HELP RTC ate power filter flapps Can I make him regurgitate?

[BlackLight]

I have a 15" Red tail cat that decided to eat 2 of the flaps that direct the water out of the power heads. The first disapeared about 2-4 weeks ago, when I got home from work today the other was missing and I can actually feel them in his belly (he will let me rub his belly while holding him pretty firmly) so I know they're there!! I tried -=gently=- massaging them up, that dosent work. I have heard about RTC's regurgitating but mine never has, I think this might be the only way to get them out!?!

Is this very harmful? He's been eating with the first one in there for quite a while now and no problem, he still eats regurarly, I was just hoping he would eventually throw it up. But I dont want to just leave 2 in there?!?!

How would I make him do it? Do I need to over-feed him, or feed him a certin kind of food, or what do I do? Help I dont want to loose him!!!! I tried searching the forum but couldnt find anything.

Thank you all for your help!!


Do you think he is going to be okay?

[BlackLight]

If he regurgitates will that harm the water in the tank and jepordize him or the 13" Arowana that is in the tank with him? It's about 125 gal 6 ft long. How long after feeding him would it take for him to regurgitate or do I just keep feeding him till he does it then immediatly change the water? Would I need to watch the tank till he does it and immediatly start water change or is it ok if he regurgitates and it stays in there for a while (like if I have to go to work). Thanks again for the help!!

[YellowDolphin]

There are 2 ways to make a RTC regurgitate. One is as you mentioned, just feed till he overeats and he should regurgitate everything within the next 12 hrs. The other way is to feed and do an immediate water change. Regurgitation should take place within the next 2 hrs or less. Good luck

Do let your RTC finish his regurgitation otherwise you'll find bits of leftovers after the water change!

[BlackLight]

I have a small backup tank, I think about a 20 long & narrow, should I just transfer some of the water out of the 125 into the small one so he can do his business alone in it and then put him back? I'm worried about the Arowana dieing from his stomach acid, or would putting the cat in that small of a tank freak him out or make the concentration of the junk in the little tank too concentrated for him?

[Chrysichthys]

Moving him into another tank after overfeeding will probably encourage him to regurgitate. I think it's a good idea.

[BlackLight]

How much should I overfeed him? He's got a HUGE stomach right now but just wont stop eating!! I think I fed him to the point where he was having to hold the food in his mouth instead of swallow so I stopped, should I keep going till he just wont eat anymore?? and how long after feeding him that much should it take to regurgitate, I did a 50% water change but he still hasent done it and it's been a few hours . . .

[YellowDolphin]

Looks like you got a strong RTC! Moving him to another tank is a very good idea since the move should create some stress. Also, do put new water into the small tank as to further induce your cat to puke.

[BlackLight]

Wellll . . . stuffed him till he was holding food in his mouth, fad him more again later, did a 50% water change, moved him to a -=TEN=- gallon tank, left him in there for about 4 hours till I had to go to bed, so put him back in the big tank (worried any acid in bile would be too concentrated in just a 10 gal) it's been way ofver 12 hours now, and he hasnt regurgitated ANYTHING.

Any other ideas???

[mitch]

RTC's will eat anything they can. Personaly i recomend that you leave him, you dont want to know what mine has eatern and sorted out himself. One thing i know these fish do is eat a lot and then swallow something else that is solid, they use this solid materail to break down the food they have eatern to help diaguest it easerly, and then spit it back out. Mine done has done this sevral times and has even had the material in his stomach for months. Iwas starting to panic until i whitnessed him spit it out with no problem what so ever, and before i could remove it from the tank he swallowed it again. So dont panic.
What i have been advised to do is to keep a handful of round pebels or stones for him to do just this as these are solid, but they are also smoth and easy for him to bring back up.

Hope this helps in the furure, it did for me.

[BlackLight]

Thanks Mitch!!! That makes me feel a LOT better! I guess he's just VERY well fed for this week How large of stones do you suggest putting in there? I used to have a bunch of about 1" - 2" sized decorative rocks in there, but I took them out after I saw him sucking on them!

[mitch]

1", 2", 3" stones are fine mate. Did he bother with many other objects when your stones were in the tank??
I always do a water change 2-3 days after mine has had a good feed in case he does regurgitate, (never seen mine do this) This will always keep the water clear for your Arowana as the Arowana will suffer first from poor water quality than your RTC.

[coelacanth]

If he regurgitates will that harm the water in the tank and jepordize him or the 13" Arowana that is in the tank with him? It's about 125 gal 6 ft long.

I've held off from asking this question while there were ongoing concerns about the well-being of the fish (incidentally, it should regurgitate the hardware soon enough. I know of one RTC that swallowed and regurgitated a pair of sunglasses without harm).
In the long term, what are your plans for these fish? Your aquarium is not large enough for either species. Both fish are quite capable of reaching in excess of 1 metre, and either one would require a huge aquarium at this length. In my view Arowanas are not great tankmates for RTCs either, they are too skittish to deal with the nocturnal investigations of a 'Phracto' and at some point usually respond by trying to escape, either jumping out altogether or damaging themelves on the aquarium cover.