Betta Cannot Close Mouth.

[fishRfriends]

Ok I hope it is ok for me to do this. I had a topic in the betta forum but it was more for introducing Kato than really discussing his problem. I thought if I put it here I could get some more help from people who maybe experienced this with other fish, and it is becoming more and more of an emergency . Link to thread on Betta board

So, I bought Kato after he jumped out of a tank at the petstore. He had been in a fight with another betta and his fins are very ragged. When I got him, his mouth was open all the time and I thought it would subside but its been two days with no improvement. There is nothing stuck in the mouth and I am not sure at all but some thoughts I have are that is could be a cut in his mouth from the fight causing swelling, or a broken/dislocated jaw from the fight or from te fall out of the tank. He has not eaten at all and if this store is like many stores I know, he was not fed mcuh while in there. I have no way of knowing when the last time was that he ate and I'm worried he will starve to death soon if he can't get his mouth closed.

I tried very gently closing his mouth, and it just reopened as soon as I let go. I have been treating him with Melafix and aquarium salt for the fin injuries.

Any ideas?? I feel so helpless for the little guy. I don't want to give up on him but I don't want to see him starve to death . He also needs to jump out of the water somewhat to get air into his mouth. I have a vid of him doing this if it helps at all.


And a pic. This is how his mouth always is.

Thanks in advance.

 

[arvlyn]

I really don't have any idea how to help him... The only thing I can think of is maybe try some liquid fry food? He can just "inhale" that, he doesn't have to actively seek it out and chew it. It's an egg yolk mixture, so it can make the tank stinky quick, but you're probably going to be doing frequent water changes anyway.