McCosker's Wrasse Teeth stuck in Net

[BranchingHammer]

Hi everyone,
I had a shipment of stressed fish come in today. As I was netting the McCosker's wrasse to introduce him to the tank, he clamped down on the net with his teeth. I tried to get him unstuck, but he wouldn't come off. I then laid the net in the aquarium to see if he would swim off himself, but he didn't after 30 mins or so. I ended up cutting the net, so only a 1/2 inch square is caught on his teeth, but this was a very stressful process for him. He is currently on the bottom of the tank and breathing slightly heavily. Both of his jaws are caught on the net. Is there anything I should do, or should I keep the lights off and let him try to get it off on his own? I was not aware that flasher wrasses commonly bite down on nets with their teeth, and now I feel really stupid for making a mistake that I could have easily avoided. Thanks in advance and for reading through. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[littlefoxx]

@vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal @MnFish1

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone,
I had a shipment of stressed fish come in today. As I was netting the McCosker's wrasse to introduce him to the tank, he clamped down on the net with his teeth. I tried to get him unstuck, but he wouldn't come off. I then laid the net in the aquarium to see if he would swim off himself, but he didn't after 30 mins or so. I ended up cutting the net, so only a 1/2 inch square is caught on his teeth, but this was a very stressful process for him. He is currently on the bottom of the tank and breathing slightly heavily. Both of his jaws are caught on the net. Is there anything I should do, or should I keep the lights off and let him try to get it off on his own? I was not aware that flasher wrasses commonly bite down on nets with their teeth, and now I feel really stupid for making a mistake that I could have easily avoided. Thanks in advance and for reading through. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Yes= lower or turn off lights and walk away. Come back 30 minutes later and check to see if he dislodged it.
If not, trap in a cup or similar and you may have to gently remove with tweezers while holding fish Wearing a latex glove

 

[BranchingHammer]

Yes= lower or turn off lights and walk away. Come back 30 minutes later and check to see if he dislodged it.
If not, trap in a cup or similar and you may have to gently remove with tweezers while holding fish Wearing a latex glove

He has had around 5 hours to remove the net himself. He's still stressed from shipping/acclimation (breathing pretty heavily), and I don't want to stress him out so much on the first day. Do you think it's still worth removing the net tonight instead of waiting a day?

 

[vetteguy53081]

He has had around 5 hours to remove the net himself. He's still stressed from shipping/acclimation (breathing pretty heavily), and I don't want to stress him out so much on the first day. Do you think it's still worth removing the net tonight instead of waiting a day?

If respirations have increased and its been 5 hours, i would take the next step with removal. I understand your concern about added stress but the stuck net is worse than the removal process.

 

[BranchingHammer]

I just counted 98 breaths per minute, which seems very high. His breathing rate might have elevated when I turned the room lights on, however. His breathing might be lower when I am not in the room with the lights turned on (the lights are not very bright and on the other side of the room as the tank)

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just counted 98 breaths per minute, which seems very high. His breathing rate might have elevated when I turned the room lights on, however. His breathing might be lower when I am not in the room with the lights turned on (the lights are not very bright and on the other side of the room as the tank)

Yes, that is elevated rate

 

[BranchingHammer]

@Crabby48 @4FordFamily Any thoughts on if I should do it now or wait a day?

 

[BranchingHammer]

Yes, that is elevated rate

@Jay Hemdal if the breathing rate is this high, do you think it’s worth removing it? The fish is on the bottom of the tank and not moving much. Still upright but definitely stressed.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

@Jay Hemdal if the breathing rate is this high, do you think it’s worth removing it? The fish is on the bottom of the tank and not moving much. Still upright but definitely stressed.

Tough to say - less than 100 bpm isn’t all that high for a small fish. I’d say this fish would normally breath at around 80 or so.

You’ll probably need to intercede and remove it. I can’t tell you how to do this, just to be gentle or course.

Sorry I don’t have more definitive advice for you.

Jay

 

[BranchingHammer]

Tough to say - less than 100 bpm isn’t all that high for a small fish. I’d say this fish would normally breath at around 80 or so.

You’ll probably need to intercede and remove it. I can’t tell you how to do this, just to be gentle or course.

Sorry I don’t have more definitive advice for you.

Jay

Do you think the stress of having the net on him overnight will be more than me taking it off of him tonight? If he will be fine overnight, I can do it first thing in the morning, and it might give him some time to calm down? Unless the net is making him unnecessarily stressed, then I can do it tonight.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Do you think the stress of having the net on him overnight will be more than me taking it off of him tonight? If he will be fine overnight, I can do it first thing in the morning, and it might give him some time to calm down? Unless the net is making him unnecessarily stressed, then I can do it tonight.

Can you post a picture? That might give more information.
Jay

 

[BranchingHammer]

Here is a picture for reference:

 

[BranchingHammer]

Sorry, that picture doesn't give very good detail, but the net is caught on both upper and lower jaw and his mouth is open to accomodate the net

 

[jabberwock]

His color looks pretty good. I am no expert, but if it was mine, I would attempt to remove it now. Work over a bucket of tank water in case you lose control of it.

Worst case, cut it back more so it is not right up in his field of vision.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Sorry, that picture doesn't give very good detail, but the net is caught on both upper and lower jaw and his mouth is open to accomodate the net

Yes, I’d try to remove it now.
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Here is a picture for reference:

he's not going to expel this with the type of teeth it has. best to help it off

 

[BranchingHammer]

Ok, will do so and report back. Thank you everyone for your advice in this very interesting situation. Crossing my fingers.

 

[jabberwock]

Plan it out, anticipate what could go wrong and be prepared. Stage your tools. You can do it.

 

[BranchingHammer]

Netting removed except for a small fuzz on the lower tooth. Unfortunately, the fish is upside down/ sideways and breathing heavily. I will leave him in the dark until morning but idk what will happen now.