Ellipsifer eel question, hlth.  – 09/22/09
I have had two ellipsifer eels for about three years now.
<Mastacembelus ellipsifer, put into the genus Aethiomastacembelus by some.>
One died recently, she was the larger female prone to what I thought was egg binding...her middle would get very fat and her vent would protrude a lot. Epsom salts would help to clear that up. This happened on and off for 8 months maybe.
<Maybe this was not caused by egg binding or solved by Epsom salt.>
A few months ago, the larger female just stopped eating. Nothing visibly wrong with her. Same diet, same tank, no new tank mates. After a long period of not eating, all other tank occupants remained fine, except my second female ellipsifer. Her appetite started to wane. She never got a bloated belly though. I decided to medicate the tank with metro. Didn't work. The larger eel died a week or so later, the smaller of the two eels stopped eating completely and hasn't eaten for about 2 weeks now. She doesn't look sick in any way, just won't eat. She normally eats frozen mysis shrimp. Doesn't want it. Offered her frozen bloodworms, doesn't want it. Tried soaking the food in garlic, not interested. All other tank occupants are fine, and I've since stopped using metro as it didn't seem to be helping and I don't really know what's wrong anyway. Not sure what to do at this point.
<My first approach would be to check the water parameters of the tank. These eels are from lake Tanganyika (they are endemic and occur in nowhere else in nature) and need corresponding water (alkaline, very hard, nitrates below 20 ppm) to stay healthy. See here for details: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/Volume_5/RV_Cichlids.htm . You can try small earthworms/nightcrawlers from a toxin free garden or live bloodworms. Most spiny eels love both. Livebearer fry would be another alternative. Mysis shrimp should not be the only food item, but rather compose a small percentage of your eels’ diet. If you are using frozen foods you may want to feed vitamins on a weekly basis to help the immune system.>
She is in a hospital tank. What medication could I try on her that would be safe for an ellipsifer?
<Since we cannot tell from the symptoms of not eating and dying what your eel has, I’d aim for an improved environment if necessary and try different food items (live worms of any kind). With regard to a possible disease I can just guess that there might be some internal bacterial infection. Spiny eels can be treated with the common antibiotics like Maracyn, but as noted above I believe this might rather be environmentally caused or deficiency disease related. For general information on the family also see these three links: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/matacembelids.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/spinyeelsmonk.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_4/V4I3/Spiny_Eels/Spiny%20Eels.htm .>
Thanks, Kelly.
<Good luck. Marco.>

Mastacembelus erythrotaenia; diet; health - 7/16/09
Hi
<Hello,>
I am starting to get really worried about my fire eel. He has always loved prawns as his main diet, rarely touching anything else.
<Prawns contain a lot of thiaminase; over time, this causes Vitamin B1 deficiency. Use prawns only once or twice per week, and handsomely outweigh them with foods that don't contain thiaminase, such as earthworms.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/thiaminase.htm
>
Water conditions are perfect, I change at least 25% once a week and he has always been active and seemed happy, never tried to escape or have any problem with tank mates. 6 days ago he stopped eating and wont eat anything I try to temp him with (blood worm, river shrimp, muscle, prawn).
<Oh dear. Earthworms are, without fail, the things Spiny Eels enjoy. So try them. Offer them at night, or else using long forceps, so other fish can't steal them.>
I noticed a couple of days ago a small white rotten looking patch at the end of his tail and have treated the tank with ESHA 2000. He has become a bit more active than he was initially ( when I first noticed he wouldn't eat, he stopped coming out of his tunnel) but is acting strange and still wont eat. He used to investigate everything, now he is just sitting on the bottom, or as I saw earlier with his head at the top and balancing on his tail at the bottom (not for O2 as there are 2 air stones in the tank with more than enough O2).
<Spiny Eels are tricky fish, and if given a monotonous diet, they are prone to malnutrition and hunger strikes. There's also the fact bacterial infections seem to affect them more quickly than most other freshwater fish. You're wise to treat what might be a bacterial infection promptly; in the meantime, review the basics, and if needs be, starve the fish until it takes some other types of food.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/spinyeelsmonk.htm
Baensch recommends adding a little salt; 2 to 4 teaspoons per 5 gallons.
While this isn't something you'd want to do all the time, it might well be helpful in this situation as it helps detoxify nitrate and nitrite.>
He is about 35 cm long and in a 50 gal tank. I have had him about 6 months.
Please give me some advice.
Kristal
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Mastacembelus erythrotaenia; diet; health - 7/16/09
thanks for your quick response. I will try earthworms to temp him back to eating.
<Good.>
With regards to salt, I had heard that its not advised to put any salt in with Corydoras. I have a sailfin Pleco, 2 gold nugget Plecos, 6 clown loaches, 7 bronze Corydoras, a Firemouth cichlid, 2 silver sharks, a pair of dwarf Gourami and a Siamese fighter. Would the salt still be a good option as everyone else is happy and healthy?
<This dose of salt is harmless as a short-term therapy. In any event, Mastacembelus erythrotaenia shouldn't be kept with most of these fishes.
The Betta is live food, as is the Dwarf Gourami. Corydoras are choking hazards. Silver Sharks and Clown Loaches can be good companions, given sufficient space and assuming they're big enough not to be eaten.
Mastacembelus erythrotaenia is a darn big fish when mature, and a voracious predator. Suggest you go through your fish, and sort out accordingly.>
Thanks.
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Mastacembelus erythrotaenia; diet; health – 08/04/09
Hi, thanks for your advice previously. Thankfully, after more than 2 weeks of not eating, Mr eel started to eat again. But only prawns.
<I see.>
What is the best way to get him to try new food? we have tried trick him with muscle in-between bits of prawn. He eats it initially then spits it out! He wont touch any dried foods, not that i thought he would.
<Indeed.>
There isn't really anywhere for me to dig up worms close by.
<Any bait shops? They usually sell earthworms ("night crawlers") and you can even buy worm farms from about £30 upwards that turn the stuff you put into the green recycling bin into earthworms. These are clean, don't smell, and are small enough to fit easily on a patio, in a shed, or somewhere else cool and dry.>
And he ate river shrimps once when we first got him, but every other time he ignores them. Even when they land on his nose!
<How odd!>
I am eager to try as you said prawns are not a great diet for him.
<Have you tried hand feeding? Spiny Eels are famously willing to feed this way, once settled. Long forceps help, and initially at least, use foods he takes, such as prawns. Once he gets used to feeding this way, you might try other foods, such as strips of squid, lancefish (which you get from fish shops) and of course earthworms. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Mastacembelus erythrotaenia 10/2/09
Kind reminder. Still no reply received . And now my eel has started scratching like he has ick or something but still no visible signs of any illness! I tried to catch him but they're too damn fast and i cannot get to him!
<Replied to your question days ago. Check your inbox. If you can't find it there, it's up on this page, here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebindex/spinyeelfdgfaqs.htm
Cheers, Neale.> 
This is BobF, I place all daily... And have seen the responses to your queries... Please check that you don't have this email inadvertently blocked (e.g. in your "junk" folder).
Re: Mastacembelus erythrotaenia
Thank you so much. Did not find it in my inbox but saw it on your webpage.
Cheers guys
<Happy to have helped. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Mastacembelus erythrotaenia – 10/3/09
Hi there guys!!! Current update!! My eel has started to lean on one side to scratch on the driftwood, substrate e.t.c but still no visible marks on his skin only some areas are "light grey" which i assume is from scratching himself on the wood maybe??? Please help.
I'm really puzzled here!
<As I have said repeatedly, likely stress between specimens, the weaker one now steadily losing good health as it eats less and spends more time hiding. The point is that this species CANNOT be kept in groups. Remove the second eel to its own aquarium, and it should get better. The grey mucous may be a sign of environmental irritation, but if you suspect bacterial infection, treat with a suitable antibiotic. Cheers, Neale.>

Sick Peacock Eel??  6/11/09
I have a 125g tank that we recently switched from aggressive ( we had two Oscars for 6-7 years that died) to a semi-aggressive tank. It contains six silver dollars, three gold and three blue gouramis, a Plec, a spotted cat, four tiny Cory cats, and two peacock eels.
<I see. Now, you do understand that Spiny Eels aren't easy to keep, and small species like your Macrognathus siamensis find it very difficult to compete with other fish for food? While the gouramis and characins should be fine, the catfish might be unacceptable rivals at dinner time.>
I have had one of the eels for about three months and the other for about one month. They seemed to be thriving for a while, hiding during the day either in two small caves, the large shipwreck, or under the gravel, and coming out at dusk and traveling the tank all night.
<Another problem here: gravel. Without exception, the smaller Macrognathus species are best kept in tanks with smooth silica sand. Gravel damages their skin, and the result is a bacterial infection that starts off with streaks of white mucous and dead skin, then bloody patches, and eventually death. I have written about this here at WWM, here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/spinyeelsmonk.htm
Much as I like Spiny Eels, I don't rate them very highly as species for the casual hobbyist, and the vast majority of spiny eels die quite soon after purchase.>
Recently after a water change (which we do weekly) one of the eels (the newest) came out and was writhing around and twitching almost as if it were having a seizure. This was about a week ago and since the eel has been rather lethargic hanging in the plants or hiding only its head. Today and yesterday it managed to find one of the caves and is staying inside with his head poked out. I noticed that its snout appears to be injured or maybe just pale.
<A suitable antibiotic such as Maracyn might help turn things around, but you certainly need to replace the gravel with sand as well, if you end up euthanising the one fish and hoping to keep the other.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasia.htm
>
I haven't seen him eating, but I rarely do as we feed the eels after turning out the lights.
<Earthworms are their favourite foods, though wet frozen bloodworms and Tubifex work well too. They will never, ever eat dried foods, whether freeze-dried, flake or pellets. Needless to say, those specimens that aren't scratched to death by gravel often end up starving to death because they're offered the wrong food or forced to compete with catfish and loaches. As I say, these are NOT easy fish to keep.>
Our water conditions are ideal, as we check them weekly also. Any suggestions for treatment or a difference in care? Should I move him to a hospital tank, and if so treat with what?
Thanks!
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Sick Peacock Eel??  6/11/09
Thank you for your fast reply!!
<Most welcome.>
Here's an update on the situation: We knew when buying the eels that they are not easy to keep. We're really not what you would call casual hobbyists, we have five different tanks and have been raising and even
breeding multiple types of aquatic life for several years. It just so happens that we've never been exposed to the spiny eels before and don't know much about them.
<OK.>
We did research before buying the eels, the only bad advice it seems we obtained was that gravel is an acceptable substrate.
<Indeed; you cannot expect to keep these Spiny Eels for long in tanks with gravel, period, end of discussion. They need a substrate made from smooth silica sand (be careful when selecting other types of sand to make sure they're "burrower friendly"). Floating plants are another key addition.>
We do feed the eels bloodworms and place them in the caves with the eels where the catfish cannot fit to take them.
<Hmm...>
I haven't seen any white mucous on the eel, only the damage to its snout, it appears that he has either rubbed off or scratched off the tip of his snout. After getting a better look at it, I can see a small white dot
directly in the center of the snout that looks like bone!
<This is precisely how things start to go wrong. These fish burrow by pushing their heads into the sediment. In the wild, that would be mud, sand, and organic detritus such as leaf litter. So the head is plenty strong enough to work its way through without damage. But gravel is far too hard, scratches away the skin, and eventually creates wounds that become infected. Once the infection begins, these fish are difficult to treat, and anything other than the most minor infections seem to be fatal in most cases. It's actually quite obvious why you can't keep them in tanks with gravel when you think about it, which makes it even more of a shame that so few retailers and hobbyists seem to be aware of the issue.>
Is there anything I can do to heal the wound? Is Maracyn still the recommendation?
<Yes, together with a different substrate. Cheers, Neale.>

