Top lip stuck out?

[DrNic]

One of my goldfish has it's top lip stuck out (similar to what you see when they eat or when fish 'kiss'). It seems not to be able to get the lip into the correct position and as a result seems like it's having a hard time eating. I tried catching the fish to correct it but the lip just went out again when I released it.

Is this common in goldfish? I've seen other types of fish flare their mouths like this before but never get stuck like this. Is there anything else I can do other than wait to see if it fixes itself?

[funkman262]

Did the fish maybe get a small piece of gravel in its mouth which is causing him to keep his mouth open?

Unfortunately, I believe I heard of another member (not sure if it was this forum or another) having the same problem and he ended up euthanizing the fish because he couldn't eat. I hope you're able to get this problem figured out before it comes to that.

[DrNic]

I watched the fish for a while last night. Even with the lip out like that it seemed to be able to feed well and was clearly getting food.

This morning the lip was back to normal. It pops out from time to time but it looks like it's getting better (I hope).

I'm going to keep and eye out during feeding tonight to see how it does.