level is low. then take it out.

i agree it is a huge tooth, i think the actual part thats stuck into him is really little, and what can be seen is the base of the tooth, meaning that it will probably come out very easy on its own (crossing fingers)

will the tooth grow back in Bennys mouth?


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

Nick G said:


> thanks for the replies guys.
> it is kinda funny in a way, just because, its almost like he doesnt even know its there. haha. these are great animals.
> im afraid to try to take him out because im pretty sure trying to net him will make him crash around like crazy. but i am going to change water tonight, and i think that if its still in there, i might try to get him to swim into a bucket when the water level is low. then take it out.
> 
> ...


I don't know a specific time but it will regrow it's tooth. I have heard on occasion they come back bigger, but I have only heard that in Elongs.


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

Puddjuice said:


> thanks for the replies guys.
> it is kinda funny in a way, just because, its almost like he doesnt even know its there. haha. these are great animals.
> im afraid to try to take him out because im pretty sure trying to net him will make him crash around like crazy. but i am going to change water tonight, and i think that if its still in there, i might try to get him to swim into a bucket when the water level is low. then take it out.
> 
> ...


I don't know a specific time but it will regrow it's tooth. I have heard on occasion they come back bigger, but I have only heard that in Elongs.
[/quote]
ok cool. thanks, not that im worried, Benjamin Franklin is one of the meanest in the tank, im sure he still commands respect, even if he does look like a hillbilly!


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

Nick G said:


> thanks for the replies guys.
> it is kinda funny in a way, just because, its almost like he doesnt even know its there. haha. these are great animals.
> im afraid to try to take him out because im pretty sure trying to net him will make him crash around like crazy. but i am going to change water tonight, and i think that if its still in there, i might try to get him to swim into a bucket when the water level is low. then take it out.
> 
> ...


I don't know a specific time but it will regrow it's tooth. I have heard on occasion they come back bigger, but I have only heard that in Elongs.
[/quote]
ok cool. thanks, not that im worried, Benjamin Franklin is one of the meanest in the tank, im sure he still commands respect, even if he does look like a hillbilly!








[/quote]

I love the name though lol.


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

haha, yeah, he is my favorite one too. 
im hoping the tooth just falls out, and it does so somewhere that i can see it and keep it.
if when i get home from work its further in there, im going to take it out i think.


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## PygoLover (Mar 22, 2007)

i suggest you just to leave it there, and it will fell down by his own... if u try to catch him, could also happen that the tooth gets much more sticked in due to the escaping attempt... he could hit against a wood or the glass, and that tooth could go deeper.
Just an opinio...
Tommy


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

PygoLover said:


> i suggest you just to leave it there, and it will fell down by his own... if u try to catch him, could also happen that the tooth gets much more sticked in due to the escaping attempt... he could hit against a wood or the glass, and that tooth could go deeper.
> Just an opinio...
> Tommy


Thats the exact reason to be concerned. What if he flashes against things or simply tries to rub it off. It's really a give or take situation depending on what you want to do.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Looks way too big IMO to be a tooth even if that is the base sticking out...


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

BioTeAcH said:


> Looks way too big IMO to be a tooth even if that is the base sticking out...


what do you think it could be then?
nothing in the tank is white except for those rocks at the base of that one fake plant, and im pretty sure its not a chunk of one of them..... you think it could be one of his bones?


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## bernokarl (Mar 26, 2007)

Dose it look like a tooth ? I say let nature take its course .


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

i mean, i thought it could be a tooth because its the only thing thats about that size, that color, and would be stuck in my little man. but i mean, it could be something different. 
i have a huge magnifying glass that im going to use tonight to look really close when i get home from work. my girl said its still stuck there so ill have to see. ill try to get a better pic.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Nick G said:


> Looks way too big IMO to be a tooth even if that is the base sticking out...


what do you think it could be then?
nothing in the tank is white except for those rocks at the base of that one fake plant, and im pretty sure its not a chunk of one of them..... you think it could be one of his bones?
[/quote]

Not sure...maybe its dimensions/size are distorted in the pictures. It very well could be a chip of rock. Let us know what it is or post a pic after you get it out.


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## Doktordet (Sep 22, 2006)

if it is indeed a tooth, I'd watch out for infection. As resilient and hardy p's are, they do get sick. Watch for any changes in activity, behaviour, etc. that would indicate that something might be wrong.


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

yeah, its still there. i just tried to take pics forever, its impossible to see the size of the thing in a pic.
i think im just going to wait it out. keep my close eye on him.
i will let you guys know how it turns out.
thanks for the advice.


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## fishguy1313 (Feb 19, 2007)

That's crazy. It looks too big to be a tooth, but the one RB was missing a tooth too. You can see that in the picture! Very strange...


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

feeding made them still, you can kinda see whatever it is.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

If it were me, I'd try to remove it during the next water change...whatever it is, it doesn't look good. I would also use a bucket to corral that guy and not a net. Keep us posted!


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

That's funny! Benjamin sounds like quite the little bastard. Leave it alone..take it out..it's up to you. Monitor the situation.


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## tison 30 (Feb 29, 2008)

O yea i deff want to know what it is to! But deff say how it goes because i really want to no.


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

so i looked before i left for work this morning and its stuck farther in.
im going to attempt taking it out tonight i think. im not looking forward to it, but i think its the best idea.


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

**update**
so two days ago, i noticed it seemed to have dug itself in a little more and i prepared to remove it. 
i was really nervous to do it though, but then yesterday i got home from work, and its gone.
there is just a small gash there. so i salted the tank and am hella-relieved it came out on its own. i hope i didnt gravel vac it up, but i still cant find the tooth. whatever, im assuming it wont go anywhere.
but its not forgotten though, that little guy never had a name before.
now i call him "Dracula"


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## PygoLover (Mar 22, 2007)

Happy to hear that everything ended








was it a tooth?
Tommaso


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

PygoLover said:


> Happy to hear that everything ended
> 
> 
> 
> ...


you know, im still not totally sure. im pretty sure that the gravel vac wouldnt pick up a tooth, so maybe if i clean the hell out of my tank i will find it.
there wasnt a tooth laying in the open, but that doesnt mean much.
i pretty sure its out of there though, not just pushed all the way in.
its funny because none of my fish (in that tank anyway) are really beaten up but he is the cleanest one out of them all, perfect fins. always eats the most pellets, even though he is one of the two smallest.


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## PygoLover (Mar 22, 2007)

i often find my fishes with a small hole on one side, due to a tooth.... some times, when they fight happens that one remains sticked to the other one by a tooth... in your case, probably was a falling tooth, and he dropped it living it inside the other one. i'm not totally sure, but almost sure that's a tooth.







IMO obviously....
TommasoM


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

yeah i agree.
thank god i didnt have to take him out and remove it.
i am very clumsy.


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