I have a blackmoor he is a pretty good size. 4ches? He feeds on the bottom and I am afraid he will get a piece of gravel stuck. I was thinking about putting those flat colored marbles(sometimes they are used in betta bowls) over the gravel. Can I do this? What do you suggest? Can my moor get choked on gravel?

It's actually quite common for this to happen. I'd say someone posts about it happening to them about every one or two weeks around here...

I would recommend either replacing or covering your gravel with river rocks. I think you can get big bags of them at the hardware or home improvement store... just make sure to wash them very well first. The little flat marbles are nice, but it's near impossible to find them in big bags and the little ones can get very expensive very quickly.

What can you do if this happens?

I've heard rounded tweezers as a recommended tool for getting rocks out, as well as a loop of fishing line that you just hook behind the rock a pull. I think the best way to do it is to catch the fish in your hand and hold him so his head is above water while you pull the rock out.

geeezz that sounds scary. I feed peas and sometimes a pea will det stuck but they always get it out. This may sound dumb but do they drown or stop breathing if you don't remove it?

That's a good question... I'm not sure. I think if it got far enough back it could interfere with gill function, but I don't know exactly the effect it has on their being able to breathe. I'm not too good with anatomy. Maybe someone else can answer that.

I have a large blackmoore as well (he's my avatar) who has a bad habit of getting rocks stuck in his mouth. I've seen it happen at least three times, and I'm sure it goes on when I'm not looking too! I use tweezers to get them out, but soon I'm going to have to do like you and cover all the pebbles. Flat river rocks are great for aquarium bottoms, I get mine at Wal Mart but I've seen them in craft stores too.

I'm about 90% sure that a goldfish will 'drown' if the rock stays lodged, because they take water in through their mouths to pass over their gills for oxygen exchange. If enough water is passing through, I think they'll suffocate.

i think rounded tweesers are the most widely used object to remove gravel with

I used aqua,blue,grren and clear marbles. My kids picked them out.
the tank now has as my kids call it bling-bling. I hope fish are color blind, cause their floor is very COLORFUL lol

I use just a few carefully selected stones, also. They are all at least 2-3 inches in diameter.

I had a fish that swallowed a stone that was 3/4 inch in diameter. It was waaaaay in. He just sank to the bottom with his mouth open looking miserable. He did not drown from lack of oxygen, but he could not swim nor eat. It would have been a miserable death.

That partcular stone needed a large pair of rounded forceps to remove it. In general, a pair of large round tweezers does a good job.

Think big with the rocks though. The fish grow big and quickly grow mouths that will swallow the most amazing things!

The marmles i used are about the size of a nickle