Can a fish Choke? HELP!

[RWaltman]

Hey, went home for lunch and my pearl eartheater just gobbled a nightcrawler before I could chop him up..."JASPER" is about 6-7", large, full bodied and healthy...I can see the tip of the worm in his mouth and he's "gasping" to get water to his gills, I'm prone to think he'll be fine, but if the situation doesn't change by the time I get home from work should I get in there and yank it out? let me know! Thanks!

Ryan.

[Lady Hobbs]

He'll most likely be able to swallow him up but chop the worm up before he goes into the tank , not after.

[RWaltman]

Yeah, I normally do, but I dropped the worm before I could cut him up and before I knew it...GONE. That fish is a pig.

[Aeonflame]

He will be fine, There's nothing on a nightcrawler to snag in his throat.

[RWaltman]

Thanks for the assurance, I was concerned that since a worm uses small hairs to "propel" themselves through the dirt there was some way it would attempt to stop the impending death. I think I've watched the movie Tremors too many times....I'll update at dinner. Just found the site again, should be fun.

[fishguy66]

He'll be just fine. He's probably processing that crawler through his pharyngeal mill, which is akin to our jaws. He's basically chewing it!!:22:

[eltylT]

I don't chop up the worms for my JD's but the whole ones don't stay in their mouths but a split second and if there's another worm floating down they will spit one out to get the other if they are very hungry. I never thought about chopping them up first. I may have to do just that to be on the safe side.Thanks for asking the ? it has made me THINK a little more.