Choking Pipefish

Paul B · Nov 4, 2017

Yesterday I fed my tank as usual. Clams, mysis, new born brine shrimp and live worms. Of course all the fish, especially the copperband rushed out and try to eat everything before the next fish gets it. My Janss pipefish also but he has a tiny mouth and can't eat much food unless it is very tiny, but the competition was fierce and I guess he was hungry so he darted through the hoard of fish like a javelin almost spearing the copperband to grab a mysis shrimp. I watched in horror because I knew that mysis was to large for him. I was right, he started to choke. If he had hands he would have put them on his throat, the international symbol for choking. He was in trouble and I could see the tail of the mysis sticking out his gill. He was trying to gag, but fish don't gag well and they don't have a tongue to push the food out. I rolled up my sleeves, ready to go in to give him the Heimlich maneuver, or worse, a tracheotomy. But I was to slow, he made his way behind the rocks. I crawled around the back of the tank with a flashlight only to see him twisting and gagging. The eyes on the bristle worms were wide open in anticipation of a long skinny meal. I couldn't watch any longer so I had a glass of Grand Marnier and watched a re run of Star Trek.
This morning I fully expected to see him in pieces sticking out from under a hermit crab shell.
The lights came on and there he was. Smiling and looking for more mysis.

You could see the Janss in this Video.

locito277 · Nov 4, 2017

Glad he made it

Leslie Tabor · Nov 4, 2017

This was the best story ever!!

Flippers4pups · Nov 4, 2017

Also glad it was able to work it out! I have this situation happen daily as my Mandarin does this. It will eat frozen LRS reef frenzy with gusto, but sometimes it goes after "larger" pieces that are too large and sucks it in.

I have to read up on how to do the Heimlich maneuver on Mandarin's, lol!!!!!!!!

Paul B · Nov 4, 2017

With mandarins, you may also have to do Mouth to mouth,

Flippers4pups · Nov 4, 2017

Paul B said:
With mandarins, you may also have to do Mouth to mouth,

Lol, I think she's a she, so that's a good thing! Lol don't want the wife jealous though! Lol

Paul B · Nov 4, 2017

My wife would only get jealous if I kissed a beluga whale or Manta Ray, a mandarin is too small for her to care, she would tell me to go for it.

Dash · Nov 5, 2017

Hi Paul
Always enjoy reading your posts - learning a lot

This reminds me of an incident with my ocellaris clown. I feed a homemade chow which the fish love. About 5-10 mins after feeding, my husband (who usually never looks at the tank) says "I think something's wrong with your fish." Sure enough, the clown is lying motionless in a corner, so pale you can barely see any colour. I couldn't figure out how he could collapse so suddenly. Then I notice inside his mouth a piece of something white. I asked my husband if he had a tiny tweezer (he's a tool guy) and scooped him out. Yep, pulled a chunk of food out. Popped him back in the water, he floated around sideways for about 10 mins, gills started working again. In 30 mins he was upright, then started swimming slowly shortly after that. Phew!
Never complained about my husband's tools again after that.

Paul B · Nov 5, 2017

Dash. It does happen occasionally. I see you have a tetrodon puffer in your Avitor. That was one of my first fish. I got him in fresh water, then converted to brackish, then added more salt until I had my salt tank that I still have today. I had that puffer for about 9 years but after I had him a couple of years he developed a tumor inside his belly and couldn't eat or swim. I checked his insurance and removed him from the tank, swabbed him with some Iodine and sliced open his belly so I could excise the tumor which was about as large as a pea. I put the fish back and force fed him for a week or so and that fish lived 5 years after that. Fantastic fish.
I mention him here in my Log Book at the bottom.

Flippers4pups · Nov 5, 2017

Paul B said:
Dash. It does happen occasionally. I see you have a tetrodon puffer in your Avitor. That was one of my first fish. I got him in fresh water, then converted to brackish, then added more salt until I had my salt tank that I still have today. I had that puffer for about 9 years but after I had him a couple of years he developed a tumor inside his belly and couldn't eat or swim. I checked his insurance and removed him from the tank, swabbed him with some Iodine and sliced open his belly so I could excise the tumor which was about as large as a pea. I put the fish back and force fed him for a week or so and that fish lived 5 years after that. Fantastic fish.
I mention him here in my Log Book at the bottom.

“On the next episode of “Paul B, fish surgeon........”

Dash · Nov 5, 2017

My goodness, that beats my tooth trimming experience hands down. (Yes, I have 2 green spotted puffers and I had to trim teeth once)

Looks like we both got into saltwater via the same fish! I bought the 2 puffers 2 years ago (something about the way they looked at me with their expressive eyes) when the LFS told me they were freshwater. Got home, researched & next thing you know, broke the news to my husband that I had to buy a 75 gal tank and start saltwater. I acclimated them to full salt over 24 hours and now I'm totally hooked and upgrading to a 110 gal. These fish are amazing characters. Unfortunately I lost one of them when she jumped despite my precautions. I was totally bummed out as she was my very favourite

. I adopted another one but I still miss Julia (that's her in avatar photo)

Anyway, hope I never have to excise a belly tumour but I'll keep it in mind.

-------
Maggie

Paul B · Nov 5, 2017

Dash, I love puffers. I caught this little 1/2" burrfish in the Atlantic in New York and put him in a local tank. After a year he grew about 6" and I donated him to a public aquarium. How cute is he?

Here he is a little older.

andyg1960 · Nov 5, 2017

Always love a happy ending

Dash · Nov 5, 2017

That little burrfish breaks the cuteness scale for sure. The first fish I ever saw that made me want a tank was some kind of puffer or boxfish - it was so long ago but I remember how it was a blob that hovered. A saltwater tank seemed unattainable back then. I thought maybe some day when I retired lol.

Too bad most of them get so big. Otherwise I would have one for sure. The reason I got the green spotted puffers was the LFS told me they stay small. Right now I'm playing with the idea of getting a valentini when the bigger tank is running. Playing with fire as I do have coral;Nailbiting

Paul B · Nov 6, 2017

Those figure eight puffers stay small

Philt56 · Nov 6, 2017

I always thought they were more br@ckish vs saltwater but I guess they can adopt like scats and mollies. I remember getting one maybe 45 yearsago when I was a kid not knowing anything.