Need Help ASAP for Axolotl

[acea091489]

We have one young juvenile wild type axolotl (4") & he has been placed in a temp. outside growout pond for the summer.

Today is maintenance day on all tanks & ponds & upon netting out our axolotl this morning, we noticed he has a otto stuck in is throat.
We thought the pond was fully cleared of any and all fish but evidently we missed one & our family is worried about him.

Is their any way to remove the otto without damaging the axolotl's mouth/throat?
If so, please provide detailed instructions asap.

 

[MonsterMinis]

Pics would help.. but ime trying to force a fish or anything out of anothers mouth ( includeing herps) generally does more damage. If he seems unconcerned about it I would just monitor him closely to see if he swallows it compleatly over the next day or two.. if he is having issues the main thing is to be as careful as possible to extract the fish w/out doing further damage. catfish includeing ottos have their side fin spines as well as a dorsal.. compared to most cats they are minimal. The other option if the Axo is calm enough would be to "disassemble" the otto enough that he can swallow the rest or you can remove it with tweezers. If he will tolerate the holding ect... snipping the fins at the ottos base should be enough for him to spit it or swallow it and avoid strangulation and be the least "invasive way" imo. if the otto is stuck it will be because hes locked those spines, make sure to use a good pair of scissors ( I prefer the kind you get in a nail grooming kit, or used in sewing) If you do go that route keep an eye out for the spines being lodged into his mouth and causing an infection ( like leaving a hook in a fish, most spines are also barbed)... which is why unless your "sure" the catfish is stuck i'de leave him be and see if he sorts it out.