Fire eel breathing heavy

[swarrrm]

So i have a fire eel, had him for about 2 years now. He's in a 55 gal..about 12+ inches long (getting 130 when i move in a couple weeks) No ammonia / low nitrites, ph 6.4, heavily planted tank. Tanks mates, 1 lavender gourami, 2 flying fox, 4 corys.

I notice it's usually a couple hours after he has a big meal, is this a digestion process or is he ill? i feed him raw shrimp and earthworms.(refuses all other foods) He'll breathe really heavy and hang his head from his hiding spot or hang out behind the filter breathing like he's having a panic attack. He had a fungus covering his eye last month which i successfully cured (related?) He has no physical signs of trauma or disease. I got a feeling it could be internal parasites (hope i'm wrong) Any advice would be greatly apreciated.

 

[crisper]

Is he breathing heavy when he is at the top or the bottom of the tank. And when you say low nitrates how low do you mean. Your nitrites should be reading 0. Also what do you have for filtration, and what is your water change schedule?

 

[swarrrm]

Breathing heavy near the middle of the tank / bottom of the tank. He almost never goes to the top unless I'm hand feeding him which I rarely do. Using a Fluval 4 Plus internal filter with the 3 available media for that filter and I do bi-weekly 30-40% water changes using PRIME as conditioner. Other additives in the water are flourish excel and flourish comprehensive plant supplement. I had a friend pick up a water sample and tests nitrate and nitrite for me (ran out) he just said "low" lol, i called and confirmed it's 0. Only test kits i have are ph, ammonia, gh/kh and they're all fine.

 

[swarrrm]

I have anti parasite pellets i could mix in with his shrimp, should i go for it? Last time i medicated the tank with bifuran+ it leveled my plants and I don't want to go through that again. I was also thinking about picking up some paragaurd, any idea how that is with plants?

 

[swarrrm]

 

[Lupin]

If your fish is breathing heavily after a big meal, you really need to cut back on your feeding and do it in small amounts multiple times a day rather than big meals a few times a day. A lot of fish are not meant to gorge themselves on heavy amounts of food. Their digestion system is just not built for that and it could result in more secondary health issues in the long run if you continue doing this routine.

 

[Wet Whiskers]

If your fish is breathing heavily after a big meal, you really need to cut back on your feeding and do it in small amounts multiple times a day rather than big meals a few times a day. A lot of fish are not meant to gorge themselves on heavy amounts of food. Their digestion system is just not built for that and it could result in more secondary health issues in the long run if you continue doing this routine.

My fire eels always end up breathing heavily after a big meal. I totally agree with Lupin. I try to feed them so that their bellies look full, but are still begging for more. Sometimes, though, I can't help it if they steal someone else's meal and end up laying on the bottom looking like they wish they had a belt to undo.

 

[swarrrm]

Thanks a lot guys I appreciate it. I took all the ornaments out of the tank and found half digested earth worm in his cave. (guess he ate too much) I'll take your advice and cut the food into smaller pieces and do 2 small feedings a day instead of one big one.

 

[ewurm]

You said low nitrites. Nitrite shouldbe zero. Nitrite impedes the absorption of oxygen via hemoglobin. If you have nitrites in the tank I would suggest adding aquarium salt to neutralize this effect. Also add additional aeration. The fact that the fish is breathing heavily suggests nitrite poisoning and/or low oxygen levels.

 

[BPags52]

You said low nitrites. Nitrite shouldbe zero. Nitrite impedes the absorption of oxygen via hemoglobin. If you have nitrites in the tank I would suggest adding aquarium salt to neutralize this effect. Also add additional aeration. The fact that the fish is breathing heavily suggests nitrite poisoning and/or low oxygen levels.

This was my first thought when I saw you said nitrites are low.