the hook is stuck in his mouth towards the back of his throat

[tolboy]

Hello everybody I have a panther grouper I tried to fish out of my tank using a fishing hook.Well it did'nt turn out how I thought it would, the hook is stuck in his mouth towards the back of his throat.For some of you this probly would'nt be a problem but I'm no fisherman.What I want to know is what I should do, is there a specific way to get this hook out of him I'm used to the hook, hooking through jaw area I was not excepting this

this happened yesterday and have him in my fuge now but I know he's very uncomfortable and stressed. :help: Please help me all comments are welcome thank you.

 

[cannonman]

Wow, that sucks. I don't know how it works with the more delicate SW fish but I know that if you go fishing (as I do) and catch a fish who is deeply hooked but you don't want to keep him you can simply cut the line and the hook will disolve in a short time... this seems risky to say the least in your situation though. Did you at least use a barbless hook?

 

[bang guy]

Did you bend the barb flat?
What size hook?
What metal is the hook made of?

 

[reckler]

Is the hook barbed? you can go to walmart and get a fishhook remover. it usually is red with two bulbs on it. one on each end. run the bulb down the wire untull it is on the hook. push it into the hook with a little force, pulling the string and pushing the remover at the same time. then just push it down his throte until you feel the hook release, and pull it out. you will have to catch him to do all this. I am sure he will be stressed pretty bad so I would QT him for awhile until he looks ok. if that don't work jet some niddle nose pliers and try to get it out. you are more likely to tear this mouth this that idea though. good luck. try useing a fish trap or a net next time you need to catch on of your fish. It is less likely to harm them.

 

[natclanwy]

Just out of curiosity why would you do this? I have never heard of anyone doing this before and I would think there would be less dangerous and stressful ways of catching a fish in your tank.

 

[tolboy]

I don't know what the hook is made of I pick them up at meijers.It is barbed just one barb at the end.I'm thinking about trying the needle nose pliers what do you guys think :thinking: I think I can get far enough in there with without tearing his mouth.

 

[darknes]

I've never heard of anyone catching their tank fish with a hook.
I go fishing all the time, so try this. Grab the fish with your left hand, and hold him tight (don't squeeze his guts out, though). Buy a metal hook remover from any fishing supply store (it looks like scissors, but has needle nose on the end). Grab the hook with the pliers, and pull it out the opposite way it went in. If you cut the barb off the hook, it will be easy. If not, you are going to leave a hole, and will risk killing the fish.
Do not leave the hook in him. It will not dissolve, and if it's coated in copper, that will leach into your tank.
As I said, I've never taken a hook out of a delicate saltwater fish, so this is only a suggestion.

 

[darknes]

See if you can find pliers like those on the left of this picture. Most fishing supply stores (even WalMart) sell them.

 

[tolboy]

Originally Posted by natclanwy
Just out of curiosity why would you do this? I have never heard of anyone doing this before and I would think there would be less dangerous and stressful ways of catching a fish in your tank.
Wow I knew it would just be a matter of time

.I did it because this is one of the most common methods of catching fish in the whole wide world.There is no difference between catching a fish in my aquarium with a hook or in a lake with a hook IMO.The fish in our aquariums are no more special (outside the fact of the money we spend on them)than the fish in streams,ponds and rivers,so if this is such a dangerous method than nobody should be using this hook to catch a fish unless they intend on killing it.This is not the best method but it is not unheard of.If you do a search on it you can find numerous post on this subject.

 

[tolboy]

Well ok I guess I'll be heading to Walmart then I will let you guys know how this turn out for me and him.Keep your fingers crossed,you all have been extremely helpful thank you all.

 

[darknes]

Good luck.
Let us know how it turns out.

 

[demartini]

Originally Posted by natclanwy
Just out of curiosity why would you do this? I have never heard of anyone doing this before and I would think there would be less dangerous and stressful ways of catching a fish in your tank.
Yeah I thought it was strange to catch your fish with a hook but some guy mentioned doing it a few nights ago. by the way I hope he's ok. Good luck!

 

[sebae09]

that wasn't the best way to catch it but its over now so lets just focus on fixing the problem at hand, first off you have to get the hook out weather or not you cut the inside or his mouth is up to how you go about doing it. next your going to need to dose him with some antibiotics to prevent infection. its best to use Cephalexin or Penicillin. i have never been a big fan of Amoxicillin because it requires a longer medication period than the rest. DO NOT use something that has been prescribed to you, you will need to go to a LFS or order some online. fishmox is ok but i allways use injections they seem to work faster and have better results, if you use fishmox just follow directions if you decide to go the injection route your going to need to weigh the grouper and than callibrate the dose WISELY dont mess that part up an overdose is deadly. feel free to ask more questions if i didn't cover it well enought.

 

[ryanhayes9]

Originally Posted by DeMartini
Yeah I thought it was strange to catch your fish with a hook but some guy mentioned doing it a few nights ago. by the way I hope he's ok. Good luck!
they atch there fish with barbless hooks

 

[bang guy]

There is a big problem with that barb being that close to the gills. Usually people flatten out the barb so the hook can be pulled out.
Is there any way you can cut the hook and just push it the rest of the way through? I'm afraid that if you try to pull instead of push the barb will catch on something vital.
If it were me I'd be tempted to just cut the hook as close to flesh as I could and just leave it in.

 

[darknes]

It's hard to give the best advice unless we could actually see where the hook was located.
The ideal thing would be if you could push the hook through so that the barb is sticking out. Then you could cut the barb end off and pull the hook back out. That's normally what doctors will do if you get a hook stuck in your finger.

 

[tolboy]

All is well now got it out with the "Darkness Method" I picked up some MelaFix.He's in Qt in my 26g I'm gonna begin treating him soon.Thanks everyone.My next thread title will read WARNINGO NOT USE HOOKS TO CATCH FISH and then I'll link this thread.I had no idea this would turn out with complications.It seemed pretty simple......well until next time.Thanks again all of you.

 

[natclanwy]

Originally Posted by Tolboy
Wow I knew it would just be a matter of time

.I did it because this is one of the most common methods of catching fish in the whole wide world.There is no difference between catching a fish in my aquarium with a hook or in a lake with a hook IMO.The fish in our aquariums are no more special (outside the fact of the money we spend on them)than the fish in streams,ponds and rivers,so if this is such a dangerous method than nobody should be using this hook to catch a fish unless they intend on killing it.This is not the best method but it is not unheard of.If you do a search on it you can find numerous post on this subject.
I am sorry, and I am not trying to bag on you whats done is done. I just had never heard of anyone doing this to tank fish. I do alot of fishing and I use barbed hooks with idea of killing the fish and eating it. I have been around a few catch and release fishing tourneys and they require the use of barbless hooks because of the danger to the fish from trying to remove a barbed hook and it still is not 100% effective for preventing the death of a fish that was caught and it has been my expierience that with fish that eat there food whole will swallow your bait and the hook ends up in the back of their throat most of the time some worse than others. I was just curious about why you used this method over others and was tring to point out some concerns I had to others thinking about using this method.

 

[fbm]

Seems like every no and then a post saying use hooks to catch fist comes up, this post should be copied everytime one of them comes up.

 

[big]

If it would be like real fishing the best choice may be let the hook rust away with time if the fish is not in too much distress??? Like Bang ask early along" what is the hook made of"??? They rust away in Saltwater pretty fast. WOW.......... Good luck to both you and the Fish!