PLEASE HELP!! Is my eel on the verge of death??!!

[Eel_mom167]

Hello, I'm very new here and to all of this thread stuff.

I am the proud owner of a Ghost Ribbon Eel who I've had for a while (a year in October). He was always touchy with eating and lately, he hasn't been eating at all. Now, I've heard about eels going on hunger strikes and didn't worry at first. But now he isn't eating and is acting & breathing very strange. I tried to give the bottom of the tank more oxygen by placing a powerhead on a rock since it broke off from the suction cup. And it hasn't helped at all. It seems that only one side of his body where I'm assuming his ribs are, inflates when he breathes. But the other side stays completely still. And he also seems to be tilting his body and his head and I find him in weird positions on weird places like curled up on a higher piece of live rock with his head hanging down like a bat.

I have him in a 55 gal with a 4" snowflake eel and a young, small volitan lionfish in the tank for the time being while I get a bigger tank set up. I don't think new fish added to the tank was the issue because this has been going on way before I got either snowflake eel or lion.

He was previously on a diet of thawwed krill from my fish store. Also, I called the person I got him from and he said he's never heard anything like it. I'm scared it's a sickness that could be passed onto my snowflake.

Willing to take videos of him breathing.
All help is appreciated!!

Edit: a video of his unusual breathing from about 20 minutes ago and I just checked on him and he's all kinked up

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R! Sorry about your eel, can you post pictures of him along with your water parameters? Are the other inhabitants acting strange at all?

#WelcometoR2R

 

[DSC reef]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Eel_mom167]

Welcome to R2R! Sorry about your eel, can you post pictures of him along with your water parameters? Are the other inhabitants acting strange at all?

#WelcometoR2R

Everybody else seems perfectly happy and normal, everyone eating and swimming around. Snowflake eel is a lot more active than I thought she would be. I got a good video of him breathing. Just checked all my water parameters and everything looks perfectly fine.

 

[Tallison]

Do you soak your food in selcon before feeding? I know eels have been known to pass from lack of nutritional vitamins

 

[Crabs McJones]

Everybody else seems perfectly happy and normal, everyone eating and swimming around. Snowflake eel is a lot more active than I thought she would be. I got a good video of him breathing. Just checked all my water parameters and everything looks perfectly fine.

We need exact numbers, what some may see as fine might actually be an issue.

 

[Eel_mom167]

Do you soak your food in selcon before feeding? I know eels have been known to pass from lack of nutritional vitamins

I've never heard of selcon before. But I'm willing to try anything at this point.

 

[Amoo]

@Robin Haselden

 

[Eel_mom167]

We need exact numbers, what some may see as fine might actually be an issue.

Gravity is 1.025 on the dot
Temp is 79°F
pH is 8.3
Alk is 10
Undetectable nitrites or ammonia
Nitrates is 30

 

[vetteguy53081]

Welcome. I recommend water test and water change.
Increase oxygen(even an air pump) if possible

 

[Tallison]

I've never heard of selcon before. But I'm willing to try anything at this point.

Selcon is a liquid vitamin that you soak food in before feeding. You can find it online or at your local fish store, it also has garlic and might entice him to eat. Don’t know if that’s his ailment but this is a good thread on the importance of vitamins with eels.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/snowflake-eel-dying.321828/

 

[reef lover]

Welcome to r2r!! Good luck with the eel!

 

[eatbreakfast]

It's belly looks very full in the video. How often are you feeding? An eel should only be fed 2x's a week.

What are you feeding? Predominantly feeding krill can be linked to problems.

Only one side of the body breathing would lead me to believe possible rib damage, perhaps from an unstable cave or rock.

@Bob Loblaw

@lion king

 

[Eel_mom167]

It's belly looks very full in the video. How often are you feeding? An eel should only be fed 2x's a week.

What are you feeding? Predominantly feeding krill can be linked to problems.

Only one side of the body breathing would lead me to believe possible rib damage, perhaps from an unstable cave or rock.

@Bob Loblaw

@lion king

He hasn't eaten in almost a month. What else should I feed in addition to the krill? I think his mouth is too small for silversides.
Rib damage is what my mom and I were thinking as well, we just weren't sure. And really, there isn't much we can do, can we?

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Welcome to R2R

 

[eatbreakfast]

He hasn't eaten in almost a month. What else should I feed in addition to the krill? I think his mouth is too small for silversides.
Rib damage is what my mom and I were thinking as well, we just weren't sure. And really, there isn't much we can do, can we?

A month isn't too bad for an eel.

You can always try appropriately cut fresh fish from the supermarket, squid, octopus, clams and mussels pulled off the shell.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Trunk winding is an early indicator of TDS, Thiaminase Deficiency Syndrome---Need to mix up that diet! Vita-chem, Zoe, and Zoe-con are other supplements you can use in addition to Selcon.

Getting it to eat at this point may prove difficult. Live gut loaded ghost shimp or small mollies that have been acclimated to SW may be the best options to entice feeding, May need to move the eel to a QT tank so the snowflake and lion don't eat the live food first. If you can get it to accept frozen I would highly recommend the vitamin soaks and mix up the diet. I don't recommend silversides for morays.

 

[lion king]

High nitrates do seem to effect these guys somewhat, although 30 isn't outrageous, my ribbon will go off feeding when they do reach any higher.

If you have been feeding only krill, that is likely the culprit. @Bob Loblaw has the best advice. You can also try feeder guppies of a fancy guppy if the eel is large enough to take it. Try holding one with tongs to get it pass the other tank mates.

A variety of foods cut into slivers like silver sides, squid rings, octopus. Your lion could benefit from a live feeding as well, so introducing some live ghost shrimp, mollies, or guppies occasionally would be good.