Fire eel, fdg., hlth.  6/6/09
Hello my name is Crystal
<Hello,>
i have owned my pride and joy(fire eel) for almost 2 years not and she is doing great with in the last 2 - 3 weeks she has been getting really picky with food (which i know is normal)
<Indeed; but few Spiny Eels resist tasty, juicy earthworms! So if you have an "organic" garden (one where sprays aren't used) go collect some earthworms from under stones, flower pots and rotting wood! Leave your Spiny Eel to starve for a couple days, and then introduce one or two live earthworms at dinner time.>
and she's not nearly as active as she normally is she is in a 90 gal tank but today i noticed that she has a red sore or bump on her cheek/ mouth
<Could well be a bacterial infection following physical damage, e.g., from trying to dig into gravel or from fighting with another fish. Treat with an antibiotic such as Maracyn promptly to prevent further problems.>
i have salt all ready in the tank and the normal chemicals with the right levels for everything
<A bit concerned you mention salt, since this species doesn't really need salt. But in any case, review water chemistry and water quality: you want moderately hard water, an approximately neutral pH, 0 ammonia, and 0 nitrite. There's no real need to add salt, since these fish don't come from brackish water habitats.>
just wondering if this maybe an injury or could it be a parasite as i have never have seen anything like this
<Yes, they can get parasites, but the usual way this happens is when people make the BIG mistake of feeding them feeder fish. Spiny eels certainly don't need live fish in their diet, and goldfish and minnows would be doubly bad because these are rich in fat and thiaminase. Used over the long term, goldfish and minnows can cause major, probably irreversible, problems. So, assuming you haven't used feeder fish, then parasites are probably not an issue. If you've used feeder fish, then almost anything could be wrong, and only a vet can tell you precisely what the matter is.
In case I'm not making my point clear, aquarists should not use feeder fish they've purchased from pet stores or bait shops, and if they must use them for obligate piscivores (which your eels aren't) then those feeder fish need to be home-bred and gut-loaded members of a "non toxic" species, such as Mollies or Killifish.>
thank you and just looking for a response on if i should worry thank you hope to here from you soon
Crystal & Jess
<Do see more about Spiny Eels, here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/spinyeelsmonk.htm
Cheers, Neale.>

HELP!! My peacock eel is dying!! 03/29/09
Hello All!
<Hi,>
My spiny eel is dying; breathing rapidly, jerking, flopping all over the tank.
<Oh. Doesn't sound good.>
Water condition is ideal, I can detect no visible signs of disease/trauma on the eel, everything appears ideal, everything is great except all of a sudden he is acting strange, even laying on the sand upside down and on his side.
<If water quality and water chemistry are good, I'd actually be suspicious of toxins: paint fumes, varnish fumes, anything children might "accidentally" have dumped in the aquarium. Spiny Eels are fairly sensitive fish, so toxins, copper, formalin and various other things can cause them to reach badly. In this case, I'd do a big (75%) water change to flush out any potential toxins, taking care the new water matches the old in terms of pH and hardness.>
Is there anything I can do to make him better or help him out in any way?
What could have caused this? Please help!
Lana
<Do have a peruse of this article:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebindex/spinyeelsmonk.htm
Cheers, Neale.>

Re: HELP!! My peacock eel is dying!!  03/29/09
Thank you, Neale, for such a fast response.
<My pleasure.>
I have been up all night watching my eel. I actually did a 70-80% water change at about 2am and I do think that helped.
<Cool.>
I don't know if you remember my other letter, the one where my eel disappeared? It appears as if I have found him/her. I was vacuuming my larger Gourami tank (the one that the eels were in originally and the one disappeared from) and after removing the large artificial rock I looked to the bottom of the tank and, lo and behold, there he was, big as life!
<Great!>
I quickly removed him and put him in my eel tank and he has been fine since. He must have been hiding inside the rock because I completely emptied the tank, sand and all when I moved the eels.
<Does happen. Back in the prehistory of the hobby (i.e., pre-1990) it was very common for people to discover colonies of fish living inside (underneath) their undergravel filters, often things like Kuhli loaches.>
It is very curious though, because I drained all of the water out of that rock no less than 4 times to vacuum the tank, so if he was in that rock he was without water for 15-20 minutes at a time.
<Many fish will tolerate long periods out of water, provided they are damp.  At least some Mastacembelidae have an air-breathing ability that allows them to tolerate swampy conditions, so these would be good candidates for a list of fish able to live out of water for many minutes.>
There is no way he could have been in the gravel because I used a rather large substrate that would have been impossible for him to burrow in. It is the other eel that appears to be ill.
<OK.>
After the water change this morning he did eat some and did some sort of fast moving dance with the other eel on and off for most of the night. Is it possible for them to be mating?
<These are Macrognathus siamensis, right? That's a fairly sociable species, so may be merely some sort of dominance assertion ritual. Spiny Eels breed extremely infrequently, and when it happens, it seems more luck than anything else. Females are much deeper bodied than the males though, so sexing two similar sized specimens of the same species should be fairly easy. Males are broadly circular in section, maybe a little compressed from side to side, but females are dramatically more compressed, especially when sexually mature.>
One of them is most definitely more full-bodied than the other, since I bought them at the same time, from the same shop.
<OK; well, given this, may well be a male and a female. Little is known of their precise breeding habits. In Baensch, reference is made (under the incorrect name, Macrognathus aculeatus) to one breeding success. The male was 11 cm, the female 19 cm, so those are possible sizes they need to be to breed. Mating was described (translated) as "vehement" (heaven's only know what the original German word was, though presumably this means it was boisterous) and a 1000 eggs about 1.2 mm across were produced. These hatched after 3 days, and after another 3 days the fry became mobile and
started feeding on Radiolaria and Cyclops nauplii. Conditions: 24-26 C, pH 7.2, 39 (!!!) degrees dH. Other reports from memory include one where the eggs were laid among floating plants. So far as I know, the adults do not extend any kind of broodcare, and should probably be removed after spawning. Or put another way, if you came across some eggs, I'd remove them to, e.g., a floating trap so you could watch them. If they did spawn, I'd like to hear about it! It's really extremely rare.>
So I do think he is better, but now it is day time and while the other eel has gone under the sand this one still is out. My plan is to perform daily water changes until he is back to normal. Any other suggestions?
<Not really; observation is the order of the day, and perhaps tempt them with some earthworms if you have some (yet to meet a Spiny Eel who wouldn't take these yummy morsels!).>
Should I add some Pimafix just in case?
<Possibly, but if you use either this or Melafix, understand these are at best preventatives (like dabbing a cut with antiseptic ointment) and not really much of a remedy otherwise.>
Lana
<Good luck, Neale.>

Re: HELP!! My peacock eel is dying!! 3/30/09 Alright, my eel is still alive, but will not bury herself and just lays on her side. She does have some red marks on her. I have attached pics. <Yes, I see them. Does look like a bacterial infection; Erythromycin or similar will be the only option that I can think of. Spiny Eels are prone to these infections. The addition of a small amount of salt may benefit; Baensch recommends 1-2 teaspoons per 2.5 gallons.> Also, while we're at it, can you identify her for me? <Macrognathus siamensis. See for example, here: http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=2261 In the hobby, this fish is often called Macrognathus aculeatus or the Peacock Eel.> I have two identical, one more deeper-bodied, but identical all the same.  They are supposed to be Peacock Eels but you know how that goes... <This is what they are, likely a boy and a girl.> Anyway...I have removed her to a hospital tank with sand, heater and airstone. I even put in a plastic floating plant so she would feel more secure. I have not added Pimafix to the water yet as I wanted to ask you what you thought of a salt bath. <At dose mentioned, though as a *supplement* to the antibiotic, not an alternative. This is bacterial, and it does require a systemic approach to fix.> I was not sure if a salt bath would harm her or not so I wanted to ask first. <Spiny eels tolerate salt well, so unlikely to do harm.> She seems listless whilst in the tank but when I was trying to net her she really gave me a run for my money, so that makes me feel a little better.  I really do not want to lose her. I have spent hours upon hours watching her eat, and watching her watch me. What do you think the red marks are? <Specifically, they're signs of inflammation, or where the blood vessels have been blocked by bacteria.> She did not have those until last night. I went to work about midnight and they were just starting and I got home about an hour ago and she looks like this. That's when I put her in the hospital tank. Everyone else in the tank is fine, as far as I know. <Quick, treat her!> Thank you a million times for your help. I am rather new to the hobby and have read many of your articles and letters before buying my eels. <Try Maracyn first; if that doesn't work, switch to Maracyn 2 as that catches different types of bacteria.> Thank you, thank you, thank you! Lana <Good luck, Neale.>

