4x $600 yellow fire eels came... weeks later discover hooks in them

[PartyHacks]

I am an importer and sell on Ebay frequently. I had the opportunity to get some xanthic fire eels for a good price.

It was only later I started seeing tears in their skin with something shiny sticking out of them. I thought, I wonder if that blueish grey could be intestine sor some other organ because these skin wounds were deep and wide enough that it looked bad enough that it could have been internal organs.

Put them on antibiotics. No change. Frequent ED water changes. No change. Worsening. Still not eating month later. Not super atypical as fire eels can be some of the most stubborn eaters I have ever seen.

I am finally like **** it, 2 months passed they will starve soon. I need to see what that shininess is (2 of my eels were "infected" or so I thought). One in the side of the body, and one near the fishes eye.

Out of the 4 total, I only have one viable healthy one to sell. 1 of them died 2 days after randomly. I assume from a swallowed hook as visually there was nothing wrong with the eel. Seemed the most healthy and active of all of them then suddenly dies. Pretty uncommon, i have been doing this a while and handled well over 20 yellow fire eels.

I grab tweazers from walmart and take one eel out. I realize right away that this is some kind of metal. From where? Did i not sand the PVC pipe down enough? there is not a single piece of metal in the entire aquarium. And why are none of the other 40 eels in the same aquarium hurt like these ones?


I see the arch of the hook and am devastated when I realize what it is. I try to do as little damage as possible. Removed both hooks. That was about 3 weeks ago. The slow process of healing is taking place. I will upload pics when I get around to it.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Thank you for sharing. It's a mighty extreme and rare occasion. Will be interested to see how it develops further.

 

[jjohnwm]

Are you talking about barbed fishing hooks, embedded in the exterior of the fish?

I've kept many native fish that were caught on hook-and-line, and a hook into the mouth (not soft tissue) is something that tends to heal quickly and completely, causing no long-term problems. I have usually removed the hook at the time of capture, but on one or two occasions have simply snipped it off and allowed it to fall out naturally...which, when in the mouth area, it always does. All my hooks are barbless.

But, wow, hooks into the body would be a completely different issue. And are these wild-caught fish? I have always assumed that those xanthic Fire Eels were captive-bred; why would they ever be exposed to hooks of any kind?

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

Are you talking about barbed fishing hooks, embedded in the exterior of the fish?

I've kept many native fish that were caught on hook-and-line, and a hook into the mouth (not soft tissue) is something that tends to heal quickly and completely, causing no long-term problems. I have usually removed the hook at the time of capture, but on one or two occasions have simply snipped it off and allowed it to fall out naturally...which, when in the mouth area, it always does. All my hooks are barbless.

But, wow, hooks into the body would be a completely different issue. And are these wild-caught fish? I have always assumed that those xanthic Fire Eels were captive-bred; why would they ever be exposed to hooks of any kind?

As far as I'm aware, most, if not all, "xanthic" fire eels are wild-caught, and the most conventional method of mass-harvesting mastacembelids, it seems, is to either use traps or lay out lines overnight; the latter method often results in the fish swallowing the hook completely and simply just cutting the line instead of bothering to remove the hook (which is sadly often barbed). This seems to be the most common method of mass-collecting a lot of more cryptic species as well; I've noticed a lot of hooks/line being present in some species of bagrid catfishes and even a fishing line hanging out of a L081 pleco's mouth (didn't even know they would be able to be caught on hook and line!). There are even reports of fishing tackle being found embedded in the stomachs of semi-aquatic and fully aquatic species of snakes.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

The one that died out of blue might have had a hook too, maybe pierced a vital organ. If you saved it, you could dissect. If buried, could look for a hook in remains.

 

[jjohnwm]

As far as I'm aware, most, if not all, "xanthic" fire eels are wild-caught, and the most conventional method of mass-harvesting mastacembelids, it seems, is to either use traps or lay out lines overnight; the latter method often results in the fish swallowing the hook completely and simply just cutting the line instead of bothering to remove the hook (which is sadly often barbed). This seems to be the most common method of mass-collecting a lot of more cryptic species as well; I've noticed a lot of hooks/line being present in some species of bagrid catfishes and even a fishing line hanging out of a L081 pleco's mouth (didn't even know they would be able to be caught on hook and line!). There are even reports of fishing tackle being found embedded in the stomachs of semi-aquatic and fully aquatic species of snakes.

This is incredible; catching fish by leaving out a trotline and then expecting them to live healthy lives in our aquaria. It's astonishing that fish as valuable as these (in terms of money) are not caught exclusively with traps.

I will clarify that the fish I have caught on hook-and-line were always caught on barbless hooks, and always using a handheld rod and reel or simple "cane pole". The difference being that when caught on a handheld line, the hook is set immediately upon getting the bite, so that the fish is hooked in the lips or mouth, meaning that they suffer only superficial damage and heal quickly. I have on several occasions hooked a fish, and had it swim over and seize another baited line nearby while still hooked on the first one; the trauma is minimal.

Contrast that to a baited line that is set and left until checked later, usually the next day. Those baited hooks are usually swallowed deeply and only catch the fish when it attempts to swim away, at which time the hook (probably barbed) impales itself somewhere deep in the stomach. Those fish usually die, although I have heard that if the line is cut off and the fish released, there is some survivability. Not sure how to know if that's true; on the odd occasions that I have caught deeply-hooked fish, they went into the frying pan rather than being released to likely suffer a slow death.

I wonder if the hooks you are finding are somehow working their way towards the surface of the fish from the stomach? It seems more reasonable that these fish were "foul-hooked" somewhere on the external portion of the body, which might disfigure the fish permanently but would likely be very survivable.

We need a "thank you" emoticon; it's pretty difficult to apply the term "like" to a post that imparts the kind of information that yours does.