Rope fish having issues.

Hello all!
So before we get going..
All water parameters are normal. It’s a black water tank, not as planted as we’d like just yet but doing great so far.

We added two rope fish a week ago and they haven’t taken to eating just yet. The big one (the one in question here) ate an earth room and seemed to be doing great.

The tank has a couple tetras and glass catfish.. 1 albino Pleco.

It had two yo-yo loaches as well and we decided yesterday to take them out as they were basically eating any and all food that the rope fish could have eaten. Taking them out caused an unfortunate amount of stress on the rope fish due to them not having anywhere to hide. I believe the larger rope fish may have injured himself by running into the fish net we were using for the loaches.

Now- the fish in question is laying in the open, on his side, and randomly swims to the top to breathe. While doing so, he twitches, like he’s caught in something. Then he returns to laying on his side. I’ll try to grab a picture but it’s pretty dark in this tank. We continue to drop one or two meal worms at night, and they are gone the next day, I’m assuming they are being eaten.

What should we do for this guy? They were a rescue of sorts as they were an accidental order from petco and they were going to get shipped back or given to people with misguided information...

When I can try to grab a picture I will. They both are hiding in a log now... but upon closer observation it does seem his scales near his gills are a little lifted than the rest of his body. Not injured, more just irritated..

Why are you feeding them mealworms?
Give them raw or cooked prawn and fish that is cut into small bits they can eat. Remove any uneaten food after 15 minutes.

What were the water test results in numbers?
Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, GH and temperature should all be checked.

The fish in the picture has flared gill covers and is not happy. Most issues like this are caused by something in the water.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.

Someone told us in another forum that meal worms work to help them eat if they are having issues. Can’t remember where I found that at the moment. But we’ve tried everything from live blood worms, to silver sides, prawns, shrimp, and even live minnows. Still no luck, or at least none that I have seen.

Turns out, this little guy was injured and didn’t make it past the hour that this was posted. It hit his neck a lot harder than we thought against the net, and I believe that’s what caused the inflammation. We isolated him and let him rest in a different tank where he peacefully passed.

The other rope fish is active, and swimming at night and resting during the day. but still no eating. Fingers crossed for hopefully soon!

Small earthworms are a better choice than meal worms.

Raw prawn is normally taken but if it isn't eating that, make sure the water quality is good.

What time of day/ night do you feed them?
Try putting a bit of food in an hour after lights out.