Betta mouth problem! Uh, Help please!?

[Larsa]

My betta Izume, has an unusual condition with his mouth. In between his nose and his lips there is no scales, skin, etc. Just like, only cartlidge. Almost like somethin ate away at him or his mouth was pulled forward on something. It just randomly showed up this morning too, no signs of this late nite. He eats like a piggy and is always happy. I left the tank filter off for 2.5 weeks trying to filter it. Ph, ammonia, and nitrate all that is normal, temp is 78 F. I just gave him a full water change, conditioned, 2 days ago because I noticed some fuzzy white stuff on the gravel. I feed him new life spectrum betta food. He is in a 2.5 gal tank. Please if anyone has heard of this, reply!!!


Ok Im sorry I dont have a pic. Tried to take one but my betta is way to hyper to hold still.

[Sakura8]

It sounds like Mouth Rot, possibly. That's a bacteria that usually shows up as off-white or gray lesions around the head area but I imagine if it went unnoticed (easy to do with a small betta, especially if he's light in color or skittery), it could develop into what you're describing. The white stuff you saw was probably his skin flaking off. Try a parasite medication like Jungle Labs Parasite Clear. Or, if you don't like the idea of medicine, which can be iffy, try aquarium salt. 1 tsp per gallon.

Is he still eating?