I have about a 5 inch panther grouper. Yesterday during feeding time I was giving him and my porcupine pufferfish cut up scallops and silver sides. There was 1 bigger piece of scallop that I wanted to give to my eel but the panther grouper ended up stealing and swallowing. He then started breathing heavy and on closer examination I could still see the scallop in the back of his mouth as he wouldn’t even close his mouth. I attempted to catch him and was planning on trying to pull it out but after I set up a few buckets and some sterile tweezers I checked on him again and his mouth was closed. It doesn’t seem like the scallop is in there this morning and his mouth is still closed but he is being very skidish. He is hiding in his cave and won’t come out at all, I even tried enticing him out with a little snack. He is still breathing a little heavy, not as heavy as last night but heavier than normal and heavier than I’d like. Given this behavior is it possible that the food is stuck in his throat still and what if anything can I do to help him. I am not a registered vet or anything but have done internship at my aquarium in medical office and we have had fish with choking problems.
Panther grouper not doing well
- Thread starter Jeffc15
- Start date
PSU4ME
Well-Known Member
Unless the Dr. @Humblefish would recommend something else.
Humblefish
Dr. Fish
At this point, you could probably only pull it out of his mouth if you can still see it. Otherwise, I would just sprinkle a little Epsom salt over his next meals to serve as a laxative to help push things out.
Thank you for a quick reply. For a little bit of an update, when I got home from work about 6 hours ago he was a lot more active, had his color back, and breathing has seemed to slow more, still not 100% normal but I think he’ll be ok.
