CACAdmin
Sep 1st 2008, 11:49 PM
One of my leaf fish likes to greet me and even wait to catch any feeder fish I add to the tank. I had just dropped in a few feeders a few minutes before (one of which he snagged right away… the others he and the other leaf fish will have to hunt down.)
Then a short while later, I decided to drop a couple of algae wafers in the tank. (I usually do this in the evening but knowing how undernourished my male white-tip must be after his adventure in the filter, I decided that an afternoon snack would be a good idea).
So, I opened the lid to the tank and dropped in two wafers. The leaf fish grabbed one vertically in it’s mouth. :wideeyed: Now it was in a predicament, it couldn’t swallow it or even close it’s mouth fully as the wafer was too large. Nor could it spit it out as their mouth is like that of a pelican with a pouch.
I wondered what I could do. Amazingly enough, I put my hand in and the leaf fish swam right up to me for help. Although they normally flee from my hands in the tank, this guy was totally relaxed as he let me hold him (beneath the water surface) while I used the tip of a pair of scissors (didn’t have any tweezers) to pull the algae wafer from his mouth.
Maybe it's just me but he seemed appreciative and didn't even swim for cover after the procedure. Thankfully, he is none the worse for his adventure but what amazes me is that he seemed to know he was in trouble and sought assistance from this huge pair of human hands.
Then a short while later, I decided to drop a couple of algae wafers in the tank. (I usually do this in the evening but knowing how undernourished my male white-tip must be after his adventure in the filter, I decided that an afternoon snack would be a good idea).
So, I opened the lid to the tank and dropped in two wafers. The leaf fish grabbed one vertically in it’s mouth. :wideeyed: Now it was in a predicament, it couldn’t swallow it or even close it’s mouth fully as the wafer was too large. Nor could it spit it out as their mouth is like that of a pelican with a pouch.
I wondered what I could do. Amazingly enough, I put my hand in and the leaf fish swam right up to me for help. Although they normally flee from my hands in the tank, this guy was totally relaxed as he let me hold him (beneath the water surface) while I used the tip of a pair of scissors (didn’t have any tweezers) to pull the algae wafer from his mouth.
Maybe it's just me but he seemed appreciative and didn't even swim for cover after the procedure. Thankfully, he is none the worse for his adventure but what amazes me is that he seemed to know he was in trouble and sought assistance from this huge pair of human hands.