Clown loach problem need help fast!!

[craig1984]

i reacently purchased a few clown loaches.
3 are eating fine, 1 tries to eat but never gets the food far into his mouth.
i noticed it looked like he was tring to work something out of his mouth a few times.
is it possible that he has a shell stuck in his mouth that is blocking food from being consumed?

have tried bloodworms, brine shrimp, spirulina wafers, new life spectrum thera+a, and nutrafin basix.
about to buy some seachem garlic so soak the food in but i dont think thats really going to do much for him...

if anyone has any ideas i would really like to hear them. he has lost a bit of weight (and was already too thin when i bought him) so im getting a little worried.
the other loaches are loving the extra food being dropped into the tank

[Elle]

Was he eating before this? Can you pull him out into a small hospital tank or even a breeder box where you can get a really close look at him? He may not actually have something stuck - loaches have grinding teeth that can break shells. What kind of substrate do you have?

I've dealt with fancy goldfish who had peas stuck a couple of times...my solution was the "fishy heimlich maneuver" where I grabbed the fish firmly in my hand, and the fish freaked and spat out the pebble. I do not recommend this for loaches, as they are pretty fast!

I found this information on handling a fish with an obstruction:

If he really does have something stuck and looks to be in distress, and you are confident enough, I would take a wet towel (and make sure it is wet - this is really important), net the loach out and place it on the wet towel. Wrap the towel around the fish to hold it still, with just the mouth protruding. Have some small tweezers to hand, with which you can try and dislodge/lever out the stone. You'll need to be quick to cause as little stress as possible, but wrapped in the wet towel, you will have a few mins in which to work.

[craig1984]

as far as i know he was eating before.. this happened days after bringing him home from a pet store. all 4 were too thin, 3 have gained weight

substrate is Fluval Stratum.. so its easy to break apart.

and i think i might have seen him suck the shell up.. there were 2 small empty shells and he picked one up then acted like he was trying to work something out but couldnt, and hasnt been eating since.

i will try netting him and "scaring" it out of him..
unfortunetly he is too small for any pair of tweezers i have ever seen. would have to use a straight needle.. but i will get a good magnifine glass before i try that.

Thank you for the suggestions Elle =)