HELP PLEASE

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matthewkingoftheworld

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 21, 2009
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bo'ness scotland
i have had a fire eel for about 2 years. no real problems. hides a lot. likes to be hand fed etc. yesterday i noticed he was acting strange. he was swimming upside down. he's also not burrowing. he appears to have rapid gill movement. i have to add he's the only fish in the tank showing any signs of ill effect. i cant imagine whats happened or whats wrong. he's out his 300l tank and into a 60l quarentine. today he's still the same.


HAS ANYONE SEEN THIS BEFORE????


PLEASE HELP
 
Sometimes fish die from unknown causes. You don't know necessarily know how they were caught and handled in shipping or anything, so they could have been stressed significantly before you even got them.

Even so, do test your water parameters on the other tank, even if other fish seem fine. Sometimes one fish can be more sensitive to water quality issues and perish, while the others appear fine.

I can't really suggest what you treat your fire eel for, since those symptoms could be linked to various issues.

Test ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH. See if any of the first 2 are present, and if nitrates are excessively high.
 
I agree test your water perameters.. though personally in spiney eels I've seen this in it is internal parasites. either new stock bringing it in or the parasites have built up over time and are causing a digestive blockage literally. If your water checks out fine I would suggest treating with prazipro. I've never heard of a spiney "snapping out" of this type of behavior, and would be proactive personally about it. It would also help to know what it's diet is, as well as it's tankmates. Any new additions and any types of illness of disease in the tank in the past 6 months at minimum.
 
tank parameters are fine. inventory of fish IN in the last 6 months; siamese fighter, two baby pangasius, not sure what type maybe sanitwongsei. they where lablled hammerheads. they are babies and im growing them. anyway. not deaths in the last 6 months. my pet shop lady said it could be a bacterial problem and i have treatment. three days now and he's still alive but floating diagonal, tail on the ground nose in the air. upside down. very odd. still tried to swim about bless him.


feeding is an interesting question. mostly all meat. prawn and muscle. woman in the pet store says that he needs veggies. did not know that. i hate to think i might have done this
 
Um no. Your spiny eel does not need veggies and you'd be unlikely to get him to eat them. They're carnivores. The only way to give veggies would be in pellet form, or stuffed into worms or something.

Peas are a common treatment for issues that can cause the behavior you describe, but getting him to eat them would be an issue. You could try putting them in something he will eat, or making them taste like something he normally eats.

The floating may be a swim bladder issue or a blockage. Keep his water very clean. He may pass whatever is causing the issue.

Treating with prazipro, as suggested, wouldn't be a bad idea since fire eels tend to have been fed live food at one time that carries such things.
 
I agree w/ shadow it sounds more like a swimbladder/ either infection or problem. Or an internal blockage. And agree w/ whats said.

Just a small note.. I've also noticed w/ Prazipro either by sheer dumb luck or weather it does act as a slight laxative as everytime my eels have had these types of issues prazi always fixes it.

As for feeding.. veggies are not apart of their diet.. but live foods w/ veggies in their digestional track are. Adding smelt/other small fish from your local seafood department is not a bad idea. the oils that prawns/mussles lack should also help to avoid digestional issues in the future. feeding whole smaller fish are a very healthy way to add to his diet, non-gutted!. Nightcrawlers are also an excellent form of protein and added veggie material, But since your eel does not take live as a normal part it may decide to refuse anything but the worms if offered them.

I also would advise leaving the tank light off and minimal disturbances so he doesn't get over-stressed. A bacterial infection is usually readily seen in scale-less fish usually by a cloudy hazing. A picture would help with a more accurate ID on what you're dealing with as well.

But good luck. Also be wary of meds and scaleless fish. 1/2 dos anything the first day or 2 before useing a full dose. Any signs of ill-effects do an immediate water change.
 
day six and he's still the same. well pretty much.

still upside down, still gasping. doesnt seem as ridged as he did but almost floating by his belly. he's had a full dose of treatment. gonna do a water change tomorrow and start a fresh cycle of treatment


i love the fish and hate to see him like this.
 
:(

Any chance of some random medication having gotten to him, like an ich medication maybe?
 
i do add salt. i keep my tank on the brackish side because i have a G TILE and a GSP. but they've lived together for 6 months and nothings changed. as for medicine. no all fish get treated in the quartentine tank and the eels tank has never had ich


the picture.......

two days ago he was as straight as an arrow, now he's limp. before that he was on the floor of the tank as usual but upside down.

has anybody actually seen anything like this before or are we just guessing???

103_1087.JPG
 
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