Open mouth

Question
I went on vacation from thursday morning until Sunday night. When I came back
my 3 inch oscar had my 1 1/2 inch pleco in his mouth. They had been getting
along for months. The pleco was already dead so i went to bed. The next
mourning he had spit it out but his mouth was still wide open.i went to school
and when i came back it was still open.

Answer
Hi Mo,
 Unfortunately, his jaw may be misaligned.  The treatment for this is a little delicate but you need to do it soon or the jaw will fuse in place. Basically, the bones become over-extended. The way to get them back in place is to catch the fish, hold him firmly with one WET hand in a net, and with the other hand, GENTLY extend the bones a LITTLE bit more, i.e., open his mouth a little more, and hopefully they will then settle back into alignment and close properly.  

 I will be honest with you: this is not trivial and it does not always work, but it is worth a try.  

{Prior to doing this, take a look in his mouth and see that there isnt' any bit of catfish stuck in there.}  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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