Snowflake Eel Symptoms

[Aaron Davis]

This would be be second snowflake eel that didn't make it more than a week. My water parameters are all good with the exception of slightly high alkalinity for my corals. Nitrates are about a 10. Nitrites are a zero. Ammonia is a zero. Ph is 8.4. I found him kind of draped over a rock, motionless. Then he'll swim around for a min, then go to the bottom and lay on his side for a sec. his gills will occasionally look deflated, like shriveled skin and they won't be inflating at all like they do when he's breathing. I couldn't even see his vents opening. Then he'll do a violent jerking motion with his head like he's trying to attack something attached to him, but there's nothing there. Swim for sec, then find a spot to just lay motionless and not move even when touched.

 

[Humblefish]

#reefsquad for eel experts

It's been many years since I've kept one.

 

[melypr1985]

How did you acclimate him? Do you have any good pictures or maybe a video of this behavior?

 

[Aaron Davis]

I drip acclimated him. 2 hours of it. Here's a video I just uploaded.

 

[melypr1985]

His mouth looks red in the video...not the whole thing really, just right around the "lips" area. Do you see this as well? The twitching this isn't normal.

Two hours is a very very long time to acclimate. Was he shipped to you or did you buy him at the LFS? If the LFS, was he eating there? Did you ask to see him eat? What was the SG of the water he traveled in compared to your display?

 

[Aaron Davis]

He didn't eat at the store, but ate well for the first couple days. His mouth doesn't look red to me? His SG at the store was 1.024 and I have my display at 1.025. Pretty sure I'm going to lose him tonight. He's now looking straight up and slowly breathing. Won't move.

 

[melypr1985]

He didn't eat at the store, but ate well for the first couple days. His mouth doesn't look red to me? His SG at the store was 1.024 and I have my display at 1.025. Pretty sure I'm going to lose him tonight. He's now looking straight up and slowly breathing. Won't move.

I'm suspecting the acclimation was far too long for him. Ammonia builds up quickly in a small amount of water like an acclimation container. If the SG is only .001 apart then a 20 minute acclimation is more than enough. Typically an eel is very robust and hardy, but they can only take so much. There could another issue in there as well, but it's hard to tell what it might be....damage at the store or during shipping ect. Could be any number of things. You could try a methyline blue dip to help heal any damage or injuries. It might help. At least until somebody more versed in eels chimes in like @tyler1503

 

[Aaron Davis]

Hmmm. Well this is the second eel from the same place. The first one I acclimated for about 30 mins. It died. Now this one. Super frustrating. The first one didn't eat at all. Ever. Died in 5 days. This one, appeared to do great, until yesterday. Now it feels like I'm just waiting for death.

 

[melypr1985]

Hmmm. Well this is the second eel from the same place. The first one I acclimated for about 30 mins. It died. Now this one. Super frustrating. The first one didn't eat at all. Ever. Died in 5 days. This one, appeared to do great, until yesterday. Now it feels like I'm just waiting for death.

Hopefully @tyler1503 has some better ideas for you. He's the eel guy I would look for a better source for your livestock than that LFS.

 

[Aaron Davis]

Thanks for your replies. I think I will go to another deatributor!

 

[tyler1503]

The red around the mouth seems to suggest a bacterial infection.
Do you have any other fish in that tank bought from the same store? If so, do they look healthy?
I would drip acclimate a snowflake for an hour at most. Preferably half an hour or until the water level in the bag doubles. 2hrs is a long time when, as mentioned above, ammonia builds up. Some ammonia may have left a slight burn over an infection.
Have you ever treated that tank with copper? Eels can be finicky with copper, some do well with that treatment, others don't. Copper can linger in a tank even when the entire tank have been pulled down and set back up.
What have you been feeding her?
She seems to be sliming up ALOT even for an eel. Which seems to suggest bacterial infection again, or a parasite.
A methylene blue dip wouldn't hurt. A light dose to start with would be best.
Hope you can figure this one out soon!

 

[Aaron Davis]

Tyler,

Thank you for your post. I have read and heard about copper. I would opt to not even try it since there is such a risk. I'm fairly new to this hobby, so I'm weary about a lot. I have purchased all my additions from the same shop. I have some snails, a purple lobster, a spiny lobster, a peppermint shrimp, a clown fish, a 6 line wrasse, a flame angel, a damsel (that this eel killed), a couple pulsing xenias, a sand sifting star, a scooter blend, and 3 rose tip anemonies. Every single one of these creatures have thrived. My anemonies have more than doubled in size and my other fish are growing. This is my second eel. First one didn't eat at all, but had different symptoms as far as the jerking motion and the breathing issues. If this was a bacterial infection or a pest, what should I do? Is it too late for this eel? I've never heard of a methylene treatment. I'll have to research that. One of the aquarium places I called asking for help mentioned a treatment called Prazipro??? Is that something that would be beneficial? I've acclimated him a week ago. Would ammonia really hurt him that long ago? My wife says I was exaggerating when I said 2 hours. She said I only did it for about 1hr 20min. Probably wouldn't make much difference. Thanks all for your help. I really hope I can save this guy. It's my favorite creature in my tank and I'm super obsessed with this build. Drives my wife crazy.

