Broken Jaw :(

[Sam]

This is my first cry for help on the OVAS forum but I really need some advice.

About 2 weeks ago I purchased a ryuking (about 3" long) from big als.  I have a personal policy of putting the new fish in the quarantine for at least a month before they move on to the bigger tanks and this usually works fine for me but today something happened in quarantine tank #1.  I don't know how, where, or when it happened but the lower jaw of the fish broke.  The tank is a 25gal glass bottom with only the filter tube hanging in it. I assume this is where the accident happend.

Looking at my animal physiology textbook I have come to the conclusion that it is the dentary bone that has broken.  It has broken slightly off center which is what is causing problems.  Since the mouth is broken on the side,  the fish is having problems sucking.  The trouble sucking food in is a real worry to me as I'm not sure if it is getting enough (I over feed it for a few minutes then remove all the excess as oppsed to feeding what I know it would normally eat).  

I know there is no quick fix for a broken jaw, but is there anything I can do to help it heal correctly?  I have no problem keeping it in the quarantine until it is well enough to go into one of the other tanks, but would like to see it being able to eat unassisted as soon as is realistically possible.


Any help would be most appreciated.

Sam

[pegasus]

Any healing process will be help by increasing the water temperature. That could be a start.

[Sam]

I popped a heater in the tank earlier and am slowly raising the temperature. I've also added a half dose of salt as I'm not a full believer in the effects of aquarium salt.  I'm going to watch him extremely closely as I'm sure this whole thing is extremely stressful.  

What I'm really looking for is advice on how to deal with this specific problem.  Right now I'm treating it as a simple cut or heater burn type injury as I have never had a problem with a fish's mouth before.  Am I on the right track or is there something else I should be doing?


Sam