# Calvus with a broken jaw



## vabunny420 (Jul 9, 2009)

So about 2 weeks ago I noticed that my biggest Yellow Calvus had what I believe is a broken jaw. right above his mouth it seems as if the jaw separated and there is now just a nearly see-though area. I had him in a tank by himself for a while hoping he might heal but we have not seen a change. Now about 3 days ago I found my mid sized Yellow Calvus with the same problem. Initially i thought it may have been caused due to them being in a tank with a gravel bottom and them constantly moving around the gravel. But after finding the first Calvus with the "broken Jaw" I moved them into a 55 gallon with sand substrate hoping that would solve any further problems with my other 5 calvus. But as I said before I now have a second with the broken jaw and that occured after they were in the new tank. What could cause this to happen and will it heal or what should I do?? I really want to try and nip this now so that my 2 White Calvus do not fall the next victims to a broken jaw. Also we do not notice like any fighting going on at all; there are only 6 of them, the largest being about 2-3 inches, in a 55 gallon aquarium. I thank anyone for any advice or suggestions you may have.
Thank you
Rachel


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Dislocated jaws are not uncommon with Altolamps. It sounds like that may be what you've run into. The last half of the following thread discusses it and what you can do about it:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=206947&sid=1f8a870de8f950dcc59d03ca849bb353


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## Andras (Jul 17, 2010)

I have a red zebra with the same problem as the OP. It's like you can see the mouth moving like the other fish as they breathe, but the mouth stays closed and the area directly above the mouth looks translucent. I have noticed him pecking at algae and food so I guess he might be alright and get better. I read the link that was posted but those guys' fish's mouths were stuck open.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

classic horseface... A lot of them get this. Even one of my Caudos has it although it's much more noticable in Altos


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## Andras (Jul 17, 2010)

Is their anyway to fix this?


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

Myself and a friend stitched one up once. It seems it results from a torn ligament which connects a shaft of bone from the upper lip to the skull thus when the fish loses this ligament he is then unable to close the upper extension of his mouth.

The problem is that shimmying the bone back into place, while easy enough, doesn't work because the jaw tends to just fall open again. It sometimes seems to work, however, usually, that fish tends to be prone to the same plight again and again due to the fact that the ligament probably didn't heal well.

So stitching it shut with a single suture (My friend is a doc) seemed the simplest course of casting this little deal. We were mostly curious just to see if it would work and it did. So our assumption from then on was/is that stitching will give it time to heal because it prevents the fish from re-injury from extended his upper mouth + it doesn't prevent him from eating at all.

We used clinical sutures because my buddy had them but his thought was that you could use a VERY fine quilting needle and the lightest fish line you could find. You would however have to catch your fish after a couple weeks to clip the stitch off.

That fish today looks as glorious as ever in the Doc's office and has never developed this condition since so... :lol: :thumb:


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## vabunny420 (Jul 9, 2009)

thank you to everyone. We have attempted to "reposition" his jaw and push it back but I think it may be too late for that. It would not budge and didnt want to squish my little guy in the process (hes only about 1.5 in.). And I believe my guy who messed his up first is just a loss in terms of fixing; I dont think I could personally stitch his mouth up. Its okay, I can deal with two guys with messed up mouths, I still have 2 other yellows and 2 whites that are doing great (and if one of thier jaws mess up, you can believe I will be in that tank with them trying to pop it back in place the second I notice it). This was a good learning experience concidering this is my first attempt at keeping Calvus. Oh and on Saturday I picked up a 1/2 dozen black congo Calvus to add to the tank. They are still adapting but overall doing very well.


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## DanNunes (Jun 21, 2017)

I have read many articles about this issue involving Altolamps Calcus and Compressiceps.. One of them talked about a cirurgical procedure to fix the fallen mouth.. I have a friend who is a veterinarian and I asked him to help me. I will let down the video on youtube with the surgery.. but it is important to say some words...

- this was made 1 day after the problem occurs
- I can't warranty this procedure
- there was now 4 months after this and the fish stills ok.. but i can't say it is totally free of problems

So.. if someone wants to try i am not responsable..

Here is the video!!





Tks


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I have popped the jaw back in place before and I have also had times where I couldn't.
The longer you wait before trying to fix it, the less chance you have of success.
In the past, any that have had this problem have died. I assume from not being able to eat.
However, I do have one now that's had the problem since he was fry and seems to manage just fine.
I have read before that it can occur because of an incorrect diet.


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## bathsaltcannibal88 (Nov 11, 2021)

DanNunes said:


> I have read many articles about this issue involving Altolamps Calcus and Compressiceps.. One of them talked about a cirurgical procedure to fix the fallen mouth.. I have a friend who is a veterinarian and I asked him to help me. I will let down the video on youtube with the surgery.. but it is important to say some words...
> 
> 
> this was made 1 day after the problem occurs
> ...


Thank you for this!


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