Fish stuck inside hole in rock!

I have a bunch of Texas holey rock in my tank - the Mbunas love it - a few
months ago I had a real nice loach ("variegated", or something like that) -
he was about 2 1/2 - 3 inches long - good and healthy, always active, poking
into the crevices and such - and then I just never saw him any more - I'm
used to fish disappearing in this tank - I figured he maybe looked sick or
something to the other fish, they turned on him, and in the morning he just
wasn't there any more. I guess it's been at least a couple of months since
I've seen him. So I'm looking in the tank during dinner tonight and there
he is, with his head poking out of a hole in the holey rock - I go over to
investigate, and he ducks back in, but with a flashlight, I can see back
into the hole and there he is - a while after I back away, and he'll poke
out a bit - he gets maybe an inch or so out and that's as far as I've seen
him come out - I'm convinced that, somehow, he's stuck in there and can't
get out - I work at home all day so I pass by and look at this tank A LOT,
and I absolutely have not seen this guy swimming around for the past few
months - until tonight - any suggestions on how to coax him out, or force
him out? Thanks!

Texas Yankee wrote:

l

This reminds me of the movie, "Strange Brew" where they raise a mouse inside
a beer bottle to get free beer...

All kidding aside, it's hard to believe the fish outgrew the opening of the
cave. Have you tried lifting the rock above water. It seems to me that the
loach would swim out as you move the rock towards the surface...

Yeah, I found the situation hard to believe, too - I looked at the rock
again this evening with a flashlight, and it appears that the hole opens up
into a sort of larger cave inside the rock - it looks like he's swimming
around in there - no other opening that I can see - unfortunately, the tank
is about 2/3 full of holy rock, the piece that the fish is in is a huge
piece, and, of course, it's at the bottom of the tank under all the other
rocks - there goes another Saturday!

"Jason Wells" wrote in message
m...
Texas Yankee wrote:

l

This reminds me of the movie, "Strange Brew" where they raise a mouse
inside
a beer bottle to get free beer...

All kidding aside, it's hard to believe the fish outgrew the opening of
the
cave. Have you tried lifting the rock above water. It seems to me that the
loach would swim out as you move the rock towards the surface...

I have two orange finned loaches (cannot remember the name) and I rarely see
them. They hide in caves, under ornaments and logs. Only come out for the
evening feeding "sometimes".

JOhn


"Texas Yankee" wrote in message
news
I have a bunch of Texas holey rock in my tank - the Mbunas love it - a few
months ago I had a real nice loach ("variegated", or something like
that) -
he was about 2 1/2 - 3 inches long - good and healthy, always active,
poking
into the crevices and such - and then I just never saw him any more - I'm
used to fish disappearing in this tank - I figured he maybe looked sick or
something to the other fish, they turned on him, and in the morning he
just
wasn't there any more. I guess it's been at least a couple of months
since
I've seen him. So I'm looking in the tank during dinner tonight and there
he is, with his head poking out of a hole in the holey rock - I go over to
investigate, and he ducks back in, but with a flashlight, I can see back
into the hole and there he is - a while after I back away, and he'll poke
out a bit - he gets maybe an inch or so out and that's as far as I've seen
him come out - I'm convinced that, somehow, he's stuck in there and can't
get out - I work at home all day so I pass by and look at this tank A LOT,
and I absolutely have not seen this guy swimming around for the past few
months - until tonight - any suggestions on how to coax him out, or force
him out? Thanks!

that holy rock is pure limestone right?
if so you should be able to bore through it preatty easily, maybe a wood
chisel or paintscraper or something that's a little bigger than the hole
would do the job. you could twist it around and widen the hole that way.

"Texas Yankee" wrote in message
...
Yeah, I found the situation hard to believe, too - I looked at the rock
again this evening with a flashlight, and it appears that the hole opens
up
into a sort of larger cave inside the rock - it looks like he's swimming
around in there - no other opening that I can see - unfortunately, the
tank
is about 2/3 full of holy rock, the piece that the fish is in is a huge
piece, and, of course, it's at the bottom of the tank under all the other
rocks - there goes another Saturday!





Just make sure you keep us updated on the progress.

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

the fish wont even come out when you remove the rock from water, i know
from experience.

the fish are really shy, especially if kept singularlly.

my friends pakistani loach sits behind his heater constantly and only
comes out at night.

i also have a VERY aggressive sub species of the pakistani loach kept
with a 9" oscar, and he is constantly rooting around on the floor for
scraps. (or chasing the cichlid double its size)

i recently bought a zebra botia for my community to clean out my snails,
hes very shy too, always hiding in the gravel as far as i can tell.

feel lucky you can see your fish for one.

the best way to check (not that you have to, the fish is just hiding)
turn off the room lights one night, and throw some blood worm into the
water, no loach can resist.

peace. Craig



--
Posted via CichlidFish.com
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That approach won't work - he's not alone in the tank - and the Mbunas will
eat anything I put in there - I can see him come out of the hole, but only
partially, when I feed the rest of the fish in the tank, but he never leaves
the hole in the rock - it's been about a month now that he's been in there -
I can't figure out how he's getting enough food to stay alive.


"Craig" -DONTEMAIL wrote in message
...
the fish wont even come out when you remove the rock from water, i know
from experience.

the fish are really shy, especially if kept singularlly.

my friends pakistani loach sits behind his heater constantly and only
comes out at night.

i also have a VERY aggressive sub species of the pakistani loach kept
with a 9" oscar, and he is constantly rooting around on the floor for
scraps. (or chasing the cichlid double its size)

i recently bought a zebra botia for my community to clean out my snails,
hes very shy too, always hiding in the gravel as far as i can tell.

feel lucky you can see your fish for one.

the best way to check (not that you have to, the fish is just hiding)
turn off the room lights one night, and throw some blood worm into the
water, no loach can resist.

peace. Craig



--
Posted via CichlidFish.com
http://www.cichlidfish.com/portal/forums