Re: HELP!! My peacock eel is dying!! 3/30/09 Thank you again and again! <You're welcome.> Just so I am clear...dose with Maracyn, <Several doses, across several days; follow instructions to the letter! Remember to remove carbon, if used.> Pimafix <Unnecessary.> and add salt? <I would, at the dose suggested by Baensch.> Or should I leave off with the Pimafix for now? <Pimafix won't fix anything Maracyn can't.> And also, are we talking table salt or aquarium salt? <Aquarium ("tonic") salt, though non-iodised cooking salt will work too.  Don't use marine salt mix: that would alter the pH and hardness.> Sorry for all the dumb questions, but I really want to get this right. <The only dumb question is the one not asked...> Also, a friend recommended using Lifeguard; it's made by Jungle, and it almost seems as if I have used it before in my son's tank. Will this be safe for my eel? <No personal experience. Would recommend not to mix medications.> How do I know if it is safe or not? <Depends on the ingredients; would tend to avoid copper, formalin when treating Spiny Eels.> Also, the picture of the eel you sent does not look like my eel at all.  She has spots on her tail but she has dark stripes running along her sides. <The only sharp photos you sent me are of the back end, and that matches Macrognathus siamensis. But do also check Macrognathus aral, another commonly traded "peacock eel".> Again, thanks a million for all of your help. Lana <Cheers, Neale.> Re: HELP!! My peacock eel is dying!! 3/30/09 I have attached a couple photos I took a little while ago. <Appears to be Macrognathus aral, or something similar. Do see here to peruse some other members of the family: http://www.fishbase.org/identification/specieslist.cfm?famcode=432&areacode= > I ended up putting her back in my eel tank because I noticed my heater wasn't working properly and she was acting decidedly worse. I added the Maracyn to the tank; it comes in little packets of powder and the directions say to just dump it in but as you can see in the photos it leaves little white clumps everywhere. <How odd.> Will it be ok to dissolve it in water next time? <That's what I'd do. Add the powder to a cup of water, stir well, and then pour across the top of the aquarium in a zig-zag motion from left to right, so that the solution gets evenly distributed.> Again and again, thanks!! Lana <Happy to help. Cheers, Neale.>   Re: HELP!! My peacock eel is dying!!  4/1/09 Hello again! <Hello Lana,> I have enclosed a photo of my poor eel taken this morning. I am broken-hearted. <Eek!> She is still breathing, but that is about all. With as advanced as her infection is, do you think she has a chance of pulling through? <Unlikely.> I just don't know what to do. I started her on the Maracyn -2, or whatever it is called, the other one you suggested, yesterday. <Good.> Part of me wants to believe that the fact that she is still alive shows she is getting better, but the logical part feels like she is just slowly dying and needs to be put out of her misery (that sounds so awful). <I doubt she'll recover. The problem with Spiny Eels is once they get sick, it really is difficult to heal them. I don't really know why this is, but to prevent this happening in the first place is my usual approach, e.g., in terms of soft sand rather than gravel.> I have looked deep into myself and I absolutely CANNOT end this eel's life. <Never easy. Is she showing any signs of getting better? E.g., more movement, healed skin. If not, would recommend overdosing with Clove Oil. This first sedates the fish, and then eventually the fish suffocates as its breathing rate slows down. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasia.htm It's a peaceful way to go, according to vets. A litre of water with 20-30 drops of clove oil should do the trick. Stir well, and then add the fish.> I trust your opinion, so I am asking you what you think: Should I end her suffering (or find someone who can) or let this go on and see what happens? Lana <Sorry this isn't ending well. Good luck either way, Neale.> Re: HELP!! My peacock eel is dying!! – 04/07/09 Hello Neale, <Hello Lana,> I am sorry to say that my poor eel is gone. I used the clove oil yesterday morning. I feel absolutely horrible. I know that it was the right thing to do because she was suffering horribly, but I still feel sad. <I sympathise, and am sorry to hear this.> Thank you so much for all of your help with this. It is such a good feeling, knowing that there is someone I can count on for help during times like these. <Thank you for saying this.> When I was first thinking about buying eels I Googled "peacock eel" and came across the Wet Web Media site; I sat for hours reading the articles you wrote on spiny eels. When I say I couldn't have done it without you, I really mean I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you so much for that. Lana <I do hope the other eels are healthy and happier. Once settled down and feeding they can be long lived, even hardy fish. But they don't travel well. Good luck, Neale.>

Peacock Eel Floating?  3/18/09
Dear Crew,
<Hello,>
In my 30 gal tank I have had a ~9 inch peacock eel for years who is generally happy and shy and hides in the plentiful plastic plants and small rock caves. When threatened, it burrows into the round pebbles but
normally is comfortable enough to just hide in the plants. The other fish (various tetras, Leaffish, algae eater, swimmers, etc) leave the eels alone.
<Not a big fan of pebbles in Spiny Eel tanks: sooner or later the fish gets scratched, and then secondary infections set in. Small species like Macrognathus siamensis should be kept in tanks with smooth silica sand. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/matacembelids.htm>
Recently it became so bloated that it floats when still, so has to anchor under some plants or position itself under rock ceiling. I change water and vacuum every 2-3 weeks and chemistry is OK except nitrites/nitrates can occasionally get on the high end of acceptable. I add aquarium salt according to directions.
<How much salt? And why? Macrognathus siamensis isn't a brackish water fish, and while there may be value to salt as a therapy under some situations, continual exposure to salt can cause problems for freshwater fish. One reaction is bloating, and indication that their osmoregulatory system has been overloaded in some way. Unless you're keeping one of the truly brackish water species, like Macrognathus aral, there's no need to use salt.>
Other fish in tank get flakes. Ran out of frozen bloodworms for eels and switched to frozen brine shrimp for the last month or so. I hand feed this eel and my other younger peacock eel. Every now and then I put in some pieces of cooked egg or salmon for variety.
<Don't use egg. Not a natural part of their diet, and can cause constipation.>
I have noticed some bubbles coming from the big one's anus on two different occasions so wondering if this is just a bad case of gas that will work itself out or if something else is going on.
<So far as I know, spiny eels aren't air breathers, so I wouldn't expect them to expel gases out of their vent in the same way as certain air-breathing fish.>
Ready to lay eggs?
<Possibly; female Spiny Eels are distinctly laterally compressed because they are substantially deeper bodied than the males. Sometimes, certain fish become egg-bound in captivity if not kept with males: even if the eggs don't develop into fry, the simple act of spawning "clears out" the female reproductive tract.>
I adore my eels and would appreciate any help you can give.
<Very difficult to say precisely what the problem is. As mentioned above, there are at least three possible factors. Gravel simply doesn't work with spiny eels in the long term, and nondescript bacterial infections are the almost invariable result. The regular addition of salt to freshwater aquaria causes more problems than it fixes, and isn't recommended because it can cause precisely the sort of bloating problems you're experiencing here (see, for example, Malawi Bloat). Finally, egg binding is an occasionally reported problem among species of fish that refuse point-blank to spawn in captivity. While there isn't much you can do about egg binding beyond adding a male and hoping for the best, I'd also recommend treating with a suitable antibiotic (e.g., erythromycin or Minocycline) while adding Epsom salt at a dose of 1 teaspoon per 5 to 10 US gallons. These will have the combined effect of (hopefully) killing the bacterial infection while
restoring the osmotic balance within the fish. Stop with the regular salt though!>
Thanks very much!!
Dianne
<Cheers, Neale.>

Peacock Eel looking pale   2/3/09
Hi,
I have a peacock eel who is becoming very pale, almost pinkish, and his spots seem to be transparent. He's about 6-8'', and I've had him for a year now in a 55 gallon tropical tank. I've had past problems with bacterial infections due to sick feeder fish, and over the course of several months lost the majority of my fish. The eel never seemed affected though. I treated it and decided to change my tank to African cichlids since I only had 7 fish left.
The tropical tank was kept at 80 degrees with a pH of 7.8. I had colorful decorations with dark blue and purple pebbles. The eel was always the typical color, light brown with a lighter belly and dark eye spots. When I changed to a cichlid tank 2 days ago, I changed the dark larger gravel to a sand colored crushed coral which upped the pH to 8.2, temp is still 80 degrees. I also added some brown flagstone for the cichlids (I only have 4 yellow labs under 2"so far). The eel has been very active since the majority of fish were lost, and he eats well. His behavior hasn't changed
since the tank was switched over, there are no sores and his skin is smooth and intact, but his color has definitely paled.
My question is this: Can a peacock eel change colors to better match it's surroundings? or, Could it be the pH? I really love my eel, and want to do whatever I can to keep him healthy. I would hate to know I'm causing him to
fail in this tank. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Beth
<Hello Beth. The answer to your specific questions are [a] yes, fish do change their colours somewhat, depending on their mood and environment; and [b] pH is possibly an issue here. But let's expand this slightly. Spiny Eels are notoriously prone to bacterial infections, and shouldn't be brought within a mile of feeder fish. End of story. Whether or not they actually eat the feeder fish is immaterial, simply putting feeder fish in the tank is an unacceptable risk. Secondly, Spiny Eels are very easily damaged by anything other than smooth sand. Gravel and pebbles are totally
unacceptable for the smaller species. Most people who try eventually end up with a dead Spiny Eel. This happens so often I just consider it mandatory to keep the small Macrognathus species Spiny Eels in tanks with a smooth
silica (silver) sand substrate. Always take care not to use things like Tahitian Moon Sand as these are "sharp" sands. The manufacturers actually state that these sands are incompatible with burrowing fish, but too many aquarists ignore this, and wonder why their Spiny Eel gets shredded and eventually infected with a bacterial infection of some type. Crushed coral is inadvisable for a variety of reasons; partly because it raises the pH and hardness, and partly because Spiny Eels can't burrow through it. Coral sand could be mixed with silver sand at a ratio of up to one part coral sand to four parts silver sand, but any more than that would also raise the pH and hardness excessively. There are Spiny Eels from Lakes Tanganyika and Malawi, but the Peacock Eel (Macrognathus siamensis) is not one of them, and consequently has no place long term in a Rift Valley Cichlid aquarium.
Even if the water chemistry won't kill it immediately, the aggressive behaviour of the cichlids will, either directly, or through making it difficult for the Spiny Eel to feed. The native Spiny Eels are "used" to cichlids and actually prey on them, or more specifically, their fry. They don't burrow but instead hide in the rocks, and while not commonly traded
they are available from time to time. If your Spiny Eel has changed colour, my gut feeling is that this may be partly to "blend in" but could equally easily be a stress reaction. This fish doesn't belong in this tank, and shouldn't be kept with Malawi cichlids, period. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/spinyeelsmonk.htm
Hope this helps, Neale.>

