HELP! MY angler swallowed some air!!

[reefD]

today when feeding my angler he came up out of the water momentarily in anticipation of getting food. anyways when he tried to float back down he had to struggle and forfully swim down to get to the bottom. he is now able to keep himself down but you can see him struggle a bit to keep from floating up when free swimming. he isnt stressed at all as he is shaking his lure and everything. he even ate some food after. please help me . i need to know if i should do something to help him or will he be able to slowly dissapate the air? any ideas please!!! thank you sooo much!

 

[moggyhill]

he should be able to dissipate the air on his own. It sounds as if he is pretty happy if he is down and his lure is back out.

 

[reefD]

yea he is back down but is holding himself down amoung live rock. how long will it be for him to expell this air?

 

[moggyhill]

it depends entirely on how much he swallowed. You can reach in and gently burp him if you want.

 

[reefD]

i tried that but wasnt getting anywhere. is there a special method?

 

[reefD]

i was just gently pressing on his belly...which caused him to swell up more in a defensive reaction i guess . i kept on with the proccess but still did not get anything out. is there a certain way i should hold him?

 

[reefD]

thanks moggyhill you are really making me feel better. at least someone is helping me! thanks again and please give me any advice you can think of.

 

[moggyhill]

you were doing it ok, i just give a gentle squeeze like doing a dogs anal gland. if it didn't work just let him alone and keep an eye on him.

 

[reefD]

thanks alot. do you know how long it takes for the angler to relive the problem on his own?

 

[moggyhill]

he should be better in at most a few days. lmk

 

[reefD]

ok thanks sooooooo much! you are a life saver!lol. so i guess ill wait a day or two then try to burp him then if he is still floating alot.

 

[reefD]

i just got some advise fro,m live aquaria they said to boil a pea then peel it and feed it to my angler. this will aid in passing the gases/air. anyone heard of this cause im gonna try it.

 

[reefD]

ok gave him a pea with krill and now i wait. they said i should see an improvement in a day. if not then give more peas. it all depends on how big of a air buble he has ingested and how complicated the air bubbles position is in the digestive system. so hopefully he will be better by tommarow.i keep yopu all updated.

 

[reefD]

IT WORKED!!!!!!!! he is no longer fighting a upward force and is happily resting at the bottom. what i did was give him 2 boiled peeled peas with krill for taste. last night i noticed him a bit stressed but it appeared like he was shifting the contents of his stomach as it was visually periodically moving(his belly that is). it was shifting side to side and blowing up a bit. now he is BACK TO NORMAL! he must of farted it out!LOL. he is fishing right now but im gonna let his belly rest and feed him tommarow.