possible internal injury? - Royal CK

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Exile

Exile

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 29, 2009
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chicago
Hi everyone I have a Royal Clown Knifefish that is about 9 inches long at the moment. Currently being fed frozen (thawed before being fed) krill. I fed him about two days ago and one of the krill was rather large, it took him a minute to get it down and when he swallowed it he sort of "wiggled" around as if it was having a hard time going all the way down. Hes been eating krill for about two months now but I recently ran out of krill so I went and bought a new supply that was from a different company and the krill were larger then the previous brand. I didn't forsee this issue at all, I've seen him stretch his jaws and they are quite adequate for the size of krill I am feeding, but perhaps he is too small internally to handle them. The next day when I went to feed him ( I of course cut the krill in half this time ) he was very cautious of eating it and infact didn't eat it right away when I gave it to him like he normally does. The next morning the krill was gone so I guess he ate it... there is of course the possibility the pleco that is with him got to it. And now today I gave him his krill and he is showing no interest in it at all. I am very concerned, hes a beautiful fish I would hate to lose him.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I don't know what to do other then keep an eye on it. Probably gonna pick up some Mela-fix and treat the tank with that for 3 or 4 days.

Thanks.
 
I don't think I would be too hasty with any treatment right now, perhaps he is just full; after all the piece that you gave him was larger than normal. I would wait at least 2-3 days before I even begin to worry. Treating scaleless fish can be a tricky proposition sometimes so I would definitely hold out and skip one or two feedings. After that present him with his normal food and he should gobble it down. I feed my 2 foot clown knife live 3-4 inch cichlids sometimes and he does fine even with the spines, so they are pretty tough.
 
Update: Still has not eaten, shows no interest at all. Slightly lighter color. Opens and closes his mouth every couple minutes. Swimming around, sometimes laying on the gravel... not his usual behavior usually just "hovers" in one place.

Is there anything I can even do if it is some sort of internal injury? I am perplexed that a fish that surivies in the wild can even fall victum to eating something too large. I pray this issue heals with time.
 
knifefish are great healers, keep up with your water quality and stay positive. At his size he can go for a good long while before needing to eat. Mine sits on the bottom all the time during the day if that makes you feel any better. Sorry to hear that he is not doing better as of right now.
 
Still has not eaten to my knowledge. Still active at night but doesn't swim as fast as usual. Almost 2 weeks without eating now.

Also I thought of another possibility for this problem. I have 3 full grown Corydoras in the tank with him and he doesn't bother him so I decided I would buy some smaller Albino Corydoras but they were small enough for him to eat...and he ate one of them and just killed the other. Could this be the cause of the issue? The albino Corydoras' were smaller then the krill he eats.
 
Feel the need to post a update. The CK still has not eaten since two days before my first post. Nearly 27 days without eating, death seems imminent :( . He has spent the last week and a half in a separate 10 gallon tank so I could treat him with Melafix. Treated him for 8 days with it and still doesn't want to eat. I am probably going to buy a couple feeder fish in a desperate attempt to make him eat, he ate these before I switched to krill.


I wonder what the injury could be...any insight? His appearance is perfect other then looking a little on the lean side.

Appreciate it.
 
Excellent news:):):):) I bought 3 roses and he ate them :headbang2 So glad he isn't going to starve to death now. Now just to get him to accept krill again, prolly going to be awhile longer before I try to feed that again. Think he is "traumatized" by nearly choking on a krill? Suppose it's possible. YAY!:mwave:
 
that is great to hear, I knew he would pull through. knifefish are so remarkable at healing that they seem to be invincible as long as you have clean water.
 
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