Re: Peacock Eel looking pale (Time to get creative!)   2/3/09
Thank You,
<Most welcome.>
Here's my next question...
I don't know anyone with a tropical tank I would trust not to kill my eel.
I'm also afraid to give it to a fish store just to suffer elsewhere. Do you have any suggestions for where I could look if I need to give him up?
<The best advice is to get in contact with a local fish club. Many have an online forum, so even if you can't travel, you can still communicate.
That's probably your best way to learn the better stores or fishkeepers in your area. I'm in England, so my knowledge of the aquarium hobby in Florida is somewhat limited!>
I spoke with at least 4 different fish store guys (not Petsmart) all told me the eel would do fine in the cichlid tank.
<It's possible they were thinking of the African species of Spiny Eel, such as Mastacembelus ellipsifer, which do indeed cohabit with (some) cichlids quite well. But the reality is that people sometimes know rather less than they think they know. It's always important to research topics independently, though stuff that's been edited by experts, whether books, magazines, or web sites like this one. In this case the problem is that, for example, Malawi cichlids and Spiny Eels need completely different food.
Mbuna are mostly herbivorous, but will eat meaty foods if offered, and this makes them sick if given to excess. Spiny Eels are carnivores, but slow ones, so most insect larvae or whatever put in the tank will be eaten by Mbuna long before the Spiny Eels find them. Again, the pH and hardness suitable for Malawi cichlids is much to high for Asian Spiny Eels. Yet again, the cichlids want coral sand and lots of rocks, whereas the Spiny Eels need soft sand and feathery plants. It's difficult for me to see how you can satisfy the needs of the Spiny Eels and the Mbuna in the same
system, even hoping that the Spiny Eels will be smart enough to avoid being bitten or harassed by aggressive cichlids.>
My choosing cichlids was dependent on the ability for the eel to thrive, and they all claimed the crushed coral was not so coarse as to damage him.
<Coral sand probably won't scratch him, but it's far from ideal.>
Today he's hanging out over the aerator bubbles and he's jumped into the filter once (he only did that when I treated the tank with Pimafix and it irritated him) so I know he's not happy.
<Indeed.>
I really can't set up another tank, but I want to see him where he'll be happy, and he likes a lot of space.
Thanks for your time
<Here's my workaround. You have so far only Yellow Labs, right? Go back to a regular planted community tank. Yellow Labs have been bred so much in captivity known they should adapt to such conditions. Keep the pH around
7.5, keep the hardness around, say, 12-15 degrees dH, and make sure the water is well oxygenated. Use plants that do well in such conditions (most will be fine). Use soft silica sand on the bottom, and arrange some rocks in heaps for the cichlids to use, while leaving plants in other areas.
Don't get any more Malawi cichlids (at least not without talking to me first!) and just stick with species that should adapt to such conditions.
All else being equal, I'd expect such a community to just about work.
Yellow Labs are hardy and not aggressive, so compared with Malawi cichlids generally, they're fairly good in communities. You will need to feed the Spiny Eels at night to make sure they get enough to eat, but other than that, I can't see any major problems. Not textbook cichlid keeping, but viable. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Peacock Eel looking pale   2/3/09
I apologize for all the questions, but...
I forgot to add that I also added 2 tablespoons of salt to my 55 gallon tank on Saturday (advised by the fish store guy after checking the water) and I wondered if the salt would irritate him more than the pH which was increased from 7.8 to 8.2. Our house has a water softener, which was never a problem before. If I do some slight water changes will this help him until I can figure out what to do? Will the salt burn his skin, or is the alkaline just way too high?
Thanks, and again sorry for all the here and there questions
<Who told you to add salt to a tank with Malawi cichlids? There's a fair consensus that salt is one cause of Malawi Bloat, and should not be used as an additive in this way. As a component alongside Epsom salt and baking
soda, marine salt mix can be used to create a home-brew Malawi salt, but it should not be used alone. You also shouldn't use water from a domestic water softener. Very bad for fish. Spiny Eels are actually fairly tolerate
of salt, and some species occur in brackish water. But just to be clear:
use plain, un-softened tap water, with no salt, in your aquarium (but with dechlorinator, of course). Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Peacock Eel looking pale   2/3/09
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
For future reference, what other types of cichlid can I add. I want to stay with the less aggressive. Are "electric blue" or "peacock" ok? They were suggested by the fish store.
Thanks,
Beth
<No, I wouldn't go with Aulonocara spp. in the tank I described earlier.
Even the Labidochromis is pushing it, but they're fairly small, peaceful and adaptable. To be honest, I wouldn't add any other cichlids until I had seen the tank running stably for a while, three months at least.
Concentrate on midwater things if need be, barbs and the like. Cheers, Neale.> 

Red fire eel with a spot   1/10/09
Hello
My name is Karen B. and I have a 40 gallon tank that has been running for the past 22 years with fresh water tropical fish. The tank has two power heads, 4 inches of gravel, 40 pounds of decorative rock, many live plants, an under gravel filter plates. I do my water changes every other week and vacuumed part of the bed every month. Many years ago I worked in a fish only shop where I fell in love with fish keeping. I used to breed fresh water fish and got my red fire eel as a one inch baby from a customer. He's now almost 20 years old, about 22 inches long, a good eater (hand feed Calf. black worms) and has had many tank mates over the years. Most have died of old age and some he did eat in the beginning. About a month ago he developed a spot on his side, it's round and looks a little fuzzy it's about the size of a small pea. He's had this spot for a while and it never got any bigger or seemed to bother him. I did treat the tank with a fungal medicine for a week with no help because I didn't know what else to do for him. Now I've done my water changes and in the past few weeks he has developed several white freckles on his belly running the full length. I've been web searching and found very little information on how long fire eels live or anything about his spot(s). I talked to the local pet shop who told me to try here. So here I am question in hand. None of his tank mates are ill or have any spots. I know eels don't do well in medicated tanks for long periods of time because they are skin fish I really don't want to loose him.
Worried Karen
<Hello Karen. Fire Eels (Mastacembelus erythrotaenia) are -- in common with all Spiny Eels -- prone to skin infections. Left untreated, these can quickly cause the death of your fish. The usual problem is that people decide to keep their Spiny Eel in a tank with gravel and/or jagged rocks.
Spiny Eels are burrowers, and their small scales are easily removed if they try to burrow into gravel. Once the scales are gone, their first line of defense against opportunistic infections is breached, and the chances of things like Fungus and Finrot dramatically increase. I really can't stress this point strongly enough: small Spiny Eels (like peacock eels) should never be kept in tanks with gravel, and the larger species, such as Fire Eels, should only be kept with smooth gravel and smooth rocks. Also check how clean the gravel or sand in your tank is: over time, both become "dirty" and should really be cleaned with each water change. While the bacteria on the gravel or sand are usually harmless, in large quantities they can cause problems, the classic example being bacterial erosion of catfish barbels. I mention this because damage to a Spiny Eel's belly is very common the first sign of bacterial problems. Now, given your specimen is a whopping 20 years old there's no way you're a "newbie" at this, and your basic mode of fishkeeping must be essentially sound. But I would recommend looking through your tank for anything dirty, sharp or jagged, and removing it. On the other hand, I suspect your fish is to some degree getting old, and his immune system may be getting weaker, and even in the best aquarium, he may become more prone to infections, no matter what. Next up, how to treat! Spiny Eels are sensitive to copper or formalin. An antibiotic would be a good first pass treatment, something like Maracyn or, if that doesn't work, Maracyn 2 (these treat different sets of Finrot bacteria). Apply any medications carefully, and as always, take care to increase aeration of the water during the treatment and keep a close eye out for signs of distress. Alternatively, look for a copper-free medication suitable for use in marine tanks and/or with copper-sensitive species such as Stingrays and Mormyrids. The addition of a small amount of tonic (not marine) salt to the water may be useful too; when keeping this species, Baensch recommends 1-2 teaspoons (about 6-12 grammes) per 2.5 gallons (about 10 litres) and I don't have any quibbles with that. Spiny Eels generally tolerate salt extremely well and tonic salt won't affect pH or hardness (as opposed to marine salt mix, which would). Higher salinities might be used to treat Fungal infections directly, though by itself salt doesn't have much impact on bacterial infections like Finrot. I'd expect a Fire Eel to handle salinities up to SG 1.003 without any fuss at all, and quite possibly a little higher. Tea-tree oil treatments such as Melafix might have some beneficial support function, but I wouldn't rely on them to treat the infection at hand here. Spiny Eels are fantastic fish, and the Fire Eel in particular. Wishing you luck, Neale.>

Re: red fire eel with a spot   1/11/09
thanks for your quick response I am worried about my old man in the tank. I did a water change today and will do another partial tomorrow. I've printed out the email and will head out the pet shop today. Thanks again.
Karen
<Happy to help. Cheers, Neale.>

