Blue /Black Ribbon Eel 30" - Nose Injured - how long to heal?

nessjosh

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I've had my ribbon eel for 45 days now. It took me a week for him to get comfortable and to start eating. I tossed everything at him. Saltwater acclimated Mollies was his first choice. He has even eaten dried krill and silversides. But over the last week it looks like he got nipped at by my blue throat trigger or my thorny porcupine puffer. At first the right half of his nose was hacked back. Either they nipped him or he stick it into the powerhead slots. Either way he is mamed now. He doesn't have that polyp looking thing coming from his right nostril. About 4-5 days ago he would hit and take a rosie into his den, but i would see it later floating around. So he wasn't swallowing it - this happened twice.
Over the last few days he has been hiding in his 1" pipe. Not even poking his head out. Definitely not eating. Today it looked worse.. like both his nostril were injured and nubby. I'm wondering if this was from getting nipped at or the powerhead again. The powerhead will now remain off until he heals.
Has anyone else encountered this?
How fast do they heal? (I've had my clown fish get bullied and it seems to take a couple weeks for them to heal)
I'll be moving the puffer and trigger into another QT tank as well.
Black Ribbon Eel 1.jpg


black ribbon eel 2.jpg


These NEW photos are from him in a 10g QT tank with no tank mates. He will be moved to a 200g once he is healthy again.
 
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nessjosh

nessjosh

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@lion king do you have any suggestions? I have a feeling he might have gotten nipped by the trigger or puffer as he likes to poke his head out of the tube, and as a hungry predator why wouldnt i take a nibble. The only pump i have in the tank is a JVP-110 and its possible he stuck his nose in there. First it was his right nostril, now a week later its both.
 

Tired

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Oh, the poor thing.

Any chance it's bacterial? The damaged chin suggests maybe it's not just snout nipping.
 
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nessjosh

nessjosh

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Oh, the poor thing.

Any chance it's bacterial? The damaged chin suggests maybe it's not just snout nipping.
I was kind of thinking the same thing. I have Kanaplex i can dose - but I need to see if its safe on eels.
 

lion king

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Ouch yeah that looks like bad news, I just wrote a thread about when is the right time to use antibiotics, and I think this is it. That injury can turn bad quickly, 1st off you must have perfect water quality, it looks like he is a sterile qt/hospital type tank, so using an antibiotic would be ok. Kanaplex is one I am comfortable with, but which ever broad spectrum antibiotic you are good using, is fine.

I agreed it was likely one of those fish nipping, both would do just that, and I wouldn't include a ribbon with either of those 2. Diet is very important also, as good nutrition is needed for the immune system and healing. Please don;t offer rosies, offer an appropriate sized molly or guppy. Tyhe small guppy may be easier for him to ghrab considering his injury. Both mollies and guppies are brackish and can live in saltwater, there is no need to specifically get saltwater mollies, and its actually better you didn't. If you are buying saltwater mollies, they will be carriers of saltwater diseases, it's best to buy freshwater mollies. Neither need an acclamation, if they die just remove them fast to preserve water quality. While I do keep my molly tank at 1.013, I do just drop them in and if not eaten right away, usually live long enough.
 
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nessjosh

nessjosh

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Sad to say he didnt make it, he hadn't eaten in a few weeks, just showed no interest in anything but sitting in his tube. I tried feeder guppies, garlic soaked dried krill, he just wasn't having an interest in anything. He did survive 3 doses of kanaplex. It was starvation that probably got to him since he had his nose nipped off. I'm thinking it was the blue throat trigger as he seems more aggressive at eating than the puffer.
It was strange to see him the last few days, he was out of his tube, just laying in the open, and taking very large breathes it seemed like. i even tried to shove a guppy in his mouth when it was wide open but he flinched away like you would expect.
Not to self, watch who the tank mates are in a predator tank. These eeels have noses that look like little worms when peaking out of their hole.
 

Tired

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That's awful, poor thing.

Once a starving animal gets to the point of laying around not moving, it's generally well into the point where it should be humanely euthanized. A sick or injured animal past the point of no return can't be helped any other way.
 

Ks4726

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Eels and sharks shouldn't be mixed with triggers or puffers unless it's a aggressive species of eel. These fish can use them as chew toys. They don't have a means to protect themselves. Especially a docile ribbon eel.
 
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