can fish throw up?

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laurabb

laurabb

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Jan 7, 2007
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We just got a new betta yesterday, and he seems healthy and happy.

I saw a small white filmy object floating in his tank, and then happened to see him open his mouth and out came another piece of the same stuff. The second piece was also white, and looked sort of filmy, like very wet tissue paper or something. Not exactly stringy, but sort of like the dead skin that flakes off you when you've had a sunburn.

Any idea what this is, and should I be concerned? He's in a 2.5 gallon tank with heater, filter, etc. The tank is not yet cycled (long story there, so we're unfortunately doing a fishy cycle). The ammonia was about .25 this morning, so I did a 30-40% water change about an hour ago, and it now measures 0 ammonia. We didn't feed him yesterday, but fed him 3 Hikari biogold pellets this morning.
 
D

didy

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Jan 11, 2007
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They do spit up food at times. It can be a sign of illness, but I wouldn't be convinced of such in a new fish. Probably a little stress.

We moved into this house 8 years ago, and my tummy was upset for about a week.
 
dmopar74

dmopar74

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Jan 14, 2007
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sometimes my aro would throw up a 4"prawn after pigging out, talk about nasty!
 
laurabb

laurabb

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Jan 7, 2007
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jm1212 said:
if they eat to much fish will throw up.

watch him for a while and if it keeps happening, try feeding a little less. if the spitting up persits it could be an internal bacterial infection.
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I found another piece of that stuff floating in his tank this morning after a water change. I can't tell if it was a new one, or one from yesterday that just didn't get vacuumed up. On another note, I saw a long white stringy thing floating in his water after the water change - no idea what it was. It looked like a white thread, about 1/2" long. Could this be a parasite or something?

The betta is acting fine, although not as peppy as yesterday. He's hanging out near the little feeding door at the top of the tank, hoping for more food I think. Or he lays on one of the leaves of his silk plant. I only fed him 1 biogold pellet this morning, and will feed him another tonight. If he doesn't throw up again, I'll try feeding a little more tomorrow. But what about this white stringy thing?
 
S

Signus

Aquarist, not Aquarius
Oct 17, 2004
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Gainesville, Florida
Sure do!

Go fishing during the mackerel runs and leave the fish in your bucket or cooler alive for a while. Neat way to figure out which bait is working well, but making off the hook sashimi is a much better alternative.
 
S

Signus

Aquarist, not Aquarius
Oct 17, 2004
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Gainesville, Florida
When mackerel and other large fish are caught on a line or not feeling well, they purge their gut. Just saying that after getting taken out of the water, then put into an environment that's definetly not pleasent for them, they do the same in the bucket or cooler.
 
Kyohti

Kyohti

Curiouser and Curiouser...
Jan 5, 2007
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Northeastern Oklahoma
laurabb said:
I found another piece of that stuff floating in his tank this morning after a water change. I can't tell if it was a new one, or one from yesterday that just didn't get vacuumed up. On another note, I saw a long white stringy thing floating in his water after the water change - no idea what it was. It looked like a white thread, about 1/2" long. Could this be a parasite or something?

The betta is acting fine, although not as peppy as yesterday. He's hanging out near the little feeding door at the top of the tank, hoping for more food I think. Or he lays on one of the leaves of his silk plant. I only fed him 1 biogold pellet this morning, and will feed him another tonight. If he doesn't throw up again, I'll try feeding a little more tomorrow. But what about this white stringy thing?
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Sometimes when a betta is fed a poor diet... or has been starved, they will poop a thin white line of fecal matter. It could be that or it could be a parasite. Was it alive? Was there anything unusual about one end or the other? I'd have to see a picture of what you're describing... the threads and the spit-up from your betta. It's so diffcult to determine what it is... : /
 
Kyohti

Kyohti

Curiouser and Curiouser...
Jan 5, 2007
1,065
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Northeastern Oklahoma
Signus said:
When mackerel and other large fish are caught on a line or not feeling well, they purge their gut. Just saying that after getting taken out of the water, then put into an environment that's definetly not pleasent for them, they do the same in the bucket or cooler.
Click to expand...
The reason for that isn't that they are sick or stressed... it's because the change in pressure from the level they are swimming to the water's surface is so fast and so drastic that it causes them to almost literally heave up their guts to expel the excess pressure. It's the same as when deep sea divers rise to quickly and get the bends.

I used to fish the Gulf of Mexico with my grandpa on vacations. ^_^
 
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