Question about Flowerhorn's oral cavity

[redlion]

Hi, monster fish keepers,

I am now keeping a SB Flowerhorn - August. I brought him from a LFS last month that's why I name him August.

Today I've noticed that there is an object inside his oral cavity and I am sure that is not the teeth. It looks like some kind of cartilage to me. I am afraid that somehow this cartilage was dislocated as I didn't see it before. Now it is like a little blade facing downward. (photos below) But he has no problem with eating right now.

I am feeding him NLS large fish formula (3mm) exclusively. And There are substrates in the tank( Lava Rock & Coral stone). And FYI, before I put substrates in, all the small size rocks are taken because I tried to minimize the chance that he sucks in some. However, as sometimes he will move the rocks so I am still suspecting this may be the cause.

Could anyone help me with this? I would like to know what it is and if it is a problem what reasons are likely to cause that? Can it heal itself? Many thanks!

Here are some photos of August, and his jaw. I tried my best to take the best shot but it is hard to capture it.

And below is from a video taken weeks ago, which I see nothing back then

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Could just be a result of his shorter body, need better pics

 

[redlion]

Could just be a result of his shorter body, need better pics

Thanks for your reply Deadliestviper7. Sorry about the image quality, as I am new here I can't post a link yet but when I uploaded a pic it has lower resolution.

And this is the closer pic by far. It is a thin, semitransparent, white thing, and it flowing inside his mouth quite close to the upper lip and it seems to be originally attached to the upper cavity.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Thanks for your reply Deadliestviper7. Sorry about the image quality, as I am new here I can't post a link yet but when I uploaded a pic it has lower resolution.

And this is the closer pic by far. It is a thin, semitransparent, white thing, and it flowing inside his mouth quite close to the upper lip and it seems to be originally attached to the upper cavity.

View attachment 1335295

Paging duanes Charney

 

[Charney]

if he is eating fine let it be. It can be part of his anatomy or a minor injury. I bet it is anatomy. a lot of fish seems to have something similar on the roof of their mouth

 

[redlion]

if he is eating fine let it be. It can be part of his anatomy or a minor injury. I bet it is anatomy. a lot of fish seems to have something similar on the roof of their mouth

Thank you for your reply. He is eating fine so I guess I have less to worry at this moment. I hope it is just part of his anatomy.

I also went to the LFS that I brought the fish. Which they tell me that they have many cases reported that the flowerhorn digging substrates could lead to some problems inside the month. He showed me a 7" FH that has a slightly deformed lips and has a ballon like tissue at the roof of the mouth, which they believe that is caused by frequent digging of stone.

Since there is basically no enough information about the potential problems of flowerhorn digging behavior in the internet. I hope in this thread we can share expereinces/knowledges of similar concren of issues related to digging behavior.

Ps. I removed the substrates as I dont want to take risks.