Comet with small cory stuck in mouth - HELP!

[MrQuan]

One of our large comets accidenatally half swallowed one of our small albino cories during feeding...

We've tried to hold the now dead cory's tail so the comet can pull it out itself, but it's really stuck in there (pehaps the gills or fins on the cory are barbed in??). The comet is very cooperative when we try to help, but it's just really stuck hard.

As you can see from the attached photo, the comet is now slighly bleeding from this...

If you have any idea on what to do, please let us know. The comet is quite stressed and having a hard time 'breathing'.

 

[Ky'smommy]

oh thats horrible. unfortunetly i dont have any ideas.
goodluck with trying to help him

 

[noncentric]

You're right, the cory's fins are probably keeping it stuck and making it hard to pull out - since the fins will be 'barbed' so that the cory can only move more in.

The only thing I can think of, is to cut those fins that are keeping the cory stuck. Mainly the cory's dorsal fin (on its back) - and then maybe the ventral fins (on its underside/stomach) if necessary. This would be tricky to do though, as the comet would have to hold very, very still.

Hhmmm. The only other thing I can think of is having an aquatic veterinarian anesthetize the comet and remove the cory.

Good luck!

 

[Billsgate]

Oh my, doesn't look good. What I would try is to hold the comet steady, and push the cory inwards a tiny bit, so the spikes on the corys gills would come loose (I didn't even know they had spikes/pointy bristles), and then carefully pull back out. That's all I can think of really, but you probably already tried that.
I hope your comet comes out alive!

Word of advice: If it can fit in other fishes mouth, eventually it will! So try to avoid housing very small fish with very large ones.

Keep us updated

 

[MrQuan]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, I've tried everything I could... I even tried having a go with some fine needle-nose pliers. The comet didn't panic too much at all, but it wouldn't budge. I tried pushing it in slightly and twisting a bit, but it's really lodged hard...

There has been a development however! I came back to check again and the cory was gone :| It's obviously been entirely swallowed by the comet (no remains in the aquarium either), which is amazing... as far as cories go, that was a bigger one. You can see from the photo his mouth is a bit sore and red from the bleeding, he doesn't entirely shut it, just a bit open.

I'm just worried about what's going to happen now, I know these guys are fairly tough, but will he be able to digest a cory??

I've since fed the fish again and the comet actually still has an appetite?! He had a fair go at the flake food anyways!! 8O Do you think he'll be ok now?


EDIT!

Ok, I was wrong, and this is really wierd...

I just found the cory hiding under a rock!? 8O He's in a pretty bad state understandably. He's sitting there in shock missing a lot of his tail (where we were trying to pull him out). I have no idea how it got out after trying pliers and after more than 4 hours in the comet's mouth.

I dunno, but I guess this means the comet will be fine , and I guess if the cory's survived all this, he might recover too... very strange.

 

[Jchillin]

Man, I thought I was the only person to have had this issue. Several months ago, one of my Angels was observed with a baby bristlenose pleco stuck in his mouth. I pulled the angel out and tried to manually remove him just as you did but to no avail. I was left with no choice but to let nature take it's course. After several hours, the bristlenose was finally swallowed and no ill effects on the angel.

I'm amazed that the cory was able to get out of there. Hopefully he will survive this episode and be able to tell others about his this ordeal and how to handle "being trapped inside the mouth of the whale".

 

[newfound77951]

I had a clown barb that got a piece of gravel stuck in his mouth once.....I was sitting on the couch when I heard a tapping from the tank, looked over and the fish was frantically whacking his head against the glass to dislodge the rock, which he did after a few seconds. Luckily it came out as I think it pretty much blocked his mouth so he couldn't breathe. Smart fish!

I hope all your fish are OK....maybe the tank or the two fish should be treated with some antibacterial or antifungal meds to prevent infection as the wounds heal? Not sure what kinds would be good but I'm sure someone will chime in.

 

[MrQuan]

Yeah good call on the antibacterial treatment newfound77951, I've got some Melafix here that I'll use. They're due for a water change today, so I'll do it then.

The cory is still alive, he tries to swim a bit - very awkwardly though. He's breathing hard and looking very worse for wear, but he's alive after this long so i guess he has a good chance

The comet is fine, and the redness around his mouth has pretty much gone

Thanks again for the help people!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I would probably go with the combo of Pimafix and Melafix til they are all healed up nicely. And a couple extra water changes.

 

[DepotFish]

I really do suggest seperating them. Maybe a nice big tank for the comet with bigger gravel too. Next thing you know you'll be picking gravel out of his throat.