Greedy Spotted Climbing Perch Has Fish Stuck In Its Mouth

[mattlee]

one of my very small perch has decided it was hungry enough to try and eat an otocinclus thats about as long as the perch the thing is its eyes were way too big for its belly and the oto is stuck in the mouth of the perch. ive tried holding the tail to the oto and gently shaking it out but its well and truely stuck..... i also tried holding the perch but its too small to hold.
im worried that i will lose both fish. the oto is dead but the perch is just about alive

is there anything i can do to save the perch?

 

[kizno1]

I realy dont know theres anything else you can do apart from keep trying to pull it out. Maybe try and get something down the side of the otto and try and open the mouth a little more and use it to leaver the ottoe out if that makes scene.

 

[mattlee]

I realy dont know theres anything else you can do apart from keep trying to pull it out. Maybe try and get something down the side of the otto and try and open the mouth a little more and use it to leaver the ottoe out if that makes scene.

i need to try something as im not sure how long the perch will last like this.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Blimey, I'm truely gobsmacked that your acutirostre baby attempted this... I would understand if it was a 10+cm juvenile!

Fingers crossed you manage to remove the poor oto and save the bushfish.

 

[Carlovel1]

Cor!
I feel sorry for the poor Oto
Maybe if you squeeze the Perch's mouth,the Oto will pop out.
Good luck

 

[kizno1]

I really dont know what else you could try. Wish i could help more. Hope he pulls through

 

[mattlee]

i thought that they wouldnt go for the otos until they were bigger... how wrong i was!

i cant get the oto out its really stuck in there. i have tried wriggling the oto, squeezing it, the perchs mouth is open to its max and wont open anymore. the perch wont live much longer im sure as its pretty lifeless now and doesnt flinch but its gills are still moving so its still alive. i honestly cant see the oto coming out and fear for the worse for the bushfish

such a shame as they are beautifull fish.

 

[BackToTheFishes]

is carefully cutting the oto an option?

 

[kizno1]

is carefully cutting the oto an option?

That was going to be my next suggestion. If its really stuck in and going to die anyway you have nothing to loose.

 

[mattlee]

is carefully cutting the oto an option?

i thought of this but i have no knife thats small enough.

i think the spines on the fins of the oto have got wedged inside the bushfishs mouth so as im trying to pull it out its probably getting even more stuck

 

[Curiosity101]

If the perch is at deaths door regardless, and will definitely die if you leave the otto in then remove it. Pull as gently as possible, but just keep wiggling/pulling until it comes out.

I guess if you did cut it open you could possibly 'hollow' the rest of the otto out... then it might collapse enough to be removed.

 

[BackToTheFishes]

is carefully cutting the oto an option?

i thought of this but i have no knife thats small enough.

i think the spines on the fins of the oto have got wedged inside the bushfishs mouth so as im trying to pull it out its probably getting even more stuck

have you tried twisting and pulling it to dislodge the spines?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

As an extreme measure, what if you were to carefully cut your perch's mouth on both sides, along the centre line of the transparent section in the middle?

This might enable you to open the mouth just a little further and then remove the oto head.

As to how the perch would heal up and do long term after such a procedure, I don't have an idea, but it might save its life...

 

[kizno1]

As an extreme measure, what if you were to carefully cut your perch's mouth on both sides, along the centre line of the transparent section in the middle?

This might enable you to open the mouth just a little further and then remove the oto head.

As to how the perch would heal up and do long term after such a procedure, I don't have an idea, but it might save its life...

Thats what i was just thinking and it should heal quite quick with clean water but it could put the perch of food for some time and would it last that long.

 

[mattlee]

i couldnt save the perch i found a stanley knife and tried cutting the oto in half but as i thought the spines of the fins were stuck in the mouth of the perch at the top and bottom. i then cut the perch mouth at the sides but still the oto wouldnt come out there was no way that it was coming out with out removing the perchs whole mouth.