Fire eel with pop eye and cloudy eye – 10/30/2007
Hello All-
<Emily.>
I am so glad I have found WWM! I happened to stumble upon your page while doing research for my sick Eel. I'll try and keep this short. For the last 3 weeks my fire eel has had cloudy bulgy eyes. (almost looks like he's wearing goggles) Is this pop eye?
<Yes sounds like a bacterial infection of the eye.>
His appetite is a little decreased but he is still nibbling at his blood worms each day (not as much so in the last 2 days). He has also gone pale in color over the last week. I really don't want to loose him, I'm a novice fish owner! He's in a 75 gallon tank and I've had him for about 6 months. He has lots of hiding places and none of the other fish bother him. Last week I started treating him with Ampicillin
<...is for gram negative bacteria.>
every other day for 5 days since Erythromycin
<...is for gram positive bacteria.>
and tetracycline
<...treats gram negative as well negative bacteria of some types.>
has not helped. I have also done two 50% water changes within the last week. His color has improved a little but his eyes are still very cloudy. He just lays on his side hiding in his cave all day. He has always been a pretty mellow eel. I had my water
tested at a local fish store and everything seemed fine.
<Numbers would help, especially hardness and nitrates.>
What should I be doing for my eel?
<Although fire eels most commonly occur in soft water habitats like some streams, swamps and even flooded rice fields and only rarely are found near estuaries, they may do much better in hard to slightly brackish water in captivity. The exact reasons therefore are unknown and may be related to some interaction of ions (hardness, salinity, carbonate hardness) and the accumulation of possibly toxic compounds in the tank water (e.g. nitrates), that, due to dilution, does not occur in nature to such extent. Although adding salt to the standard fish tank can well be considered an antique technique from times when the need for partial water changes was unknown, I’d suggest to increase the salinity of the water to reach a specific gravity of 1.002 (roughly 3-4 grams marine salt from the pet store per litre). That should improve the constitution of the fish and won’t kill your filter bacteria. In addition I’d try to improve the diet by offering a variety of foods, because if he only ate bloodworms, he may also suffer from a lack of vitamins. Try earth worms, little shrimps and also soak the blood worms in vitamins from time to time prior to feeding. You have already used a lot of antibiotics, so I’d get a test kit and check if nitrites are 0 all the time. Nitrates should be below 20 ppm for good healing conditions. If another antibiotic has to be used (I hope not), try Maracyn.>
Thank you and warm regards! – Emily
<Also have a look at http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/matacembelids.htm and the linked files above. Hope that helps and your eel gets well again. Marco.>

Spiny eel with grey patches – 05/04/07
Hello Wet Webbers! My name is Linda <Hi Linda. Marco here with you today.> and have a question for you.  I have done some research and have not found the info I am seeking, so I hope you don't mind my long question.
<Please see http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/spinyeeldisfaqs.htm for similar questions.> I enlarged the print cause I just had Lasik done and am having some trouble reading my computer screen. <Hope you get well soon.>
I added an 8" fire eel to my 150 gallon FW community cichlid tank.  His tank mates are 3 keyhole cichlids, 2 port cichlids, 2 gold and 1 green Severum, three fire mouths, one 5" chocolate cichlid <quite some competition for the eel with regard to food.> a handful of Corys, a few rummy nose tetras, half a dozen tiger barbs and three clown loaches.  He was fine for the first six months, but about 6-8 weeks ago he started "peeling".  He has gray "bald" spots on part of his body now. He swims well and is a hearty eater. <Good to hear.> A couple weeks ago I did have a very bad outbreak of ick (saw a chocolate cichlid that I just had to have and didn't set up a quarantine tank, I should know better) I had to treat the whole tank with copper safe. <I’d use copper products in bare bottom hospital tanks only. Now you have to get rid of it with water changes and by filtering with activated carbon, and hope none remains in the substrate.>
Everyone survived and all is well except for Earl.  He continues to look worse.  Since the "bald" spots are the only symptom, I thought I would give him some time to heal on his own.  I also thought maybe he was molting, or something <No, certainly not.>. His gray blotches do not look like fuzzy fungus or bacterial spots. Just large patches.
<Spiny eels are prone to skin diseases such as the one you describe. It probably is a bacterial infection possibly associated with a fungus.>
I have spent a great deal of time watching the tank lately and have never witnessed any of his tank mates attacking or picking on him. I do 75% water changes every two weeks. <The latter two actions are good practice.> The pH is 7.5-8, 0 nitrites and well below 20ppm of nitrate.  He eats frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp. I am going to set up the quarantine tank and move him tonight to see if maybe someone is harassing him at night. Can you give me any suggestions as to what may be going on with Earl? Should I medicate him or just observe him since he is eating well?
<If filtering your display with activated carbon does not improve the situation, quarantine him and add 1g/l marine salt. This is a mild treatment often successful in similar cases. Also be sure to provide pristine water quality in the quarantine tank. If that does not show any improvement in about 10 days to 2 weeks you should consider the use of antibiotics in your hospital tank. Also, read the FAQ linked to above. >
If someone is picking on him, I would guess it is the Firemouths. Oh yes! I have a mixture of small to med. gravel size <hope the grains are well rounded, because spiny eels like to bury.>, soft driftwood, smooth rocks, a large strawberry pot, and plastic plants in the decor. The temp. is right around 77 degrees. Thank you so much, you guys provide a great and valuable service to the tropical fish world. Linda from WI. <You are welcome. Hope your eel gets well again.>

Spiny eel with grey patches II – 05/05/07
A few more facts on my eel. When I feed my fish their frozen food,  I throw a chunk of bloodworms in a 2 quart pitcher and fill it with tank water. When the worms are defrosted,  I swirl it around to break apart the chunk and dip the pitcher into the tank. I hold it below the surface enough for Earl to slip in and eat his fill before I dump it out for the rest of the fish.  Using the large pitcher works well because when you dump all the water out it swirls around and disperses well so everyone has a chance of eating. This way I know Earl is getting enough food.
<Nice feeding technique. Could be improved by avoiding the polluted thawing water getting into the tank.>
Also I have never seen him burrow into the gravel.
<He’d do that if he was harassed by the cichlids.>
He hangs out under the driftwood and will also hang on the water intake tube support. For the salt treatment, I am guessing 1g/l  marine salt is one gram per liter?  <Yes. Cheers, Marco.>

Fire Eel Disorientation  4/26/07
I contacted you guys quite a few years ago about my 130 gallon tank being infected with Cyanobacteria.  Ever since then I've never been able to get rid of it but once a week I siphon off the slime algae carpets off the bottom and it looks good for another two days or so.
<Cyanobacteria ("blue-green algae") grow in tanks without aquarium plants usually because the water has high levels of nitrate and phosphate. There's really not much you can do about it in the average "tank buster" aquarium without actively reducing the nutrient levels in the water. Oh, and by "without plants" I mean any tank not set up specifically for rapid growth of higher plants. A couple of Java ferns won't make any difference either way!>
I've tried more powerful lights, no lights (made the Cyanobacteria grow slower but made everything else worse), phosphate filters, etc and none of it has ever stopped or even slowed down the speed of the growth.
<Phosphate (and nitrate) filters generally can't help the eutrophic conditions in heavily stocked tank buster aquaria. They are designed for use in marine tanks and planted freshwater tanks where the water quality is already very good. These chemical filters "polish" the water a little more, by scrubbing out the phosphate (or nitrate). But they are utterly overwhelmed when placed in a tank buster tank unless used in vast numbers and replaced/recharged on a weekly basis.>
I've had the tank set up for over 5 years now and the inhabitants are a clown knife fish, fire eel, spiny eel, and three rope fish.
<Nice collection of fish.>
I've heard before that clown knife fish shouldn't have any tankmates smaller than them but I guess these guys have learned to live with each other or something, 'cause they never pick fights.
<Often, fishes are inoffensive towards fish they grow up with -- they view them as part of the scenery, I suppose.>
When I'm cleaning the eels' caves the even sometimes hide behind the clown knife in the corner and he has no problem with it.
Anyways, I discovered recently that erythromycin apparently kills off Cyanobacteria while being quite safe for plant life, the fish, and it also doesn't harm the biological filter all that much.  So, I picked up some Maracyn 1 and followed a dosing schedule that I found while researching on the internet.  It said it was a rather ful powerful dosage to kill the Cyanobacteria rather than create a resistant strain of it, yet it was far less than the Maracyn instructions listed to cure bacterial infections and
such.  It said to add 2.5 mg/L of it one day 1, 2, and 4.  Then 1 mg/L on day 8.  Between these days I should do frequent water changes and siphoning dead Cyanobacteria and debris out of the tank.  Due to having only two packages of Maracyn 1, I ended up actually adding only about 2.0 mg/L for the first few days.
<Honestly, in my opinion a totally pointless exercise. The Cyanobacteria grows in your tank because of the nutrients in the water. Even if you killed off any single bacterium in the tank (which won't happen) more would get in from the air and in a month or two you'd be back where you started. Unless you reduce the phosphates and nitrates to as close to zero and keep them there permanently, the Cyanobacteria are going to come back. Period.>
So, here's my problem now.  I added the first dosage two days ago and then the second dosage yesterday.  I could already see that the slime algae was beginning to thin out, but when it came to feeding time I saw that something was wrong with my 5 year old fire eel.  He wouldn't eat and he was swimming around restlessly and seemed disoriented.  He was also swimming completely upside down the entire time.  When he hid underneath his cave he would lie upside down as well.
<First: check water quality. Second: perform 50% water change. Third: perform another 50% water change. Quite obviously you've done something the fish doesn't like, and it's good odds that the massive die-off of bacteria that's causing pollution in the water, using up oxygen, and perhaps releasing toxins in the water as well.>
I added some aquarium salt at one teaspoon per gallon and boosted the temperature from 80F to 83F.
<Why are you doing this? Fire eels aren't brackish water fish and don't need salt. Raising the temperature and adding the salt both reduce the amount of oxygen in the water, further aggravating one likely problem. Please, unless you have a clear reason for doing so, NEVER change the water chemistry or aquarium conditions simply as a knee-jerk reaction. Fish don't like changes. Oh, and bin the tonic salt. It's useless stuff. Honest.>
This morning the fire eel was lying on top of a tall piece of driftwood upside down, and he rarely lies out in the open.
<Sounds extremely serious. Have you done those 50% water changes yet?>
There's no visible wounds or discoloration on him and he doesn't look bloated or breathing quickly.  I tested the water and the ammonia was 0 ppm, nitrite was 0 ppm and nitrate was 32 ppm.
<Well, the nitrates are part of the blue-green algae problem...>
I hope you have some suggestions as to what I should do 'cause I really don't want to lose my eel.
<Do the water changes. Increase oxygenation in the water. Present a votive offering to the Fish Gods.>
It's strange that it happened as soon as I added the Maracyn 1, but everywhere I read it shouldn't be causing any problems to the eel.  Thanks for your help.
<My basic philosophy is that without medical or veterinarian advice, aquarists shouldn't use antibiotics, period. There's a reason people go to medical (or vet) school to learn about those drugs. Unfortunately, in the US at least, some antibiotics are freely available. Please resist the urge to use them needlessly. As you're discovering, they are powerful medications that can have unpredictable results to those not trained in their use. In the meantime, just do more water changes to bring the nitrates and phosphates down, and remove the Cyanobacteria the old-fashioned way: with elbow grease.>
Dayton
<Cheers, Neale>

