My fire eel died. I think he choked, help.

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doubledragon

The House Of Endlie
MFK Member
Nov 19, 2006
2,311
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ohio
I really liked this eel.
I feed him 3 nightcrawlers, on a regular basis.
But this time I gave him two big ones. He grabbed the first one in the center and when he swallowed it, the two ends went down last at the same time. Then I gave him his second one and he ate that one just fine. Right before work I checked on the tank and he was sitting out in the open breathing real hard and when I got home he was dead.
Is chocking a common problem with eel's?
I'd like to get another fire eel again, but would not like to reapeat my mistake again if this is what caused his death.
I've had him for a while and he was up to 14.5".:(
 
Maybe with the worm being folded that way, it may have been to big for him to comfortably digest it? Then the second one packed that one down further. I have always read to cut them up to feed. I honestly don't know. I know that when my RTC overeats, he can puke it up, but I don't know too much about the eels or if they have that ability to puke or not. I'm sorry for your loss though. I know the feeling you get.
 
Where do you get your nightcrawlers? It seems more likely to me that the worms themselves were unhealthy and led to his death.

I've seen all manner of fish (Tiretrack Eels included) choke on something for days on end before it breaks down or they spit it out. Very rarely will they die from choking on a good food source.

If the worms were bigger then usual they could have been older and thus sicklier, or been in contact with more contaminents than a smaller worm. Or, as mamapuff said, the folded worm may have done some damage to his digestive system. That seems more unlikely to me, but it's possible. Either way, if he swallowed it and then ate another one I doubt choking was the cause of death.
 
I get them from wal-mart. They sill look good. I always open them at the store and check them out. Keep them in the fridge.
 
Gluttony is a common way for fire eels to die. I had a large eel that died because I fed it More heavily than I should. I now have an 18"er that does great and I feed him "dillies" as are printed on the carton (smaller species of worm) and I only feed every other day. If you google fire eel and gluttony you can find some articles on this.

Justin
 
I have a 12-inch tire track and I just got a similar-sized fire yesterday. I've not fed the fire, yet. I will later today. I've fed my 12-inch tire worms, but I cut them into thirds, for fear of him choking.
 
Sorry about your loss. My fire eels is my favorite and if I lost him I would deffinately get another. I have been feeding my 20" Fire and my 18" TT night crawlers since they were both about 15" and have had some scares when I thought they might choke. What I do is make them come to the top of the tank and take the end of the worm that I am dangling. I like the fact that I can hand feed them and if they don't come to the surface then I assume they are not hunger. My fire eel gets 2 worms in the morning and 2 in the evening. usually he goes back to "his space" in the tank and chills after the second worm. I have heard of fire eels eating other things besides worms but can't get mine to eat anything but...
 
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