EEK! What the heck is this on his lip?

[BettaMomma]

Six has been pretty lethargic since I got him, and I just assumed he is just lazy.
But, today I noticed a red spot on his lip:

Look familiar to anyone?
What is it?
and how do I fix it?
I'm about to leave them for the weekend

 

[infant340]

it looks kinda like lipstick.....
seriously tho, i dont kno what it is or ever heard of something like this before...

 

[BettasRFriends]

Red...lips? What the freak. Out of my years of keep bettas I've never seen anything like that before.

 

[BettaMomma]

Maybe he's a crossdresser!


LOL

 

[BettaMomma]

I just looked in at him - when you aren't looking at him directly under the light of his tank, his lips aren't red, that spot is more like a human flesh color.....

 

[willtang3000]

he must be trying to show off in front of u lolol

 

[Haiku]

Hmm, could he have scraped himself a bit there? Only thing I can think of if it's not just pigment..

 

[BettaMomma]

I just am hoping it's not mouthrot.
ISH.
I am leaving him for the weekend now - i guess i"ll have to swing out and seem them tomorrow, now!

 

[FishyLoveBug]

Would it hurt to throw in a little salt just to be safe?

 

[Synirr]

He probably just scraped himself, but if I were you I'd toss in a little salt and/or Melafix just to be on the safe side... I had an angelfish a while back that had liprot, and trust me, it ain't pretty.

 

[BettaMomma]

I gave him a 100% water change today and tossed in a tiny pinch of salt.
What does mouthrot look like?
Not this, I'm hoping...

 

[OohFeeshy]

Actually, mines lips look a bit like that. Although he is a red betta.... But they do look like they have lipstick....

 

[bkk_group]

can i ask you if you use clear dividers?
if so, your betta has injured himself by hitting the glass with his face too much or too hard on one too many occassions. it's the biggest reason to not use clear dividers (or let males see each other for extended, unattended periods of time), i have become much more aware of this problem as i have seem my own fish damage their mouths from it. now, i will never let my males see each other unattended. carding them makes for healthier, more active fish in the long run.

 

[BettaMomma]

Nope, he's in a tank all by himself and can't see anyone else.
But... your comments have made me think I know what the problem could be.
He was in a little round bowl sitting right next to another betta at the pet store.
I wonder if he might have been constantly flaring and (I call it glass fighting) attacked the side of his little bowl while he sat on the shelf waiting for me to come along....
Hrmm...
I'll add salt for a few water changes and see how he does.
Thanks

 

[lovebuzz]

Ugh, mouthrot is disgusting to look at. I can't believe how bad it looks, mine started from just above the lips and sort of cut down a bit and then the whole mouth was kind of whitish (pale) The fish spent a lot of time at the surface after that, I wanted to euthanize him, he was in such horrid condition, but he died shortly after that.