Emergency (i think)

[jerseytankgirl]

fairly new to hobby:

my banggai cardinalfish just tried to eat our new hermit crab and got one of his legs stuck halfway in his mouth. he is now swimming around with his mouth wide open with the leg hanging out. is this going to be a problem? what is going to happen? is there anything i can do?

 

[Altezza01]

Heimlich maneuver!

 

[jaa1456]

I would wait and see if he gets it out himself, it could be stuck in his mouth, but he might get it out as well.

 

[Breadman03]

That's one sweet toothpick!

 

[Dan Thrash]

Looks like he bite off a little more than he can chew.

 

[humaguy]

would also recommend to wait a day or so..if it looks like it is bothering him and you can get to him try and remove it...If it is a barb on the leg that is causing it to stay there...carefully and gently push it forward and down before pulling it out...want to release the barb-like a fish hook...let us know what happens and good luck...

 

[jerseytankgirl]

it has now been about 4 hours and it looks like the leg has moved further into it's mouth. his mouth is still open (he hasn't closed it since). He has been hovering in the same position in the tank ever since, too. he doesn't swim around poor little guy!

 

[humaguy]

I would try and catch him and remove it...can you get him?

 

[jerseytankgirl]

yes, i can catch him. he hasn't moved from the same spot since. how do i do it? this may sound silly, but do i use my hands and hold him? in the water? out of the water briefly? i'm afraid i will squish him. if it's in his mouth, how should i try and retrieve it? tweezers?

 

[humaguy]

on 2nd thought after looking at the pics it seems as though he is digesting it...it is considerably further down than it was in the 1st pic you posted...I think you may cause some damage by trying to remove...leave it alone and let see how he looks in a few...

 

[jerseytankgirl]

his mouth is fully closed now. he looked like he was "coughing" for a few seconds, then a few small chunks of "meat" came out (from inside of the leg?), his mouth opened really wide 3-4 times, then he closed his mouth. he has moved around the tank a bit now.

 

[Wolverine]

I'd leave it alone. I agree that you're much more likely to injury him than the leg is. Remember, BC (at least the males) can go for several weeks between feedings when they're carrying eggs. That's more than enough time for his system to break down this leg.

 

[Wolverine]

his mouth is fully closed now. he looked like he was "coughing" for a few seconds, then a few small chunks of "meat" came out (from inside of the leg?), his mouth opened really wide 3-4 times, then he closed his mouth. he has moved around the tank a bit now.

I was typing while you posted this, so I guess that, for now, you can ignore what I posted above (until the next time it happens ).

 

[jerseytankgirl]

thank you everyone! i was just freaking out when i saw the leg stuck in his mouth. new mommy syndrome! i appreciate it.

 

[humaguy]

excellent!

 

[ilikefish34]

glad to hear that things are looking up for your cardinal... quite often, while fishing for large mouth bass, we'll catch one that has a tail of another fish coming out of its throat. and once caught a 12'' small mouth with what appeared to be an approx. 12'' fresh water eel in its mouth... and that's what predatory fish do. their eyes are quite often bigger than their mouths. it can be harmful, even deadly, but as humaguy touched on, it can very risky removing rather than letting nature take it's course.