# White cloud possibly injured



## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Wanted to ask some advice from anyone who has had these guys if anyone has.

So last night at lights out,everyone was fine.Upon waking this morning,one of my white clouds is up top,swimming slowly,but his mouth is gaping open.He has a red line on his back.No clamped fins,no sign of stress,just staying up top with his mouth open.I would say it was lack of oxygen,but my CO2 is off at night and he is the only fish having issues.

I dont want to leave him in the tank(right now he is isolated in a live bearer trap in the tank)in case hes got something wrong(never seen this myself)but the others do swim by him and make sure he is still there.

Anyone know what could have happened?Pics in a minute,I have to find the camera.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Looking at him,he has a red spot under his belly(not near his anus,I looked to be sure)and one on the top on his right side.

do you think one of the other males could have possibly hurt him?I know my school is lacking,I cant find any more of these guys local.


You can just barely see the red mark on his back,in front of the dorsal.

Here is a video too.Ive seen stressed fish close their mouths but he seems unable to.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I went ahead and pulled him from the main tank.He is in one of the containers I keep my bettas in with a sponge filter.No improvements.Any suggestions on treatment here?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Looks like lock jaw. May have been doing some lick locking with another fish. On the other problems I can't answer.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Think he can recover/his jaw is swollen tonight but he still is swimming about.I am about to add a little salt for him.

Do white clouds lip lock too?


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

We had a Bala shark once that had lock jaw. His mouth was stuck open for weeks! (May have even been months....) but he ended up getting better. Not sure how he ate though... Not sure what you can do to treat... I always wondered if netting them and then 'gently trying to close their mouths manually' would work, or if that would break their jaws.....

The red mark on his back may be a nip mark if one of the others noticed he had lock jaw and they were trying to "oust" him for being sick.

The red line down his side.... I have no clue.... what's he supposed to look like? All black with just red fins?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Yeah I think its a fighting injury.One of the other males has a ripped dorsal.

Holly his coloring is spot on,the only thing off is the red speck by his dorsal.,which I am saying is from one of the others.They were spawning in the blyxa yesterday so maybe he was fighting for the female.Who knows.

Its good to know yours got better.Form looking online,they usually do not.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Just wanted to update you guys.The little fella seems to be ok.His cheeks are a bit swollen ,but his bottom jaw seems to have unlocked.It still hurts him,he has a hard time eating on the microwafers so I will be feeding some more brine shrimps and see if he can eat those.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Glad that he's on the mend! Now, hopefully this experience will "learn him" and he won't be lip locking any more!


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

LOL,fat chance.Hes already puffing back up at the other males,lol.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Hahahaha, silly boy! (How do they puff? Do they flare out their gills like a Betta?)


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

no they flare out their fins and kinda try to push the other one sideways.Its really cool,but if the other doesnt back off they get bit,which is how I think he got hurt.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

WCMM males displaying - YouTube
theres a video of them displaying,lol.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Hahahaha, that made me laugh! They're like, "Swim swim swim, female female female... oop! MALE!" *Flare................... "swim swim swim, female female female, oop! MALE!" *Flare............

Very pretty and cool looking when they flare.

How big do they get and are they messy fish? What temp' do you keep them at, and is the aggression a major issue? What's the recommended school size and M/F ratio? Sorry for all the questions... (I may have to get me some of those in the future...)


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Mine are nippy because I only have four.They need to be at least five.The guy I got them from was supposed to give me five but said he could not catch the last one.They are very small,mine are about the size of a neon.They like cooler waters about 75 is as warm as I would go.I can keep them with the macs because they are in the lower range of temp for a betta and just barely squeeze by it.

That video is how they always are.They are very active little guys but so worth it.I am rehoming mine as soon as someone wants them.I just dont have a place in town to get more of them and they need a school.

Oh and not messy at all.


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