Goldfish with Deformed Mouth

[CandyHouze]

This doesn't belong in Unhealthy Fish because he's just fine. I'm just curious about his future

I've had my 5 goldfish for over half a year, I bought this little white calico because I liked his eyes and I didn't even notice his mouth!!

His mouth is definitely deformed, it looks like an hourglass. Like.. open your mouth like an oval and push the sides in with your fingers, that's his mouth xD I can't find a good picture of it.

He can't open his mouth wide at all, I feed them flakes so he's able to just suck up his food, but he's never been able to sift through rocks after feeding like his buddies. He sometimes follows them when they do to catch any food debris they stir up.
He was about a half an inch smaller when I got him, and I'm pretty sure his mouth has gotten more compact, like it's grown into itself or something. He can't open his mouth as much as he used to. I'm wondering if this could end up being fatal in the future, like maybe his mouth will grow shut eventually and he won't be able to eat or breath anymore @^@ Any advice?

 

[carpus]

What a coincidence.

I have had a goldfish for almost two years, and having just put it into a tall tank that permits much better viewing than the short/long out-of-the-way tank before it, I noticed that there is a smaller member of the goldfish fleet that has a deformed mouth. It is only pushed in on one side, but would still prevent him from getting all of the stuff into his mouth that the others do.

He seems to be doing fine, but is smaller than the others, and the suspicion must be that his size is related to his deformity as they all came out of an even-aged bunch of Comet "feeder fish". There may be a saving grace--he probably won't overeat, and won't get a rock stuck in his gullet like several others have done.

The question becomes...do we occasionally feed them a bit more frequently, a bit of a snack here and there?

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

I had a shubunkin who had a deformed mouth. He didn't have a top lip, so he looked like a bulldog!
Um, I think that all these deformities won't be fatal. If you accommodate them, then they should be fine.

 

[Saltypuppy]

I think he will be alright if you can make sure he is getting food.

 

[jsoong]

Minor deformities like that are common in fancy golds dues to the inbreeding. This may also be result of an old infection around the mouth. As long as he can still eat, and appears healthy & active, he should be OK. As for long term prognosis, only time will tell.

I might try small (baby) pellets for this fish rather than flakes. Pellets are much more nutrient dense and the fish won't have to work as hard. Also, some finely chopped up peas or other vegs (and chopped shrimp) are also good to feed.

 

[Danny.]

I have a silver lyretail mollie with a bent lip.. looks like she has a clef pallet

 

[CandyHouze]

Thanks for the help everyone I'll try some of those pellets! Its pretty interesting how many different kinds of mouth deformities you can find in fish xD