HELP: Fish Won't Swallow Another Fish - Choking?!?

Madding

Madding

A frog among toads.
Apr 12, 2009
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New York
Hey everyone, I'm not sure what part of the forum this would belong in. I've got a Fat Sleeper Goby/Jade Goby (http://www.thejump.net/id/fat-sleeper.htm), about five inches long and pretty aggressive. It eats anything from feeder guppies to bloodworms.

Wednesday night I discovered that Mr. Goby had eaten one of his tankmates, a small (about one inch) Leopord Ctenopoma, aka Leaf Fish/Bush Fish (http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Ctenopoma_acutirostre.php).

They'd been living together for months without any sign of aggression, but it seems Mr. Goby keeps getting more and more voracious.

Anyways, the fish he ate is still in his mouth, tail sticking out a few centimeters. He is making no efforts to spit it out or swallow it, and he cannot close his mouth. He is just swimming around as if nothing is the matter. I got worried last night when I put bloodworms into the tank and the Goby tried to eat them, but they kept floating out of his mouth. If he was actually eating the fish stuck inside him, I don't think he'd be going after worms.

This Goby has eaten a 3-inch albino shark before without any problems. I'm mad that I lost another fish to him, but I am worried at the same time. Has anyone heard of this behavior before in aggressive fish? Could it be stuck in his throat?

I'm hoping the dead fish begins breaking down and can be swallowed, or he spits it up. There's no way he's been sucking on it for two days, not by how he's acting. Can anyone give me any advice? Do I need to help him, and if so, how?

Thanks.
 
Not being familiar with Leopord Ctenopoma, is there anything around the head or neck of that fish like a defensive spine that might keep the goby from being able to swallow it down?
 
In gleaning through the internet quickly on your leaf fish, it mentions short spines on the dorsal fin and behind the eyes of males. I'm wondering if they are sharp enough to have become slightly inbedded into the mouth of the goby and if so, that's a possible reason why he cannot swallow the fish.
 
pinkertd said:
In gleaning through the internet quickly on your leaf fish, it mentions short spines on the dorsal fin and behind the eyes of males. I'm wondering if they are sharp enough to have become slightly inbedded into the mouth of the goby and if so, that's a possible reason why he cannot swallow the fish.
Click to expand...

Thanks for doing some investigating, I'm at work so a lot of sites get blocked, but I'm trying. That sounds like it could be a possibility, I'll have to research it when i get home. Although, hopefully he's swallowed it by then...
 
Many years back I had a goldfish that ended up in the same predicament after trying to swallow an Otto. The Otto was small enough to fit in his mouth, too big to go down his throat, and he couldn't spit it out. It took a few days for it to breakdown enough for him to swallow, but it happened. My veterinarian directed me not to try and remove it as this could cause more harm than good with the gills of the swallowed fish injuring the goldfish upon removal. it sounds like you're in the same situation, even more so with those spines. So long as the (not swallowed)fish has gill movement I think he will be okay until the leaf fish breaksdown enough to pass through his throat. Can you post a pic? That might be interesting to see!
 
Geeeze... what a predicament! That's pretty awful. I hope things work out.
 
Wow, last night was one for the ages. I pulled up a chair, determined to sit with my sad Goby and see how he was doing. As our beloved fish are prone to do, he came right up and just hovered Goby-style (standing on his tail) staring at me, our faces only seperated by an inch or so of glass. It was almost like he was begging for help. My sister WTF'd in the background, such was the sight of my fish and I.

I tried feeding bloodworms again, and the Goby went after them with a lot of excitement, but couldn't swallow any. But then we made progress: for the first time, I saw him recognize that he could not eat in his current state, and began shaking his head violently. I've never seen a fish quite move like this, he stretched his mouth as wide as possible and shook like a dog with a chew toy. It was horrible.

Evidently though, his determination paid off. I awoke this morning to find a mangled Leaf Fish on the tank floor. Poor little guy had his eyes dangling from the sockets.

But Goby seems okay! His mouth is all bruised on the bottom, and he still has it open a bit, but he is breathing fine and has eaten for the first time in about four days.

I'm guessing he got spined in the bottom of his mouth, but hopefully it heals up fast. He's always been a fighter.
 
I would recommend doing some extra water changes to keep the quality as pristine as possible. I hope he has a full and speedy recovery.
 
Yay! Sooooooooooo glad he got that out of the way and he's able to eat!
Oh, and by the way.......you know you're a real fishkeeper when there's a chair right in front of the tank! You're officially beyond help and will suffer severe withdrawal symptoms without tanks and fish!:evil_lol: :thm::thm:
 
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