Injured peacock eel - please help  - 1/22/07
Hi Crew,
<Kim>
I've searched site and can't find the info that I need, and I'm pretty desperate, so I'm writing in hopes that you can give me some advice.
<Will try>
I have a peacock eel who is about 5 inches long. He lives, happily until today, in a 75 gallon planted tank with gravel substrate. Today my 11 year old daughter picked up the large castle decoration in the tank to look for a snail that she couldn't find. She sat it down and when she saw that it was crushing one of the plants, she pushed it over. My eel was apparently next to the bottom of the castle and got pinned under it. I walked in the room right as she was pushing it over and since she's not supposed to ever stick her hands in the tank, immediately rushed over to see what in the world she was doing. I saw the eel sticking out from under the castle, about two inches below his head.  Needless to say, I got the castle off of him in a flash. He swam (if you can call it that) away, but under his gills is red and he looks bent in the middle when he's still. I managed to scoop him up in a small plastic container and moved him to my hospital tank. The thing is, I don't have a clue what to do for him now, or even if there is anything that I can do for him.
<Mmm, not much "to do"... their gills are red naturally... and if in initial good shape, mastacembelids/spiny eels do tend to heal rapidly... I would move this fish back into the main system myself>
As I write this, he is laying on the bottom of the tank, curved in a loose C shape, but he's moved a couple of times since his transfer.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!  Kim
<No medications suggested... Just time, patience and hope. Bob Fenner>
--
Kim Jones

Sick Fire Eel    12/26/06
Hello, I'm Katey, and I was hoping you could help me with a problem with my fire eel.  A week or so ago she began getting pale spots on her face, as if the color was bleached out.
<A bad sign>
She also began acting listless, letting her head droop sideways instead of alertly poking it out of her hiding place.
<Something amiss here environmentally...>
However, she still ate ghost shrimp (her favorite food) just as voraciously as before.  I did massive research but didn't find anything that really fit... she didn't have "fungus" on her yet.  Water tested  o for nitrites but nitrates were high (close to 80 ppm?).
<Yikes... way too high>
However, I had just done a 45% water change a week or so before.
<Too much percentage at one go... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwh2ochgs.htm
and the linked FAQs file above>
  A few days after presenting with the pale spots, she developed a grayish, slimy material on her body in various areas.  This sounded like columnaris (except nothing really around her mouth), so I began treatment with Maracyn plus after a 15% water change for the nitrates (Tuesday will be day 5).  My concern is that she is also occasionally having crazy frantic thrashing spins around the tank (lasts 5-10 seconds), and I'm not even sure it's columnaris!
<Is not... primarily... something in the water... perhaps consequent with the massive water change...>
She still acts lethargic but I thought her skin cleared up a little, though not sure.  Her appetite is good but she is definitely not herself.  Her tank-mates, a tire track, 2 clown loaches, and an African butterfly, show no sign of disease and are acting very healthy.  Any ideas/help would be very appreciated!!  Thank you very much for your time!  Katey
<What re your water quality tests? I would use activated carbon, a pad of PolyFilter in your filter flow path here... Stat! Bob Fenner>

Re: Sick Fire Eel, need to add...    12/26/06
Hi, Katey again...I wanted to add onto my last email about my sick fire eel.  She is REALLY flipping around now...she seems to be absolutely desperate to itch.
She goes on 100mph spins that looks like she is trying to itch her body with her nose.  Even worse, she beats herself against the wall, decorations doing this...
I'm afraid she'll kill herself doing that!
I hope this gives you more clues...
Thanks!
<... your water... Bob Fenner>

Eels Healing from Injuries
Hello Once again Dr Fenner!
<Anthony Calfo in your service, my friend, whilst Bob travels the great continent of Australia. I'm hoping he brings me back a cool accent instead of a tee-shirt when he returns <smile>>
I need your advice regarding these 3 fire eels that I want to buy. The aquarium houses them together with a grown Cichlid in a 2 ft tank. I think the Cichlid must have attacked them before 'cos I can see that 2 of them have slight injuries.
<a shame...mitigated by the cramped tank I'm sure>
The 3 eels are about a foot long and are very fat. The injuries are such that I can see the whites of the
flesh. The body is jet black but then I can see breaks in the skin that reveal the whites. It actually looks
like a small scratch made by a needle. The injuries look very minor but I do want them to heal if I decide to purchase them. Its very rare over here (Singapore) to get eels at this size.
<perhaps because they are delectable <wink>>
Do you have any recommendations for medication? What can I do to help the eels heal faster? 
<yes... an antibiotic combination of Furazolidone and Nitrofurazone (Jungle brand "fungus eliminator" for example). Eels are one of the few fish prone to true fungal infections. It will guard against bacterial infections as well>
If I just put them in my tank will the injuries eventually heal? 
<perhaps...especially if your tank is larger (it really must be)>
I went back to the aquarium about a week and a half later but the injuries were still apparent. 
<unusual and not a great sign... perhaps you should take them sooner to a better tank>
They look pretty relaxed in the tank though but I think they'll be better off without the Cichlid.
<certainly agreed>
On a separate note, what kind of medication are suitable for eels with fungus or other skin problems?
<above listed...and antibiotics in general are safe>
I read that they are very sensitive to metals in the water and also some 'itch' medicine. 
<yes... avoid copper and organic dyes like malachite and Victoria green and methylene blue>
Should I put in some capfuls of Blackwater into the tank? Will this help them relax?
<dim lights will work the same or better>
You helped me identify the Caecilian I have several weeks ago and I really am grateful! =) I look forward to your reply once again. Yours Faithfully, Leonard Emmanuel
<with kind regards, Anthony>

Tiretrack Eels 10/14/03
They have not had an appetite for 3 weeks and I am getting worried so please can any one that is an expert on them please help me.
<I really could use more info.  These are Tiretrack eels?  How long have you had them?  What kind of food have you offered  them?  How big is their tank?  What are their tankmates?  Have you tested the water?  How often do you change the water?  After you answer all of these questions I'll be much better equipped to help your fish.  Just to let you know, the only food I have ever seen my eels eat is live Tubifex/black/bloodworms.>
and if there is a phone #  I could call to give more detail please tell me.
<I'm sorry, we have no phone service.  Emails to this address is the best we can do.>
thanks Jeff  <Your Welcome, Pufferpunk>

Boiled Eel..
>Hi,
>>Hello.
>Wow incredible site.
>>Thank you.
>My sister has a tire track eel and it's sick, it has boils (?) on its back. That's how she described it to me.
>>Sounds like ulcers, an open sore is my take on it.  This isn't good, though.
>What might it be and how can we fix it?
>>We see ulcers of this type most commonly on goldfish.  It's called septicemia (see here: http://www.fishbase.org/Diseases/DiseasesSummary2.cfm?discode=809 )
>Do you have any good references for info on curing disease/sick tire track eels?
>>Not specific to tire track eels, but you can also search for treatments for SCALELESS fishes.
>I read on your site that if it has sores it's likely to die soon?
>>Maybe not so soon, but these afflictions can be very difficult to deal with.  It should NOT be treated in the main display, however.
>She's very found of this eel as she says it has a lot of personality!
>>I'm sure it does, and if you can, search further on http://www.fishdisease.net/ as well as looking for freshwater fish forums and sites.  Because these infections can by caused by many bacteria, treatment is rather like "blasting" with antibiotics.  Marina
>Thanks, Cindy

Sick eel please help
I have a Aethiomastacembelus elipsifer Tanganyika eel and it does not look like he is eating and has gotten very skinny. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to fatten him up. He is not very active and does not look very good. I have him in a 55 gal. with mainly a Tanganyika/Malawi setup. I have tried feeding him bloodworms, freeze-dried plankton, and flake food at night after I have turned the lights out and the other fish have already been fed. I even tried holding it in front of him and he will not eat it. He used to bury himself all the time and now he just stays in one spot out all the time. I am very worried about him. What should I do?  
< These eels are very cool. I saw many different species in lake Tanganyika as few years ago. They ranged from little small 4 inch eels that would swim around like little sea horses to very large ones like fire eels. In the wild we saw them feeding on small shell dwelling cichlids in around the rocks. We caught them at night in minnow traps using very oily fish as bait in the trap. I would catch the eel and place him in a separate tank that is well covered so he won't jump out. Place a layer of fine sand on the bottom and a rock or cave that he can hide in. Make sure the water temp is at least 80 degrees. I would first try some live washed earthworms or some well washed black worms. Then I would get some feeder guppies and throw them in the tank. See if the eel will take the guppies out of your hand. If this doesn't work then maybe small strips or raw fish cut to bite sized chunks. In a large community tank these eels are reluctant to feed because of all the commotion the cichlids create. You eel may end up needing live fish all the time. -Chuck>
Thanks, Jessica B.

