# deformed fish getting worse



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

so i have 6 golden harlequin rasboras. i've had 'em for about 2 weeks. one was always slightly deformed, she has no top "lip" so to speak, just a bottom one. there were no signs of illness, and she was eating and swimming just fine. in fact, she was eating more than the others. she's fat and colorful, she was one of the ones trying to spawn the other day.

however, this morning i noticed something very wrong with her. her bottom lip, or what's left of it, seems to be bent outwards. she can't close her mouth, and the opening of her mouth is white. you can literally see into the little hole of her mouth. maybe she broke it on a piece of substrate? or something? i have no idea what's wrong with her, it's not fuzzy at all, and she's swimming normally.

i just fed the rasboras, and she can't grab any food. literally, her mouth stopped functioning, because she has no more "lips." a flake floated past her, and she rammed her mouth into it several times, but she couldn't grab it. i'm very worried, i don't know what's wrong!


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## Louise163 (Jan 12, 2008)

Water stats would be good in ammonia,nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
Sounds like she had flexibactor columnaris to me, false name mouth fungus.
It can rot the mouth away.
Signs of columnaris are bleached out lips, cottony stands, or fluffy mouth.
Once the mouth start to rot way best to destroy the fish, so sorry.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

AMMONIA: 0
NITRITE: 0
NITRATE: 20
pH: 6.8 (lowered with CO2 from 7.6)
GH: 120 ppm
KH: 80 ppm

50% weekly wc.


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## Louise163 (Jan 12, 2008)

Water stats are good and stocking.
If she also has a hole in her mouth I would put her out of her misery, not nice I know but she in a bad way, sorry.


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Is the fish alright now?


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Yeah, it's still perky and lively! It was never swimming oddly, it just has the weird deformity. It still tries to spawn with everyone else. They've all been growing, and her body is a little weird-shaped too (it's kinda flat)


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Well, atleast she hasn't died.


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## oliesminis (May 7, 2007)

got to say that you may need to remove it if it is trying to spawn as any fry could have the same deformaty

-olie


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Don't worry, the water parameters aren't correct for them to spawn. The females keep trying, but the males aren't having any of it.


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## oliesminis (May 7, 2007)

oh ok thats good then, is it strugeling to eat/eating?


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

It's boisterous around eating time, and somehow manages to get plenty of food. It's growing at the same pace as the others.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Uh oh. As of today, I came back from being away for a weekend and there's no sign of the deformed fish, and no body. My krib is swimming around sneakily. I think something must have happened to her and he ate her


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