# Great, my frontosa has a pleco stuck in his mouth



## Windsor (Mar 17, 2008)

My frontosa is about 6 - 7" and has lived with this pleco (about 2-1/2") for the past 3 years without issue. Now, tonight, he's decided to eat the pleco. I'm sure you can picture it, but the pleco is now spread fin and stuck in my frontosa's mouth. The front is thrashing his head trying to dislodge or swallow the pleco - not sure which.

What should I do? I'm thinking it may be best to let the frontosa work it out himself, but part of me is wondering if I should net the fish and try and pull the pleco out. I'm afraid that I could do more harm than, good, possibly tearing up the front's gills, so leaning toward him learning from his mistake and working it out on his own.


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

Wow! Your post caught my eye as the visual made me giggle. I don't know what would be the best solution in this case but if it were me, I would be more apt to catch that Front and get that Pleco out asap. The longer he is in there and stuck, the more stressed the both of them will be. Having the Front stressed for too long will cause further issues. Good luck and let us know how all turns out.


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## Bizill (Jul 20, 2008)

i had a yellow lab inside my burundi's mouth when i woke up one morning. as i debated what to do, my front finally thrashed hard enough and spit the fella out. both were well a few hours later.


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## Windsor (Mar 17, 2008)

I'm leaning on letting him try and get it out. If nothing happens within a day or two, I may try getting it out.

Here's a crappy cell phone pic:


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

Your photo didn't post. Try this..... http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... hp?t=21085


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## Windsor (Mar 17, 2008)

CichMomma said:


> Your photo didn't post. Try this..... http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... hp?t=21085


Thanks. I just re-uploaded to imgur.com. Hopefully it'll stick this time.


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

Silly fish. Does he still seem uncomfortable?


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## Ron R. (Oct 21, 2003)

From the looks of the pic I don't believe the front is going to dislodge/expel that pleco. And it will be hard to manually extricate the pleco. The pleco is going to have to be cut and pulled out piece by piece.

This is not the first time this has happened to a fishkeeper:

http://www.cyphos.com/forums/showthread ... ight=pleco

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.


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## bigSherm (Jun 11, 2010)

Wow, so I may potentially have this problem in the months/years to come. Interesting.

My guess with your situation is that the head is already being digested in the stomach. Eventually the body will follow. Worse case scenario, they'll end up stuck like this until they both die. Even if you tried manually extricating the pleco, its spinal fins may cause some damage.


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## Windsor (Mar 17, 2008)

Well guys, I figured that I'd update you all and thank you for your help.

When I woke up this morning, my front still had the pleco inside his mouth. When I got out of the shower, I took another peak and the pleco was GONE from his mouth! I couldn't find the pleco, so I assumed that he had been eaten.

Once I got home from work, I saw that the pleco was indeed alive - and even scurrying about like the excellent algae eater that he is! His pectoral fins are completely skinned and bent, but he is acting normal.

My front is acting normal, except he didn't eat tonight. I bet his mouth is rather soar. However, he's now in the corner of the tank, begging for food as usual. So not to overfeed the tank, he's going to have to wait until tomorrow.

Now, I hope my front has learned his lesson. I have another small 3 year old catfish - Synodontis petricola and I hope he doesn't try the same trick again.

Thanks again, all!


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## Ron R. (Oct 21, 2003)

great report!!!!!!!


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## the_evil_dickfeldi (Feb 17, 2006)

I think you should remove the pleco, just in case this happens again?


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

Thanks for the update. So glad he is out!!


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## mojo298 (Nov 30, 2010)

how big was the front and how big was the plec ?


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## Charles (Feb 25, 2003)

glad to hear both fish is doing good. Another good example of frontosa will eat anything that fits in its mouth. I have a long list of fish that my old frontosa ate.


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## wesbound (Sep 9, 2009)

How's It going Evreyone!!!

I must say that this was odd for me to see...My one female was holding for sometime.. And I was late to strip the female... ( My bad) but I have never seen this before.. I had 3 fry that the female still had in her mouth after I striped her and she let them go... I noticed them a day later and said, Well I wish you luck because there is no way I will get you now! ( 3 females 4' and 1 male 6' aslo 1 3.5' male). They would hide to feed, but now they are almost 1' they are feeding with the parents.... CRAZY!!

Thanks for reading.. :thumb:


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## katchmart (Mar 7, 2011)

My guess, the situation is the fact that the head has already been digested in the stomach. Eventually, the body will follow. In the worst cases end up locked out until both die. Even if you tried to extricate Pleco manually, the spine can cause damage to the fins.


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