Eel upside down :(

[mitchelliii]

Came home this afternoon and think my pump lost it's siphon. pump running again, partial water change - Eel is on bottom upside down. Does anyknow know what I can do short term?

If so, please call 678.592.4214 .

Thanks.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Come on guys, there has to be an eel "expert" around here somewhere...

The only thing I can think of is high temps = low O2 = O2 deprived eel.

 

[mitchelliii]

Like your hand would be after being in the pool too long.

 

[glxtrix]

ummm, how long was the tank w/o the pump on? and what size tank is it? cant say ive ever heard of an upside down eel.

 

[glxtrix]

what other fish you have in the tank with him? What has he eaten recently?

 

[mitchelliii]

210 - not certain on how long pump was not running - noticed it when I came home this afternoon.

 

[mitchelliii]

He has not eaten a lot lately - but did eat some shrimp a few days ago. shrimp are his primary diet. He does not eat much else

 

[glxtrix]

i doubt lack of O2 cuz with that much water volume it'll take awhile to depleat the O2, unless it was days w/o that pump on. Do you have any poisoness fish like a lionfish or similar? I'ld say do a water change, maybe add somee powerheads that have airlines to add some O2 to the water. Other than that if you feel advernterous enough try pulling him out, gently, and see if there are any areas that look to be attacked, bit or anything out of the ordinary.

 

[mitchelliii]

sorry - no a clown, gramma, and a foxface . The biggest change I see is his color! he is purple!

 

[glxtrix]

foxface's do have venomous dorsal spines....it could be a possibility he was poked.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Ya, After talking to Scott, I think it might be the foxface to blame. I just do not know enough about eels.

 

[mitchelliii]

You can see a little of the green near head, but not how purple he is near tail.

 

[glxtrix]

Xyzpdq0121;43921 wrote: Ya, After talking to Scott, I think it might be the foxface to blame. I just do not know enough about eels.

or the fact that lee said it first lol, just messin. Yeah eels are pretty hard core and if he got a lil too close to the foxface, they very well could have had a run in....thats really the only thing I can think of that would cause the eel to change colors, unless with his digging a rock slid on him.

 

[mitchelliii]

better pics of the eel.
<u><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="color: #0062e1;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/mitchelliii/sets/72157600262804525">http://www.flickr.com/photos/mitchelliii/sets/72157600262804525</a>
</u></span></span></span>

 

[xyzpdq0121]

glxtrix;43927 wrote: or the fact that lee said it first lol, just messin. Yeah eels are pretty hard core and if he got a lil too close to the foxface, they very well could have had a run in....thats really the only thing I can think of that would cause the eel to change colors, unless with his digging a rock slid on him.

LOL, No I said it first. I just said it over the phone with Scott. After seeing the pics, I still be that is what it is.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

what type of eel? Green morays (which this kinda resembles) arent actually green- their skin is blue, but their slime coat is more yellow, which is why they appear green. Most aquarist dont keep green morays because of their size, but people do have them, including possibly you. Other eels could be quite similar in their biology. If this is the case, he has lost his slime coat on the back of his body (which isnt good). What was the water temperature after the pump was off? Evevn a big tank will quickly eat through the O2 if the temp is high, and their is a lot of biologcal activity (fish, corals, microbes, etc.). I think the best think would be to heavily oxygenate, and make sure the water isnt laden with ammonia or other toxins. Good luck.

 

[cameron]

I believe panda is correct. Dissolved oxygen leaves a tank remarkably quickly. Even in a 210 (depends much on surface area and plant life) will loose oxygen quickly. Fish consume about 5-30mg oxygen per gram of body weight. Aerobic bacteria in our live rocks consume it at an astonishing rate as well. You probably have between 5-8mg of oxygen per liter when the pumps shut off. While there are lots of other factors involved to make a formula virtually impossible, you can guess by looking at the numbers it doesn't take fish long to struggle with depletion.

That said, I don't know much about eels but I hear they are about as tough and hardy as it can get bouncing back from complete dry out. Assuming it is not a virus or parasite doing the damage, he will likely come back to health on his own.

 

[mitchelliii]

Lost Mr. Eel today. Everything else in the tank still looks fine - 0 amm, 0 Nitrite, 0 nitrate, 8.2Ph. Corals all happy (algae happy :/ ) Whatever happened seemed to happen pretty fast. Little bummed because I don't know if it was something I did or did not do properly. Will keep a vigilant watch on rest of tank - I know these things happen sometimes. Thanks for all the input.

Scott

 

[burdundi]

Sorry to hear about that Scott.

-Andy

 

[cameron]

Beautiful specimen but sometimes critters just die... nobody lives forever. Sorry it happend and hopefully your other critters will have a long life.