 

[tyler1503]

Tyler,

Thank you for your post. I have read and heard about copper. I would opt to not even try it since there is such a risk. I'm fairly new to this hobby, so I'm weary about a lot. I have purchased all my additions from the same shop. I have some snails, a purple lobster, a spiny lobster, a peppermint shrimp, a clown fish, a 6 line wrasse, a flame angel, a damsel (that this eel killed), a couple pulsing xenias, a sand sifting star, a scooter blend, and 3 rose tip anemonies. Every single one of these creatures have thrived. My anemonies have more than doubled in size and my other fish are growing. This is my second eel. First one didn't eat at all, but had different symptoms as far as the jerking motion and the breathing issues. If this was a bacterial infection or a pest, what should I do? Is it too late for this eel? I've never heard of a methylene treatment. I'll have to research that. One of the aquarium places I called asking for help mentioned a treatment called Prazipro??? Is that something that would be beneficial? I've acclimated him a week ago. Would ammonia really hurt him that long ago? My wife says I was exaggerating when I said 2 hours. She said I only did it for about 1hr 20min. Probably wouldn't make much difference. Thanks all for your help. I really hope I can save this guy. It's my favorite creature in my tank and I'm super obsessed with this build. Drives my wife crazy.

I wasn't suggesting copper, I was going to suggest against it actually. In my experience eels don't tolerate it well
Good to hear everyone else is doing well!
The lobster and shrimp may become dinner soon though, snowflakes eat them naturally in the wild and can't resist them for too long!
Ammonia won't still be harming him further, but the effects can last a while. Sounds like it's not ammonia burn if it was just over an hour in acclimation though.
I don't medicate fish anymore, I prefer to keep them seperate from others and feed very well to allow them to heal by themselves. I can't really say too much about what medications will or won't work as I've only used copper on eels with bad results. Perhaps someone else will chime in with a suggestion. Methylene blue is eel safe and is supposedly a good defence against infections and prazipro is good for parasites.
If it's a bacterial infection, I would feed him really well with fresh squid and shrimp you buy from the grocery store. The type you would cook for the family. Rinse it really well in water and perhaps soak it in selcon or a similar product. This should also be a staple diet for an eel

All I've ever done for sick eels is keep my water clean and feed well and they usually heal by themselves. It's never too late for an eel, they're very tough animals and can pull through some surprisingly harsh circumstances.

 

[tyler1503]

I wrote an article about the basic care of eels. Give it a read if you'd like. It may help you understand these guys a little more

https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/Eel-care-guide!.190769/

 

[Humblefish]

Thank you @tyler1503 for chiming in

 

[Philt56]

Could it be stung by the anenomes? I had a snowflake once, I thought they were the easiest of eels and would eat most anything. What are you feeding it?

 

[Aaron Davis]

So I've been watching him all day long as I did most of the night last night. Unfortunately, I don't have access to a quarantine tank yet. So my eel is occasionally jerking his head still, but appears to have a lack of energy. He kind of curls up and the current catches him; he just lets himself get moved by the current then just sits wherever he stops. His breathing appears somewhat normal with moments where it looks like he's breathing fast. He'll act this way for a good amount of time, then randomly swim around the tank, go to the surface, then come back down to the sand bed. Earlier, he went and hid within an opening in the live rock, where I could see his whole body. He was still alive and breathing, but what was weird was that I had approximately 8 small snails all around him. They weren't just near him. They were moving all within him while he was curled up. Is this a sign that he is most definitely dying? I really looked good at him today and I don't see any signs of injury. There are no open sores on him and his jaw isn't red. I don't see any abrasions. With this being the second eel that has died with very similar symptoms (especially in regards to not eating) is it possible that there is some kind of unique infection that's affecting the eels specifically? Or maybe there is something inside the live rock that is causing a problem with the eels since they are the only creatures that go below it? If it was a bacterial infection of some kind, I would assume it would be affecting my other creatures in my tank. Literally everything else is doing great. The only other odd thing was list night, one of my anemones moved to a new location. It had previously stayed where I placed it for approximately 1.5 months. Nothing else has died though and this is throwing me for a large loop. Really wanting to figure this out so that I can try another eel in a few months, but I don't want to just throw another one in there, in fear that it'll suffer the same fate. Thanks for all the help!

Aaron

 

[tyler1503]

Hmmm... this is a tricky one.
So there's nothing wrong with her appearance at all? Just her behaviour and not eating?
Has she been pooping? If so, does it look normal?
It could be an anemone sting as mentioned above, but she should recover quite quickly from a nem sting. That thick slime coat and tough skin should keep her relatively safe from a BTA. Not that I have much experience with nems to say for sure though.

 

[Aaron Davis]

As of now, the eel's appearance is slightly dimmed. She's not as white and vivid as she was when I first got her/him. (I don't even know). LOL. The black on her body is slightly greyed and she is getting a little bit of a green tint to her now. I've only seen her poop once and it looked like a piece of krill. She doesn't look bloated; looks quite the opposite actually.

 

[tyler1503]

As of now, the eel's appearance is slightly dimmed. She's not as white and vivid as she was when I first got her/him. (I don't even know). LOL. The black on her body is slightly greyed and she is getting a little bit of a green tint to her now. I've only seen her poop once and it looked like a piece of krill. She doesn't look bloated; looks quite the opposite actually.

Is this during the day while the lights are on that her colours look faded? Or is it after dark when she looks that way? It's normal for a snowflakes colours to fade a little at night time.

If she's looking a bit skinny, I would try to feed her a little more. Bulk her up a bit and let her store some energy to help her heal. If she doesn't accept food, that's ok, try again in a few hours or the following day. It's important to keep her well fed at the moment though.

I'm not sure what a green tint would indicate, I haven't seen that before. If it's when the lights are turned off, I would check her out when the lights are back on to make sure it's not just night time colours. Some eels will have a slight fluorescent appearance (like corals do) after dark. My snowflakes have usually had a slight blue tint with the lights off. Subtle enough that you wouldn't notice it at first glance, but if you really looked at her, you would definitely notice it.