Hello,
A few days ago i noticed one of my koi could not close its mouth. I pull her out and did not see anything stuck in her throat, nor did i see any growths. Please see the attached pictures. Doe anyone know what this might be? or what might have cause this?
Unfortunately, the next day i found her dead, but i'm worried that it might have been contagious and my other koi might be at risk.
The fish's mouth seems to be mis-shapened....laterally compressed.
Compare your photos to this photo of normal mouths.
View attachment 87198
Apparently a physical injury caused by ???. Not likely disease.
Most probably this was caused by the koi slaming into the side of the pond at speed whilst panicking Meyer
@Bran357r I'm not sure what the lump at the top may be but this koi seems to have damaged the cartelidge of its upper lip.
It can be corrected but how much the vet bill will be I shudder to think?.
However I have a friend called Dave Beaton who lives in Kent who has a fish that has a lip structure simmilar to this koi but minus the lump over the top lip .
When it happened I didnt give it a good prognoses , I remember stating to him that his koi should be put to sleep but lo and behold 10 years down the line Quasimodo as he now calls his koi it is still with us.
Weve worked out he can still suck water into his mouth and this is what has kept him alive .
So though this looks very unsightly a koi with this injury provided it can eat can live to a ripe old age it appears sadly that you were unlucky .
If you still have the dead koi hy not autopsy it to see hat the cause of the lump was
The is a book you need buy to look at called the Koi Doctor your guide to keeping healthy koi by Maarten Lammens Veterinarian ISBN 9080856630 on Page 120 their is a section on mouth surgery for this problem.
Your other option had your koi been unable to eat would have been to syringe the food into the koi's mouth effectively force feeding it.
Sorry you lost this koi as its would have been a most interesting case to say the least .
Dave
