'yawning Fish'

[Charlieboy]

Okay, my fish have done this before, but none that did survived long after. I have seen it in guppies and others, but this concerns me little baby boy betta, Spike.

He stretches his jaw as if to yawn the way a human does, but in slow motion with a lot of effort in it. In the guppies, their mouths stayed open (!!) and they looked like they had a fish verison of lockjaw. Those fish all died, so naturally I am worried about Spike.

Is yawning natural? If not, what causes it and can I treat/cure it?
Thanks

 

[fatheadminnow]

My Cichlids do this as well.

So I would like to know about this as well.

But the Cichlid in my tank that does it has not died, ans has not shown any signs of illness.

I have had him for about 2 months now.

-FHM

 

[loraxchick]

my betta yawns quite a bit...ive never seen his mouth get stuck open as you describe in the guppy's yawning behavior.
if he's eating and swimming and active as normal, i would not worry about it at all.
cheers

 

[8inary]

i dont believe yawning is a sign of near death, my fish do this a lot, and none of them have died over the years of doing that

 

[Charlieboy]

Does anyone know why the guppys' mouths stayed open preventing them from eating? I am just worried in case Spike yawns that one time too hard and finds himself unable to close his mouth. We can't tell what his normal behaviour is because we have only had him for 5 days and all he does is hide/sulk. We do see him out and about but not often, I think he is in a strop for being bought. He will only eat bloodworms too.

 

[WILDER]

Seen harlequins die of open mouths and nobody ever knew what it was.
Open mouth can mean something lodged in the mouth, or sores or ulcers in the mouth.
http/www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htm
Yawning is normal for almost all fresh water fish. The are actually back flushing their gills to clear particles our of their gills. So don't be concerned about your fish yawning. I like to watch my fish for a few minutes until they yawn.

 

[AdAndrews]

all of my harlequins died with their mouths open, i presumed it was internal parisites

 

[WILDER]

all of my harlequins died with their mouths open, i presumed it was internal parisites

In the past I lost about 3 harlequins to open mouths. It's heart breaking watching them and unable to help as you don't know what it is.

 

[Charlieboy]

Would it be a stretch of the imagination to suggest that perhaps they had unhinged/damaged/broken their jaws from something? Maybe something lodged, a minor cyst, blockage etc or from simply yawning just too hard too often? Their bones must be very tiny in that region.

 

[Super Dude]

My zebra danios have their mouths open when they've eaten too big of a chunk of food, and usually puke it out.

Is he like this all the time, or only during certain periods? (ex: feeding)

 

[loraxchick]

are you sure that the mouth open wasnt just a natural "dieing" or phisiological thing that happens when they die? like part of the death process? trying to get O2 as they go ( kinda like gasping or chain stoking in humans?)...and it is sort of coincidental that their mouths were open? just curious.
cheers

 

[saz326]

If your beta is yawning it may mean he is in water with lots of fine particles in it. How clear is the water? If fish have particles on their gills they tend to open their mouths wide to backflush their gills (also explained by Wilder) He may be doing this lots if the water quality isnt too great.

Is he also air breathing? If he is yawning due to needing more oxgyen - as he is a beta you may also see him air breathing quite often. Betas have the ability to absorb oxygen from the air.

What kind of tank is he in? And is there plenty of surface disturbance to get oxygen into the water?

 

[loraxchick]

hey there,
i wouldnt say he yawns non stop...its jut not unusual to see him do this.
he is in a heated 6 gal that is heavily planted with a homemade sponge filter...i HIGHLY doubt that it is an O2 deficiency as the plants pearl regularly and the bubbler from the sponge filter provides plenty of aggitation without the current of mechanical filters.
stats are 0 0 10 and pH 7.2. ...gets 2 30-40% W/C PER WEEK.
he has lived very happily for almost a year in this set up. water is very clear, but battling some bga at the moment.
so here's the info you asked for
CHEERS