Can cichlids choke on the sand and stones it swallows?

[dh101]

Does anyone know whether apistos can get choked on the substrate? I realise that my apistos often take the substrate in their mouth and throw them out when foraging for food. I'm a little worried that they might choke accidently, will they?

Also, some pieces of the substrate are really tiny. When they suck in the food, these tiny pieces sometimes get sucked in too, will they end up in the stomach or accumulate in it?

[valice]

If the gravel is fine enough, they will be expelled through the opening of gill cover (can't remember the scientific name of it). They will spit it out if they can't sieve the gravel.

The sieveing of gravel and sand is their way of finding microscopic or small pieces of food in the sand.

[joopsg]

yeah man. This is sort of their natural instinct when food are scarce in the wild

[dh101]

Thanks Valice and Joopsg, that set my mind at ease.