Copperband has food stuck in gills

[lespaul339]

Just like the thread title says, my Copperband Butterfly has a piece of clam stuck in his gills. It doesn't seem to be bothering him too much, he is still acting normal, but he is breathing a little heavily.I noticed it because one of his gills was sticking out further than the other one.

Is this something to worry about, or will it work it's way out on its own when it starts breaking down? I don't see catching him an easy task, my thoughts are that might stress him out and cause more harm than good. Besides, how could I get it out without damaging his gills? Kinda freaking out a little because he is my favorite fish. Any advice?

 

[Cliving1]

That is odd. Is it still eating? Perhaps see if you can startle it to burst maybe it will dislodge. For what its worth, my old longnose hawkfish made it a habit to eat shrimp bigger than he could swallow and would get it stuck in his mouth for hours. Never bothered him other than a little stress.

 

[Dmorty217]

A cleaner shrimp may be able to help in this situation

 

[lespaul339]

I fed him today and he is still eating. His gill still looks swollen but it doesn't seem to be bothering him all that much. Looks like it's still stuck in there. It's not a big piece, but it's still stuck. Don't have any cleaner shrimp anymore. Otherwise, yeah that's a good idea.

 

[38bill]

Are you sure its a piece of food and not a parasite of some sorts? CB's have pretty small mouths to be swallowing large pieces of clam.

 

[lespaul339]

Yes, it's clam. You'd be surprised at how big of piece of clam he will tear off and eat. It's a small mouth but he gobbles it right up. It's not a very big piece, but big enough to cause some irritation to his gills. He seems to be acting normal. He is eating. Fed him some more clam yesterday and some black worms. He ate both. The only sign of any discomfort that I can see is his gill is sticking out more on his left side than his right. I can see the clam stuck in his gill. I'm sure this is just a freak thing. I've never had or seen this happen before.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

I'd believe you. My CB basically rips apart the clams I feed so the other fish (including the trigger) can get to the meat. Their mouths maybe small but they use them with surgical precision.