Can Fish Choke on large pieces of food???

[djcanis]

I ask this cause I have a fuzzy dwarf lion that I have been working on getting to eat frozen food. I have had it in a breeder box inside my tank. Just a few minutes ago I was about to feed the tank and dropped a large piece of krill into the breeder box. The krill piece was at least twice the size of the lions head, out of nowhere he swam up to it and gobbled it up in one piece, now I see a huge chunk of krill in its mouth and its face is all streatched out. Wondering what I shoudl do, well there isnt much I can do, not like I can reach my hand in there and take it out... I assume like blennies and other fish if it was too big to swallow it woudl spit it out correct? Thanks

 

[beaslbob]

Is he smiling?
Hopefully he will spit it out if too big.

 

[djcanis]

I guess you could call it a smile, its mouth is finally closed... lol, I havent been able to get it to eat for 4 or 5 days, so I know its hungry... Not to up on the anatomy nad digestive nature of fish so I'm not sure if its ok for them to suck down a piece of food almost half their total body size,

 

[beaslbob]

sound like he's full. Hopefully he will come around. Fish in the wild from what I hear sometimes go for weeks with little to no food.

 

[tstewart]

he should be fine.. i used to have a fuzzy and he would eat things that were half his body size...totally amazed me... fish will usually spit it right out if it wont fit or something is wrong.. i wouldnt be worried.

 

[reefkprz]

only if the piece of food gets lodged so the fish cant draw water in its mouth to pump water over the gills. or so it prevents water from flushing out the gills. so technically :"yes" but in reality not very likely. the mechanics are completely different from a human set up where we share a communal breathing swallowing pipe. generally if it gets past the fishes lips it'll eat it or regurgitate it.

 

[mrdc]

You need a fish from the heimlich genus in case you have a choking fish.