Pygmy Hawk Stopped Eating

[Huskymaniac]

4 days ago he ate my cleaner shrimp. Whiskers sticking out and all. Hasn't eaten since. Should I be concerned about intestinal blockages ,etc?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Wow! I’ve never seen that with a shrimp before. The number of fish fossils you see where one fish choked swallowing another one tells us that this isn’t all that uncommon, and that the outcome isn’t always favorable. I had a Victorian cichlid try to swallow a smaller one and it got stuck. I was able to gently extricate it (dead) but the larger fish survived. I’d worry about trying to remove the shrimp though, pretty spiny.
Jay

 

[Huskymaniac]

Wow! I’ve never seen that with a shrimp before. The number of fish fossils you see where one fish choked swallowing another one tells us that this isn’t all that uncommon, and that the outcome isn’t always favorable. I had a Victorian cichlid try to swallow a smaller one and it got stuck. I was able to gently extricate it (dead) but the larger fish survived. I’d worry about trying to remove the shrimp though, pretty spiny.
Jay

The shrimp is totally swallowed. No more whiskers, lol. The fish is still moving around. Just hasn't eaten since.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The shrimp is totally swallowed. No more whiskers, lol. The fish is still moving around. Just hasn't eaten since.

That’s a good sign, I thought the whiskers were still sticking out. I bet it will be able to digest this....
Jay

 

[Huskymaniac]

That’s a good sign, I thought the whiskers were still sticking out. I bet it will be able to digest this....
Jay

I thought these guys were pretty reef safe. Pretty sure it took out one of my smaller cardinalfish as well.