Feeding peacock eels
I just purchased a small peacock eel and was wondering if I was feeding correctly. He/she is about 4-5 inches long and I'm feeding shrimp pellets. I read in the information on spiny eels that they won't bite and chew their food. I don't think my eel's mouth is large enough yet to eat the shrimp pellet whole but I dropped a pellet near him (he's burrowed and sticking his head and part of his body out) earlier and it's gone now. Will they eat the pellets once they've softened? Or do I need to resort to frozen food (I live in a college dorm that allows only fish tanks and I don't have access to a store that sells live food so my method of feeding is rather limited)?
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/matacembelids.htm >
In addition to that, I was wondering what would be the best remedies for the most common infections, like ick. I'm using a product currently with my other fish called CopperSafe by Mardel (Active ingredient: Chelated Copper Sulfate) in combination with a product called MelaFix (it says it's safe to use with scale-less fish). CopperSafe seems to work really well with my other fish, including a pictus cat, who came in with ick. But you mentioned that metallic medications don't work well on eels. What should I look for in an anti-ick medication when it comes to peacock eels? Should I just dose the tank with non-iodized salt?
Sarah
<Please read over WWM using the Google search tool there, with these questions, product names... I would not use Melafix for anything, nor copper compounds on mastacembelids or pimelodid cats... Read my friend, before purchasing livestock, using toxic chemicals on them. Bob Fenner>

Fire eel 11/3/05
Dear Robert,
I wrote to in July with regard to my 10 year old fire eel (in 90 gallon tank) that I have always treated with the Maracyn and CopperSafe. You recommended I get a copper (ion) test kit to monitor the copper level because Stresscoat (which I use all the time) can remove it over time. I purchased a freshwater kit by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals which reads from 0.25 thru 4.0. My measurement today is .25. Is this a treatment level? 
<Yes... tween 0.15 and 0.30 ppm of free cupric ion>
My old kit by Aquarium Systems (which I cannot find replacement packets for) read 0.15 thru 0.2 on the chart and it stated that this is a therapeutic treatment if maintained for 10-14 days. 
I also would like your opinion on this: my fire eel has these blister like, or more like welts, on his sides. He has had these for sometime - they are not new. It reminds me of a hive like a human would get on their skin. And, he has grown up with a Pleco that appears to have an uncanny affection towards him. It's like their glued together, though I suspect the Pleco is sucking the slime off of him.
<May be>
Again, this has been going on for years. Your comments, please. 
Thank you.
Linda I.
<I would keep an eye on the Pleco... try to keep it weaned away from the eel... perhaps with algae wafers... offered toward the evening/lights out. Bob Fenner> 

Fire Eels, Cestodes, and Praziquantel - 11/01/2005
Hello Crew! I have a 2 1/2 foot Fire Eel that appears to have tapeworms. He appears very healthy and gregarious in all respects, but periodically he discharges some white, flat, many inches long, substance which appears to cause him some discomfort, resulting in thrashing about the tank to dislodge it. Does not appear to be normal waste or a normal way to evacuate based on the discomfort involved and the color. 
<Could indeed be tapeworms.... or other worms.>
I have not been able to isolate any of this substance as the rest of his tank mates devour it immediately,
<Ugh.>
which of course means they also have worms if that is what they are. 
<Agreed.>
He is fed live worms and I know they can be carriers of tapeworms which has caused my concern.
<Good concern.>
I know he shouldn't have any medications with copper, and I was also concerned because he is scaleless, or nearly so anyway. Some of his tankmates are also loaches and Botias, so I have to worry about them as well since he is too big to quarantine and they and the rest of his tankmates would probably have to be treated as well, anyway. However, all his tankmates also appear to be quite healthy. What medication or treatment would you recommend?
<Praziquantel would be my first choice, followed by Levamisole or Piperazine.... There are a number of products available for aquarium use, one being "Prazi-Pro". Any of these medications (or others for cestodes) will need to be administered via food, I believe.>
Thank you for your time. He is a sweet little fiend, and I don't want the worms to cause him problems in the future. I wasn't able to find anything by performing a search for this item in your website.
<Glad to hopefully be of service.>
Marcia
<Wishing you well, -Sabrina>

Fire eel, copper use 7/22/05
Dear Robert:
<Linda>
I have had my fire eel about 10 years and he is about 18-19 inches and very well rounded.
<How nice... great pets, very intelligent>
He is very aggressive and spooks easily and has had several injuries to his body over the years.  Only on one occasion did I almost lose him - my local aquarium shop said it sounded like an infection in his gills - heavy breathing - not eating or swimming.  I treated the tank with Maracyns I and II  and CopperSafe and he recovered.  I have used these products ever since, and having read on your webpage that eels are sensitive to copper I wonder if I should stop.
<Mmm, no... just "be careful"... not to over-expose>
I recently moved ( and the fire eel) to a new home which is on well water and I regularly treat the water with StressCoat and CopperSafe.  May I have your opinion on this treatment plan.  Thank you.
Linda Itoh
<Mmm, I would get, use a copper (ion) test kit... and know that StressCoat will remove/precipitate copper. Bob Fenner>

Sores on Aethiomastacembelus elipisfer   3/10/06
I just bought a Aethiomastacembelus elipisfer about a month and a half  ago.  
This week I see a sore on its side.  Also, it is not very  active, preferring to "make like grass" in the plants.  I am not sure it has  been eating, but have fed guppies and will continue to do so. do you have  suggestions on treatment for these sores?
Thanks
Pei
<Mmm, yes... from Oliver's input and mine posted on WWM (Please use the Google search tool or read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/spinyeelfaqs.htm
These matters need to be addressed aggressively. Bob Fenner>

Fire Eel Issues - 04/05/2006
I have a fire eel (approximately eighteen inches) in a freshwater tank - think he might about 15 years old - not sure.  
<Nice!>
A couple weeks ago he stopped eating, became lethargic (not sure I spelled that right),
<I believe you did.>
and appeared to have labored breathing.  I dosed the tank with Maracyn II for five days,
<Why?>
and then another five days with Maracyn.  
<Again, why?  Did you see symptoms of anything aside from the heavy breathing/lethargy?  Did you have reason to suspect a bacterial infection?>
I have only used Mardel products on him including Coppersafe and occasionally Maroxy.  
<.... should try not to use medications unless you know there's a disease that must be treated....>
He has a couple injury sites that have turned white.  
<Disturbing.  How did he become injured?  Tankmate squabble?  Escape attempt?>
After the second week of antibiotic treatment, he improved, regained his appetite and was swimming like usual.  Last night, he stopped eating again.  I'm not sure what to do this time around.  I/m afraid he might be dying from old age?  
<In all honesty, this is possible....>
I am doing 20-25% partials every 5-7 days.  
<Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH readings?>
He has a small area of whitish skin on the side of his face.  Please give me some suggestions. Linda Itoh
Hello,
I wrote to you a little earlier and I need to add a symptom I just noticed with my fire eel - his stomach is bloated.  
<The bloated belly and refusal to eat are troubling....  I would first check (and correct, if necessary) his water quality....  Next, there are a number of things to consider.  First, simple constipation.  Foods high in roughage content may help with this (adult daphnia, adult brine shrimp....).  Secondly, these dropsical symptoms may indicate an internal bacterial infection; if that's the case, there may be little you can do, depending upon what, exactly, is troubling him.  You might consider trying to feed with an antibiotic medicated food, though this will (obviously) be difficult if the fellow refuses to eat....  Maintaining optimal water quality and hoping for the best with foods to help reduce constipation may be your best first start.>
Linda Itoh
<My best wishes to your eely friend,  -Sabrina>

Fire Eel Issues - II - 04/22/2006
I have not been doing well with my fire eel. His belly is still bloated and he is not eating.  
<Yikes!>
I have been doing water testing and the results as of last night were:  ph 7.5, copper .5 to 1.0,
<I still don't understand what you are treating with the copper?  Our correspondences haven't let me to believe that you are dealing with ich or other parasites....>
nitrite .09,
<This should test as zero....  likely you need to do more frequent water changes right now; the copper has destroyed your biological filtration....  And again, why copper?>
nitrate (I am still having problems figuring out) I am using tetra test NO3 and color in test-tube matches 25mg on color chart with kit;
<Mm, it's in parts per million, no?>
however if I divide that by 4.4 I believe  that number is 5.68,  is that good or not?  
<You've lost me here; why are you dividing?  Is it not displayed as parts per million, or....?  And what about your ammonia readings?>
I think he has an infection and needs to be treated with antibiotics.  
<.... this is possible, but not seeing the fish, not having all the data, I really can't tell you what he might need at this point....  If you do suspect an internal bacterial infection, Kanamycin or Nitrofurazone in food is my recommendation....  or at least orally if not in food, if in any way possible.>
I have only used Mardel products in the tank.  The white injury sites are from him trying to cram into a castle which is too small for him now which I have not taken out yet because he is so panic stricken when I work in the tank I'm afraid he is going to jump out.
<If there is an item in the tank responsible for the injuries to the animal, PLEASE get it out of there IMMEDIATELY.  Replace it with more decor of a more desirable nature, large enough not to damage the poor fellow.  This is imperative; if he's getting wounds from this castle, it needs to go, pronto, in favor of something that won't wound him.>
Some years ago I was working in the tank and he took off like a rocket right out of the tank, in the air, and landed on a tile floor.  He did recover but has not been the same since.  
<Yeee-ikes!  I can imagine!  Sneaky little fellows....  give him more appropriate hiding spaces, things to make him feel secure, things that won't wound him.>
I also have been using well water for the past 3.5 years which I treat with stresscoat when I partial.  Please give me some suggestions?  
<This bloating and refusal to eat is hopefully something that can be passed....  I would add a tablespoon or two of Epsom salts (Magnesium Sulfate) per ten gallons of water; this may very well help him pass any blockage.  Secondly, I would absolutely quit with the copper, unless you are treating for ich or some such....  adding copper is shooting yourself in the foot right now, with regards to water quality.  If you are highly confidant of a bacterial infection, I would recommend treating with Kanamycin and/or Nitrofurazone, again, preferably orally and preferably in food.>
Right now, I am just doing partials about every 4-5 days.  
<You may need to increase this to *daily* with the copper in your tank destroying your biological filtration....  Be testing, *daily*, for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH....>
Thank you.  Linda
<All the best to you, Linda, and don't get disheartened.  Spiny eels are resilient fellows, and hopefully yours, aged though he is, can pull through this.  Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Fire Eel Issues - III - 04/23/2006
Sabrina, thank you for your response with regard to my fire eel.   I had been treating the tank with copper because the injury sites were not healing like they have in the past.  
<Copper really isn't very useful for aiding wounds in healing....>
I did about a 30-35% water change yesterday and my copper level today is 0.5.  I plan on not adding anymore copper.  I was thinking if I maintain a therapeutic level of copper it would keep him from getting parasites.  
<Mm, for the most part, you're not so likely to see parasite issues pop up unless you introduce them; it's bacterial complaints that you need to have concern over.>
I have always maintained a level of copper in the tank for as long as I've had him.
<With regards for parasite prevention, a more useful and less toxic substance to use is just aquarium salt.  Spiny eels don't much like it, but tolerate it FAR better than copper.>
Today my nitrite is 0.3 mg/liter, and NO3 is 50mg/l.  I am using tetra tests with color charts measures reading in mg/l.  
<I see.  mg/L is the same as ppm (parts per million).  Thus, you have .3ppm nitrite and 50ppm nitrate.  You most certainly need to do some hefty (or heftier) water changes; spiny eels don't appreciate high nitrates....  I would quickly strive to bring this much lower; 20ppm at a maximum, less if possible.>
The only test chart I see with ppm's is the copper chart.  I am thinking I need to another partial today; but I just don't know.  
<Yes, absolutely.>
My ammonia  is 0 according to the tetra test color chart reading from 0 thru 5.0.
<Get the nitrite to zero, and the nitrate down.>
Interestingly, after I did the 30-35 partial he actually ate some food last night;
<Ah!  Good!>
but still looks very uncomfortable, and is still bloated. I thought the bloating was due to a bacterial infection which is why I'm thinking he needs antibiotic.  Can you tell me where I can Kanamycin in the oral form?  
<You might have to mix it yourself, or take a look at http://flguppiesplus.safeshopper.com/234/cat234.htm?590 - they have an antibacterial medicated flake with Oxytetracycline, which might also be effective.>
The only antibiotic I keep on hand are the Maracyns.   I did not put Epsom salts in the tank yesterday because of the partial and he seemed to have gotten some relief from it.  
<The Epsom cannot cause him harm, even if he were in perfect health, and may help *immensely*.>
I'm so distraught over the possibility of him not making it through this.  
<Get the nitrate down....  Discontinue copper....  Add Epsom....  Maintain impeccable water quality (ammonia and nitrite at ZERO, nitrate less than 20ppm and preferably closer to 5ppm)....  Wait a few days, then begin with antibiotics in food if no improvement is seen.  At least, that's what I would do.>
Thank you for your help.  -Linda
<All the best to you,  -Sabrina>

