Plz help! What's wrong with my queen angels mouth? *PICS*

[Brandon M]

I noticed a couple days ago the queen angel I've had for over 2.5 years now has developed a problem with her bottom lip. She doesn't seem to be able to eat and I'm getting very worried. She goes for the food, but misses. When I feed nori, she nibbles on it, but isn't going after it as aggressively as normal. She is the only angel in the tank and is definitely the boss.

My tank has been unchanged for over a year. The last fish I added was 15 months ago. I do bi-weekly water changes and my fish have always been extremely healthy. I QT every new fish I get and rarely lose them.

Is it possible she just injured it? Will it heal quickly?

I don't think there is going to be any way I'll be able to catch her. (315g 84"x24"x36" with 350 lbs of liverock)

Thanks in advance!

BEFORE PICTURE:

PICS FROM TONIGHT:

 

[Winwood]

I had the same issue with an IO regal angel about a year ago. I eventually lost the fish as the problem persisted. I hope others can chime in to help save such a beautiful fish. Good luck.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Could be Ichthyophonus hoferi, a fungal infection that can be introduced through the feeding of raw infected seafood. I had a problem with this a few years back and lost a few fish and all of the fish I lost were exhibiting that "gaping" mouth (very similar to your queen), a loss of interest in feeding, general listlessness and eventually started bumping into things and seemed to go blind before dying.

Does your fish exhibit any unusual swimming behavior? That was my first clue that something was off. Unfortunately this disease has no cure that I know of once symptoms appear.

 

[Brandon M]

Bump

 

[Brandon M]

Could be Ichthyophonus hoferi, a fungal infection that can be introduced through the feeding of raw infected seafood. I had a problem with this a few years back and lost a few fish and all of the fish I lost were exhibiting that "gaping" mouth (very similar to your queen), a loss of interest in feeding, general listlessness and eventually started bumping into things and seemed to go blind before dying.

Does your fish exhibit any unusual swimming behavior? That was my first clue that something was off. Unfortunately this disease has no cure that I know of once symptoms appear.

Thanks for your reply. No, I haven't noticed any unusual swimming behavior. The fish is swimming and acting fairly normal ...for now.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

One of the sites I looked at when my fish were sick said that increasing tank temps and feeding an exclusive algae (spirulina) based diet helped infected fish. I'm no fish disease expert but all of the research I did at the time indicated that this fungal disease might be the culprit because of the symptoms my fish exhibited.

Some of the pics you posted appear to show some sort of skin lesions or spots as well, any chance a food item could have introduced a parasite?

 

[Recty]

It's hard to tell, can you get a good clear picture of her mouth? It looks almost as if her gums are swollen.

I also notice down her entire left side, especially towards the dorsal area, she is missing scales. Right underneath her crown, it almost looks like she has a circular bite mark in one picture.

Is there a chance she is fighting with another fish? She is definitely having some damage to her body and it easily could have happened to her mouth and injured it.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

You might try soaking the food in vitamins b and c and garlic as they are thought to boost its immune system. That may help it fight off any disease.