I woke up this morning & one of my male convicts has an ottocinclus (midget suckermouth cat) stuck in his mouth with the tail like 1/3 an inch out of his mouth.
They co-existed for about 3 months together & I fed the convicts the night before. They just had a litter of babies which might explain why he did it... They seem to get super retard powers the week surrounding when they have babies.
The otto seems to have a spiked umbrella type skin that makes him not want to go one way.
I had this problem once before with a younger Oscar who's eyes were bigger than his stomach. I pulled it out with pliars, but it dislocated his jaw for about 2 weeks.
I'm thinking of doing the same thing with the convict. How long should I wait until I try and remove it from his mouth? He's still in good spirits, sparring with the other convict couple across the tank.
2007-03-08 03:35:09 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
I have read about this happening with an angelfish. The problem is that catfish have boney spikes in their fins that stick straight out when they are frightened, and most likely these spikes are lodged in your fish's throat. The person who had the problem with the angelfish used clove oil to put the fish to sleep, then very gently removed the oto with tweezers. You have to push the oto in slightly deeper to get the fins to fold back, then grab the oto with another pair of tweezers around the fins so they stay folded. Then it should come out pretty easily and will not harm your fish further.
2007-03-08 05:45:27 · answer #1 · answered by fish guy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would wait several hours before trying anything personally. As it's just a small oto, you can probably fold in it's spines with a pair of tweezers and save both fish if they don't manage to seperate on their own.
BTW, I have some info on BBA for you if you want to email me at magicman116@yahoo.com
MM
2007-03-08 05:27:20 · answer #2 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thats a tough one. Those convicts do get SUPER aggresive when they have babies!
I would say go ahead and get it out so that the fish can eat (normal food, not suckermouth cats lol), but I have not had to do this before........
2007-03-08 03:59:26 · answer #3 · answered by to be announced 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