Snowflake eel lover 45
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My eel has been really bloated for a few days now. His stomach is huge and then tapers out to normal. He is breathing fast. I think he ate a hermit crab. Any ideas or thoughts on what happened? Will he be okay?
Worried about my eel
- Thread starter Snowflake eel lover 45
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@Jay Hemdal @lion king - any thoughts?
Jay Hemdal
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It could be an intestinal blockage. Is the eel not feeding now?
What makes you think it ate a hermit?
Jay
What makes you think it ate a hermit?
Jay
How long have you had them, what are they eating, and what is their feeding schedule? Did this just happen overnight or was it progressive? Snowflakes are pebbletooth eels capable of cracking shells, they would normally not swallow a whole or large shell they couldn't crack. The will crack a softer shell and eat a hermit, or even a snail; but would test it and not bother with something too hard. There are issues of nutrient deficiencies that can also cause swelling in the neck. These deficiencies would come from a lacking diet and poor water quality, not replacing natural elements through regular water changes or dosing. Boosting mg to 1600ppm, 100ppm daily; can address issues related to digestion. This could help if they did swallow something they should not have, if they did other than boosting mg there is nothing else that can be done.
Snowflake eel lover 45
New Member
He’s acting hungry, but I’m not feeding him because I don’t want it to get even more blocked up. I think it’s a hermit because I have quite a few in my tank, and that’s what they eat in the wild
Snowflake eel lover 45
New Member
I only feed him krill- is that a lacking diet? I feed him every three days, and the bulge seemed to grow over a few days (it didn’t just pop up) I’ve had him for six months
littlefoxx
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Yeah for sure a lacking diet. , @lion king has some great threads on his page about diets for predators. Ive learned a lot from him in care of my lions and eels and follow his suggested diet as close as I can
Krill is not good, and extremely bad as the only food. Krill is high in thiaminese and low in fat. Thiaminese binds vitamin B1 and can prove deadly within several months. Eels need a good amount of fat, and fats high in omega 3. If you do not include more beneficial additions to their diet, it will prove deadly. A lacking diet could also force the eel to eat something that they would not have otherwise eaten. Here's a thread I wrote about good foods to include a diet for predatory fish, I've also written threads specifically about eels and one that talks about the importance of fats. You can click my name and "find all threads",
If it were me; I would boost mg to 1600ppm, offer live gut loaded ghost shrimp, slivers of wild skin on salmon, and mussels. The live food will be complete nutrition, salmon contains the best fats, and mussels contain a good amount of B1. The mg will help with digestion and help pass any potential blockage.
Lion King's dead food recommendations
I'm a health nut if you haven't noticed, this also translates to my pets. Today I will cover some of the dead foods I feed and why, with some nutritional info that I recall off the top of my head. This is by no means all the foods you can feed, these are just the ones I include in my feedings...
www.reef2reef.com
littlefoxx
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Usually you buy ghost shrimp from a LFS and culture baby brine shrimp and other stuff to feed them then feed them to the eel
Salmon is good, but the skin does provide added nutrition, and I do not suggest farmed fish for my pets or humans. But if you do not have access to wild skin on salmon, any salmon you can find. Trader Joes has a great wild skin on salmon. An Asian market if you have one in your area can be the best place to find great additions for an eel's diet. Check your seafood counter or frozen section in your grocery store for mussels, or the Asian market. You get the live ghost from a lfs and feed them a micro pellet yourself, one that I use is New Life Spectrum algae max. You can use a any type container to feed them before you offer them to your eel.
Snowflake eel lover 45
New Member
Okay, so here’s the plan.
- don’t have Trader Joe’s or market, so gonna have to use the skin of store bought salmon
-buy ghost shrimp from petco. Do I keep them in just a container. How long will they stay alive?
-mussels from frozen section
- don’t have Trader Joe’s or market, so gonna have to use the skin of store bought salmon
-buy ghost shrimp from petco. Do I keep them in just a container. How long will they stay alive?
-mussels from frozen section
If you are not setting up a small tank with a sponge filter, just buy a small amount that you will use same day. The container can be a tuperware/plastic tub like container, add dechlorinated water, float bag and empty into tub. Feed them and allow them time to eat. Then feed them to eel. Feeding these can be temporary or occasional to get them back on track. It may take some patience to get them eating other things. If they refuse, just skip feeding that day and try again the next day or when they show interest in eating. They should jump right on the live ghost shrimp.
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