HELP..Percula choking on food
- Thread starter slojmn1
- Start date
Don't tell me that. Maybe I should have left her alone and not tried to get it out. I am not sure how big, certainly not any bigger than my pinky fingernail. I break it up pretty good. She was floating and breathing very hard, I could see the piece in her mouth but could not pull it out. I got a little piece out but the rest would not come out.
- Location
- Virginia
Fish can handle a lot in their mouths. I found a dead bass a few years back that had an 8" crappie stuck in its mouth, spiked the bass as it tried to eat it. The bass was huge, but it was very skinny, and showed signs that this crappie had lived in its mouth for quite a while, and the crappie looked like it had lived there for a while. Both were very skinny, which takes a while in a fish.
Also, I've watched many fish swim around with tails sticking out of their mouths for a long time (had a lion fish that had a guppy sticking out of its mouth for a few days before). Fish don't choke, so something else must have happened to it. It is possible for it to die because it couldn't breathe, but if you saw it gasping at the top of your tank, it could breathe. If it was floating, I would assume something happened to its swim bladder, otherwise fish generally don't float when they're alive or dying.
Also, I've watched many fish swim around with tails sticking out of their mouths for a long time (had a lion fish that had a guppy sticking out of its mouth for a few days before). Fish don't choke, so something else must have happened to it. It is possible for it to die because it couldn't breathe, but if you saw it gasping at the top of your tank, it could breathe. If it was floating, I would assume something happened to its swim bladder, otherwise fish generally don't float when they're alive or dying.
I know what happened to it. I happened to it. It was swimming somewhat decently with some floating to the top, then it would swim down behind the rocks, then kind of float back up. I should have left the little guy alone. I probably killed it with all the stress I put it through catching it, holding it, trying to stick the tweezers in its mouth over and over. DAMN. I am just sick over this.
You can't beat yourself up, clowns are pretty hardy. What you do need to do is check the water parameters to see if Amonia or soething was too high and caused the fish distress.
Also, I wouldn't rule out parisites which can infect a fish's gill and cause breathing distress. Keep an eye on the other.
As for the food, I have seen my clowns pause mid-swallow if distracted or disturbed by something, so it could be that having trouble breathing was enough to keep him from swallowing his food right away.
What are the water specs?
Angela <><
Also, I wouldn't rule out parisites which can infect a fish's gill and cause breathing distress. Keep an eye on the other.
As for the food, I have seen my clowns pause mid-swallow if distracted or disturbed by something, so it could be that having trouble breathing was enough to keep him from swallowing his food right away.
What are the water specs?
Angela <><
White Queen, Tank params are great, Nitate-0, pH 7.9-83, alk 9dHk, calcium 470ppm. All other fish fine, the little male looks fine as well.
danmhippo, I would have to say yes to your question regarding me stressing the fish out trying to save it, the slime coat probably did come off to some degree as I held her. I once read on one of these boards that fish could choke and that someone had been successful saving a fish from this. I guess it was not the case for me. So very sad. I have introduced a smaller juvenile to the male this evening and moved both fish to my smaller reef tank that currently houses one Royal Gramma. They are swimming together already and appear to be shimmying to one another in a very sweet way, no chasing or nipping at all. Of course it has only been about 30 minutes since I released them both. I felt I would do better the quicker I introduced a fish to this male, I didn't want him to get use to being alone. I thought I might have a better chance mating them up in a new environment for the lone male. I found a mated pair of True Perculas at my lfs that I am going to go pick up tomorrow and put in my large reef tank where the previous pair resided. Now I will hopefully have two mated pairs in two different tanks.
Needless to say, I won't be trying to save any fish anymore if they appear to be having difficulty gettign food down.
danmhippo, I would have to say yes to your question regarding me stressing the fish out trying to save it, the slime coat probably did come off to some degree as I held her. I once read on one of these boards that fish could choke and that someone had been successful saving a fish from this. I guess it was not the case for me. So very sad. I have introduced a smaller juvenile to the male this evening and moved both fish to my smaller reef tank that currently houses one Royal Gramma. They are swimming together already and appear to be shimmying to one another in a very sweet way, no chasing or nipping at all. Of course it has only been about 30 minutes since I released them both. I felt I would do better the quicker I introduced a fish to this male, I didn't want him to get use to being alone. I thought I might have a better chance mating them up in a new environment for the lone male. I found a mated pair of True Perculas at my lfs that I am going to go pick up tomorrow and put in my large reef tank where the previous pair resided. Now I will hopefully have two mated pairs in two different tanks.
Needless to say, I won't be trying to save any fish anymore if they appear to be having difficulty gettign food down.
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