Remove a swallowed hook or not?

[usafyellow]

I just caught a 4" Brown Bullhead today out of a creek but he swallowed the hook, it's deep in his mouth. I have always been told that fish will always spit the hook out or their acid will eat the hook away.

I left the hook in in hopes that he would spit it out and was afraid to remove it in fear of killing him.

Is it true that they will spit the hook out or should I try to remove it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dark Jester]

It will eventually disolve through digestion or corrosion from the water, maybe in a couple months or more. The hook may affect feeding while it is in there.

It will probably cause less stress to the fish in the long run if you can remove it now, but there is a risk that the fish could be killed in the process depending how much damage the barb causes being removed. Hard decision to make.

Generally if trying to catch fish for your aquarium, you should use barbless hooks.

 

[Gearhead]

Me and my friends have fatally injured multiple fish by trying to remove swallowed hooks. I have seen a 6" green sunfish with a large bass hook in its throat. Ate and swam just fine and even grabbed my bass worm.

 

[p2daj21]

I would leave it

 

[usafyellow]

Dark Jester was the first to get back to me so I took his advice and removed the hook. It was stuck through his gut, so I was able to pull it up a little and see the tip, I cut the eye off with a pair of wire cutters and then grabbed the tip with a set of needle nose. He seams to be doing good so far, i'll keep you posted if anything changes.
Thanks for the feedback, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Dark Jester]

Main organs that could be damaged were the Swim Bladder or Heart, and if he's still swimming fine then you should be good there. Just make sure he eats and poos over the next couple days and he should make a full recovery.

Remember barbless hooks next time.

 

[usafyellow]

Thanks for the advice I appreciate it.
He is swimming around fine, I gave him some night crawlers, he sucked them in then spit them out, I'm assuming he's pretty sore but he is at least taking an interest so I'm happy.

 

[kamikaziechameleon]

Bull head are one of my personal favorites, far as catfishes go in north america. They don't get huge but have huge personalities. Their aggression is always extra amusing.

 

[Dark Jester]

Thanks for the advice I appreciate it.
He is swimming around fine, I gave him some night crawlers, he sucked them in then spit them out, I'm assuming he's pretty sore but he is at least taking an interest so I'm happy.

Might try cutting it into smaller pieces. He can probably go a week or two without eating though while he heals up, so I wouldn't stress it.

 

[usafyellow]

Here is his picture, it only has 1 eye to. It looks like it was born without a right eye, there is no sign of an eye socket, it's just smooth.