Rainbowfish Was Choking On Dwarf Hair Grass, Should I remove it?

[Megaanemp]

Hello all,

Ummm maybe a bit of a weird problem but I need some opinions!

So I put 6 juvenile dwarf neon Rainbowfish into a new 30 gallon yesterday. I have just planted a bunch of dwarf hair grass plantlet’s in this tank. This morning I went to check on the fish and one rainbow has a blade of grass sticking out of her mouth and didn’t seem to be able to get it out. I was going to net her and pull it out with tweezers but during the commotion of chasing her she managed to spit it out. Should I remove the dwarf hair grass from the tank? Is this something Rainbowfish do, eat things they shouldn’t? The poor thing still arnt acting right hopefully she just worked up from being chased and doesn’t have anything else stuck in her throat. Poor thing.

 

[Heron]

I have had similar issues with my giant danios and some hair algae, once I netted it and removed it but the other times in the end they managed to dislodge it themselves.

 

[UnknownUser]

They breathe through their gills not the mouth like us, so “choking” isn’t going to suffocate them, but it can prevent them from eating food. I’d bet that the fish will be able to dislodge things in the future if it were to happen again, but if you really wanted to be super safe you could remove the plant. Completely up to you.

 

[Megaanemp]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I’ll leave the grass for now, but If she tries it again I’ll just remove it all. I was worried if the fish would just tire herself out from trying to spit the plant up, but she seems okay now and did get it out herself. Phew

 

[emmykenzie]

The call ultimately is your own but I have a few stories to help you make you decision. I had my goldfish lodge an oto into its mouth. (Otos have spines and the spines pierced his gills on both sides) I tried to manually remove it and after exhausting myself decided to leave the fish in hopes it would spit out the oto. 2-3 days later he spit out the oto and made a FULL recovery. I’ve got a special name for this particular goldfish I won’t post on this forum XD.
My other story is about my largest Golden Barb, Bronson. Who, the day I introduced pest snails, took an ENTIRE mouthful of good sized snails (3-4) into his mouth simultaneously. His mouth was wide open and he had all types of snails sticking out of his mouth. Anyway, he eventually smartened up and spit out the snails.
If you’re worried, for your own sanity take out the plant! You know your fish better than anyone on here!
Best and Good Luck!
Emily

 

[Megaanemp]

The call ultimately is your own but I have a few stories to help you make you decision. I had my goldfish lodge an oto into its mouth. (Otos have spines and the spines pierced his gills on both sides) I tried to manually remove it and after exhausting myself decided to leave the fish in hopes it would spit out the oto. 2-3 days later he spit out the oto and made a FULL recovery. I’ve got a special name for this particular goldfish I won’t post on this forum XD.
My other story is about my largest Golden Barb, Bronson. Who, the day I introduced pest snails, took an ENTIRE mouthful of good sized snails (3-4) into his mouth simultaneously. His mouth was wide open and he had all types of snails sticking out of his mouth. Anyway, he eventually smartened up and spit out the snails.
If you’re worried, for your own sanity take out the plant! You know your fish better than anyone on here!
Best and Good Luck!
Emily

Thanks for the reply

 

[GlennO]

You could remove it if you're worried but I've had Praecox for a couple of years in a tank that has a substrate covered in dwarf hairgrass and have not experienced that. I think it's pretty safe to say that it would be a rare occurrence.