Fire eel looks almost like its shedding

[Fish Tank Travis]

As far as feeding, I'll go get some frozen foods tonight. Again was told live shrimp was the best for him. I'm aware ignorance is not an excuse but had expectations of the store having fairly good knowledge lol. Sadly he was the better looking eel they had there.

You're here now and asking for help, so that's a great start. I would keep up some daily or every other day water changes to keep the water extremely clean. Also, it wouldn't hurt to dose Prime once a day for the next week. Make sure you use enough to treat the whole tank, not just the gallons you add.

As far as the ghost shrimp go, they are likely the cause of the ick. Live aquatic feeders are notorious for spreading disease.

As for finding a food that your fire eel will like, I found it was best to put a little bit of everything in. Just be ready with the siphon to get all of the uneaten stuff out. I recommend trying frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis shrimp, live red wigglers, and some cut up market shrimp. Just put all of that in and see what the fire eel wants to eat. After you find something, use that to fatten him up and eventually try to get him eating other stuff.

 

[Chris801]

The Ich is all gone for about a week now. They had me treat that with Mardel. I turned the heater up to 84, actually just put it back to 80 tonight.

I got some frozen blood worms and some frozen shrimp he wouldn't even look at them. Will try some of the other options tomorrow. Assuming I don't have luck should I withhold food until he picks something else?

I haven't added any salt, would you recommend adding any just because?

Theres about 2 dozen ghost shrimp left should i leave them or remove them? I've found they are actually helpful at keeping the bottom of the tank clean before they become food lol.

I have been adding the prime for the entire tank will keep changing 25% every other day.


And since I've gotten this eel ive spent atleast $500 at the LFS so yeah i feel ya on that. They must see me coming Lol.

But i think he's worth it so anything to help him, even my wife is getting annoyed with me over it haha. Especially when I started making the plans for a bigger tank lol.

Oh, wanted to ask since i see a few of you have multiple eels, what age is good to add another? Or is there a cut off limit, would like to get 2 more once I have the bigger tank going. But i read that they dont get along with other eels

 

[Fat Homer]

I probably wouldn't start dosing salt right now, but just keep an eye on your eel, and keep the substrate clean, since the ich cysts could still be in the water and when it breaks free, could start attaching itself to the fish causing problems... although normally if the fish is healthy and not stressed, they shouldn't get effected as easily...

Now onto the rest of your questions:

1. Regarding the shrimp already in the tank, i would just leave them, anything added is already done its damage, so leaving it probably wont hurt now...

2. Fire eels all have their own personality, and some will get along while others might fight, and honestly, unless you already have a large tank ready i probably would not get a 2nd fire eel since on these boards we've seen all too often how life can get in the way of those upgrade plans...

3. Fire eels are also notoriously picky eaters, so takes time to get them onto other foods, but for best growth a lot of people will feed earthworms to their eels, but you must make sure they come from a pesticide free field otherwise may end up doing more damage then good... you can also gut load your worms by feeding them ground up fish food such as massivore or NLS, since most spiny eels won't actually take pellets...

You may also want to try other meaty foods from the frozen section of your supermarket such as mussels, clams, scallops etc... although again make take your eel a while before they would be willing to eat it, but once you get them onto a variety diet they should start packing on the weight and size pretty darn quick...

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I agree with fat homer, don't buy anymore fire eels unless you already have the larger tank to house them in. At that time, it can be hit and miss as to whether they will get along when they're older. Just be ready to give all of them up but one if it comes to that. I currently have two in my 220 that are about 11-12" long and they don't bother each other and actually they often share the same pvc tube. I also have a third 7-8" fire eel in my 29 gallon quarantine tank that will be added once he is beefed up a bit. However, I am prepared to give two of them up if it comes to that. One nice thing about fire eels aggression is that they really don't have the physical features to cause damage to other fish, including other fire eels. This gives you a lot more time to recognize and take necessary actions before one ends up killing the other, which would mainly happen due to extra stress or lack of food.

As far as getting your fire eel to eat, it will probably be difficult while there are still ghost shrimp in the tank. I would wait until those are gone and then give him a large variety of foods mentioned in this thread all at once and see what he starts to grab. Again, just be prepared with the siphon to clean the uneaten food so that it does not foul the water.

 

[ocellatus]

Very encouraging to see the effort you're putting into this little fella's recovery. Any updates on its condition?

I have a TT, so am always curious when it comes to any spiny eel health issues.

O

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Any update on this guy?