Snowflake eel is in rough shape

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Pazernaker

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Hmm. They usually tolerate anything between 70-80 as long as it is consistent. Could very well be an internal issue we cannot see, Most common reasons for this behavior are rapid changes in key parameters. They are very hardy long term and can tolerate a generally dirty tank. My fowlr stays around 50ppm nitrate, but it rarely deviates from this and my eel is just fine.
Well, initial results show that somehow, my Nitrates are off the friggin charts, I'm redoing that because I honestly don't believe they're that high and I'm not experiencing a mass extinction... I just did a 33% water change a week ago, so I have no idea what's going on...

Ph: 8.1
Ammonia: .35
Nitrite: 0 (rock bottom... this concerns me)
Nitrate: >160 PPM (seriously, the vial went bright red in a minute. Redoing this currently)
Phosphate: 1-2
Calcium: 400
 
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Pazernaker

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How long have you had him. If he has only been getting frozen shrimp as a diet for several months or more, malnutrition could be a culprit. If he has been exposed to copper; either through treatment, qt, or from a source running copper in their system: that is a death sentence. Antibiotics and pretty much any tank chemicals as in vibrant or any other tank cleaners will injure the liver. Otherwise there could be a multitude of unknown causes.
Had him a few months, have been through multiple water changes.
 
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I agree with @lion king . Did you QT the eel? You could be seeing down the road effects of chemicals, especially if you're using a type of algaecide in the tank. I feed mine pieces of market shrimp with the shell on, cut up, Small scallops cut up, clams removed from the half shell, and I treat him with hermits and the occasional emerald crab.
I used chemiclean a month or two ago for red cyano, but that's the only chemical treatment I've done.
 

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I doubt its the chemi clean. I did use chemi clean at the recommended dose in the same tank as my eel and it had no ill effects. Not saying its not possible, but mine was fine during treatment.
 
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Just confirmed, Nitrates are through the roof... I don't understand, they were fine 4-5 days ago...

Heading to my LFS right now and took a half day at work to get some RODI water and do a large water change.
 

lion king

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I used chemiclean a month or two ago for red cyano, but that's the only chemical treatment I've done.

What did they come in at? Thats undoubtedly the cause.

Chemiclean will injure the liver in eels and other species and the results will be liver failure at some point. Because of the quick decline I suspected a chemiczl injury, it is unlikely he will recover.
 

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The nitrites is not important. If it is showing 0 nitrites that what it should be, if it wasnt showing 0 nitrites then that is why your nitrates are showing so high.
 

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What I believe happened is that chemiclean is essentially an anti biotic. You are seeing the after effects of your cycling bacteria dying off from the chemi clean treatment.

My eel has been through chemi clean as well and no ill effects.
 

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My course of action would be, large water change asap. Then go buy some fritz turbo start or similar bacterial product to help get your bacteria load kickstarted again and to help with the issue.
 

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Literally off the charts. Greater than 160 PPM Nitrates. I genuinely am lost at why that happened, but am also concerned at my 0 ppm Nitrites.
Nitrates don’t usually just rise that quickly. I’d double check with another test kit or prepare a known volume with NeoNitrate as reference and check your test kit.

When that’s happened to me it’s been due to an overfeeding mistake where apparently my ammonia and nitrites were processed but nitrates fell behind. I also experienced a sudden drop in alkalinity as expected. Solved it by carbon dosing and brought both back into acceptable levels within a few days.
 
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My course of action would be, large water change asap. Then go buy some fritz turbo start or similar bacterial product to help get your bacteria load kickstarted again and to help with the issue.
Heading to LFS for more RODI water right now, I currently use Pristine from Seachem during my water changes or addition of fish, should I swap to something like Fritz, use it in parallel to pristine, or stay the course with what I'm using?
 
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Nitrates don’t usually just rise that quickly. I’d double check with another test kit or prepare a known volume with NeoNitrate as reference and check your test kit.

When that’s happened to me it’s been due to an overfeeding mistake where apparently my ammonia and nitrites were processed but nitrates fell behind. I also experienced a sudden drop in alkalinity as expected. Solved it by carbon dosing and brought both back into acceptable levels within a few days.
I've been debating adding a carbon reactor to my setup, but am trying to not change to much to quickly. Currently, the only activated charcoal in my system is in my MarineFlow cartridge filter, which I just changed the pads about a month ago.
 

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I agree with the feeding issue. It does take days for the nitrates to rise like that. I do believe that your bacteria were affected by chemi clean though. I had a nitrate and ammonia spike after using it.
 

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I've been debating adding a carbon reactor to my setup, but am trying to not change to much to quickly. Currently, the only activated charcoal in my system is in my MarineFlow cartridge filter, which I just changed the pads about a month ago.
I’ve used NoPox in the past to quickly solve the high nitrates. I feel it’s safer than doing a massive WC.

No experience with the beads. Prefer to dose as needed although from others it seems to be a viable solution. Yet setting up a dosing regiment less costly and less room taken.
 
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I’ve used NoPox in the past to quickly solve the high nitrates. I feel it’s safer than doing a massive WC.

No experience with the beads. Prefer to dose as needed although from others it seems to be a viable solution. Yet setting up a dosing regiment less costly and less room taken.
Safer than a WC? What's the negatives of a water change, wouldn't that always be considered the safer route?
 

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I have 2 eels like yours and they have been through Chemiclean multiple times with no ill effects.

I know people that smoke that do not have lung cancer, today. There are many variables as to the individual and the specific tznk conditions while dosing. including aeration and dosage. I have literally seen dozens of eels die after their tanks have been treated with chemiclean. While I have never cut open an eel, I have cut up many lions after clemicleen deaths and seen the liver damage myself. Eels and lions have many things in common as to their response to chemicals, and requirement to diet for that matter. Liver failure can take a year or more after the initial exposure, some initial damage maybe minimal and you will never connect it when it happens at a later time. Moray eels live 20-30 years in the wild while most hobbyist are lucky to keep them 2 years in captivity. So pay me no mind and keep exposing your fish to chemicals.
 
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