UGH! So, after losing one of my Bala Sharks due to it jumping out the tank and me finding it dead the next day when returning home from work, I rescued one from the pet shop that was pretty dinged and beaten up. All was fine until I notice a HUGE piece of gravel in its mouth!! He would constantly have his mouth stuck open with it lodged in there! I managed to capture him and pull him out the tank and attempted to pull the rock out with a pair of tweezers. I had no luck. The rock went back into his mouth/stomach. I put him back in the tank because he was freaking out, flapping all over the place. Jumped out of my hands and fell several times and I was worried about further harming him. Fast forward to the next day. I didn’t notice the rock all that day until later that evening when he once again had his mouth stuck open with it lodged in there. Again, I tried to capture him to dislodge it but the second I netted him, down the rock went back in his mouth. Today I did not notice it, I just fed him and he ate, all is well. I figure if he was able to get the rock in, he can get it out on his own? Hopefully it’s already gone.
This has been a fish nightmare!
- Thread starter JSatyr
- Start date
Hopefully the shark managed to eject the rock and not try to pass it through it's digestive tract.
As big as the rock is I am shocked he even got it in his mouth! If he tried to swallow it I am unsure if it would even go in his stomach. It went somewhere tho because I’m not seeing it. Hopefully that somewhere is back out of his mouth.
Yes indeed.If somehow the rock reappears I would wait until after the lights have been off for a few hours.You could then net the fish out without it panicking as it should be in a sleeplike state,then you can put your tweezers to work and remove the rock
you may need to sedate with clove bud oil. Then you can palpate and feel the fish to see if the rock is still inside. If it is you can do as Krich recommended and work with the tweezer without having the fish flop around.