Fire Eel Issues - IV - 05/13/2006
Hi Sabrina,
<Hi, Linda!>
I'm writing again with regard to my bloated fire eel.  He is hanging in there; but he is obviously not comfortable.  I added the Epsom and have discontinued the copper since April 25th no copper.  The copper level is holding at 0.25 ppm,
<I continue to urge you to get this to zero.>
0 ammonia, 25 mg/l nitrates,
<Really needs to be lower still.>
<0.3> nitrites,
<Needs to be zero.
ph is holding at 8.  
<Yikes!>
I have read that fire eels like a lower ph so the 8 concerns me.  
<Yes, me too, a great deal.>
However, at this point I'm so frustrated with what to do, maybe the pH8 is not a significant problem.  
<Mm, it is a problem, I think.  Many/most fishes are very tolerant of a wide-ish range of pH, but spiny eels really should not be in a pH this high.  Dangerous.>
After our last email conversation he was not eating so I put Maracyn II in the tank for 10 days, he starts eating and swimming around.  He will not eat flake food, shrimp, bloodworms or earthworms.  
<Disconcerting that he won't take worms....>
He eats shrimp pellets and algae wafers.  Since I stopped the copper his welt-like blisters are getting white-ish and he is scraping along the bottom of the tank.  
<Still signs of irritation, perhaps at the nitrite, nitrate, copper, or that very high pH - or something else in the water, even.>
I have done partials every 2-4 days, however he seems really stressed after a partial.  I am on well water here and I did a hardness test on it - 14 dGH - and 13 dKH.  
<Kinda high, there.>
I have always used water right from the well, and am now wondering if I should be using water from the tap which is ran through a softener. The tap water reads 1dgh and 12 dKH.
<I would advise against the softened tapwater; this can be even more trouble than it's worth.  The very hard, high pH of the current water, though, is troubling.  I would like to suggest that you try doing a couple of water changes (carefully, and spaced apart in time) with some water from a Reverse Osmosis filtration unit or even store-bought bottled water - I don't know where you are, but many places have water stores where you can fill up a 5g water jug for a buck or so with straight RO water.  Just BE CAUTIOUS of this, as the pH of the purified/bottled water will be much, much lower than the pH of the tank - you do NOT want to lower his pH too quickly.>
My aquarium readings as of yesterday are 18dgh and 10 dKH. I had to have my husband
help me with these tests. Very complicated for me.  
<And very kind of your husband, too - thank him for me.>
Seems like he has skin problems since we moved from city water to well water.  
<Bingo....>
I'm probably just grasping at straws at this stage.  
<I very strongly feel that the bulk of this animal's problems are environmental.  I would actually hold of from medicating at all (aside from the Epsom salt, I would use that again after your next water change).  I would like to see this critter VERY slowly (as in, 0.2 a day) go down to below a 7.0 pH with as close to zero nitrate as possible (below 20ppm at the least), zero ammonia, zero nitrite, zero copper, and lower hardness with the use of RO/bottled water.  I really think a more accurate environment may be the whole key here.>
I have purchased Maracyn Plus Biospheres Antibacterial (Sulfadimidine and Trimethoprin).  Do you think this would help with the skin welts?<Mm, I would hold off on medicating this animal any more than absolutely necessary at this point and see how an improved environment affects him.>
Please give me your thoughts.  
<You've got 'em now, and I hope they help some.>
Thanks,  -Lyn
<All the best to you and your eely buddy,  -Sabrina>

Fire Eel Issues - V - 05/15/2006
Hi Sabrina,
<Hi, Linda!>
I'm writing with an update on my fire eel.   After I read your last reply, I did a small partial - only five gallons of aquarium water - did I replace with store-bought bottled water.  I'd like to explain something to you that my husband explained to me before I give you the numbers.  I have been testing the PH with a tetra test kit that reads from 5,0 thru 10,0 and the aquarium water has been reading an 8,0.  He brought in the ph kit for our pool water that reads in tenths from 7.0 thru 8.0.  We tested the aquarium water (before small partial) to see if it matched my ph of 8.  It did not - it read 7.6.  
<A big difference....  I would test this against another aquarium test kit, perhaps at your local store; many/most stores will test your water for you for free.>
We did the partial and  the ph on the tetra kit read 7.5 and the pool kit read 7.4.  
<This is a difference that could be charted up to human error....  is very close.>
This was on May 14th.  Tonight, I just did the ph readings and they are unchanged.  The nitrites and nitrates are also unchanged.  The dGH is still 18 but the kH is down to 8.  
<One last time.  Ammonia and Nitrite MUST be ZERO.  Nitrate MUST be as low as possible; below 20ppm at the least, preferably even at or below 5ppm for this sensitive animal.  These things aren't options, but criteria on which your eel's life hinges.  The pH is next in line of importance.>
The magnum filter was clogging up pretty good so I changed that tonight.  
<Likely a/the "source" of high nitrate in your tank.>
My fire eel has stopped eating again - 3rd night in a row - since I stopped the Maracyn II - he has stopped eating.  
<This could very well be coincidence, to be quite honest.  These animals can sometimes stop eating once in a while.>
I feel like I need to treat him with something especially since he has stopped eating again.
<Bob and I and a few other folks were just talking about this tendency in aquarists; a desire to throw a medication at a problem....  This is a very, very unfortunate tendency, and probably kills more organisms than it saves....  Granted, I do not know you or your pet, but I still feel that throwing medication at the fellow's condition when there are KNOWN problems with the water that must be corrected is folly.>
What would be in the Maracyn II to make him eat?  
<Can actually be coincidence.>
I can't determine if he is breathing easier or not since the partial - I don't think so.  IF he starts to look worse and I decide to medicate him, would it be safe to use the Maracyn Plus Biospheres?  
<I can't recommend either, to be honest.  Not until the water quality is rectified.  Fixing the water quality is *imperative*.>
In your last reply, you had suggested doing a couple of water changes carefully spaced apart.
<Mm, as far as spacing them apart, what I'm most concerned about is not decreasing the pH too quickly.>
Do you think another water change should be done in the next day or two, or more towards the end of the week?  
<I would say NOW, and urgently so, until that nitrate reading is down.>
And, I'm thinking another 5 gallons of bottled water and 5-10 gallons well water.  By the way, with regard to CopperSafe - I was reviewing my emails with you guys and noticed the very first one a Bob Fenner replied to and I got the impression he was okay with using CopperSafe.  I was just wondering about the difference of opinion.  
<I am actually sitting with him now, he's right next to me....  We've talked, and he does agree that maintaining copper on spiny eels is not a good idea.  They just don't do well with many medications.  If you like, a direct quote from his Mastacembelid article:  "Spiny eels don't respond well to toxic dye and metal medications."  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/matacembelids.htm .  I do believe he misunderstood that you had intended to use copper as a constant preventative in the water....  I believe, and I feel that he does too, that this is a bad idea.>
Thank you for your reply - again.   Lyn
<Please do go ahead and read over the article and the FAQs file linked to it, if you would....  hopefully you might find some other piece of insight that would be of help to you.  Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Fire "Eel", Eye Damage - 10/12/05
Hello
<Good morning.>
I hope you can help me to help my Fire Eel. When we were cleaning the tank 10 days ago, my eel got a fright and decided to have a 100mph swim round the tank! 
<Yikes! Hopefully this system is not too small for him to feel secure....>
I think he must have hurt himself as I have now noticed that his one eye is totally white (looks blind) and he has a patch above the eye which seems to be getting whiter by the day. 
<Definitely a concern.... Probably did scratch/damage himself during his speedy stint about the tank.>
He is also off his food, not having eaten for three days (very unusual for him). 
<And not a good sign....>
I have bought some Potassium Permanganate (Condy's crystals), but don't know if I can use this as he is 'scaleless' and I have been told to be careful of medications as not all are suitable for eels.
<You are correct. Do not use this.... Very, very caustic - will more than likely kill the eel, and can be hazardous to deadly even on stronger fish.>
Please help. I am worried about my fat boy!
<Bob's recommendation (and I agree wholeheartedly) is to add aquarium salt (the stuff marketed for freshwater aquaria, not marine salt), perhaps at one or two tablespoons per ten gallons, possibly also add Maracyn I & II (erythromycin and Minocycline) as a preventative.... and of course, maintain optimal water quality. Try feeding stinky, attractive foods like bloodworms (live if you can get 'em) or even redworms/tiny earthworms you collect yourself from an area uncontaminated by pesticides/herbicides.>
Thanks, -Wendy
<Wishing you well, -Sabrina>