My fish has no lips anymore!! Can anyone help?

Hi, I am new to this and I have a question that I realize many of you may not know the answer too. I have a goldfish that is 5 years old and he is kept in a 10 gallon tank with a filter. Just recently I noticed that he no longer has his lips. It is almost as if he has swallowed them into his mouth. I have no clue as why this happened. Has anyone seen anything similiar to this? I am really worried. Thank you!

 

Can you post a picture?

Is there any reddness or white fuzz there?

What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte?

Are there any other fish with him?


-Chelle

 

No, he is the only fish in the tank, it looks like he has skin coming off of his mouth in one place. They have just recently become pushed out farther than what they were. Sorry, I cannot post a picture. Thank you for the help.

 

*What filter do you have on the tank (actual brand & model number)?
*How often and how large are your water changes?
*And I really need to know what those readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte are, too. You can buy your own test kits fairly cheap or take a sample to your LFS and let them check. But if you let them check, get the actual numbers; don't just accept "they're okay."
*What kind of goldfish is it (fancy, shubunkin, comet/common)?
*How big is it?

My guess is it's some kind of infection from poor water quality. I'd get those test results asap and in the mean time start doing 25% water changes every couple of days. If it is an infection brought on by poor water quality, medicines won't do much until the water quality is better so that's the #1 priority. As far as meds go, you can try Melafix for a few days. It helps wounds heal quickly and has limited antibiotic properties (although it's not a true antibiotic). If there's no improvement after a few days of that or he gets worse, I'd swith to an actual antibiotic like Maracyn 2.

-Chelle

 

just throwing this out there could it be getting deformed from being in a small tank With the bad water condition