my eel looks ill 2

[Francis]

A bit a go i posted a topic about my spiney eel and his symptoms and came to the conclusion that he has gill flukes. I bought some Sterazin and so far have only used one dose in the course and now my eel is twitching, what could this mean?

Thanks for your time,

Francis.

 

[CFC]

The twitching could be a reflex reaction to the medication on sore areas of skin, much in the same way as a antiseptic stings us when it is applied to a cut.

Remember to only use half the dosage stated on the bottle unless you are running undergravel filtration when the full dose is used.

 

[Francis]

yeah, i rememberd what you said before thaks again for your help.
I might have had a dead fish if it wasn't for you.

Thanks,

Francis.

 

[Francis]

He still looks bad though he's tilted to one side in he's cave and still takes massive breaaths sometimes. Is there a medicine I should add after the course of sterazin? Maybe this lying around is normal spiney eel behavior its only during the day he still feeds well at night.
I will try and get a photo.

Francis.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Mine did this for a while before he passed away. I couldnt tell anythin was wrong till he seased to eat.

Wats your water stats? Temp? and how much oxygen have you flowig thorugh?

If he is active at night, and still feeding, he could be stresed out. As youve found, they are nocturnal, and prefer heavy cover. Either plants or and artificial structure to provide them with full shelter! Hope he makes it! If he is eatin, i reckon he will!

 

[Francis]

TANK STATS:
NO3:25-50
NO2:0
GH:10d-16d
KH:3d
pH:6.4 I know its a bit low well to low.
Temp: 78C
Good oxygen flow.

mr_miagi what was wrong with your eel?

Thanks,
Francis.

 

[WILDER]

Tilting to one side is not good most fish do this when they are dying i'm afraid, the parasites have totally invaded his gills causing gill damage he won't make it sorry, i would issolate him so he can die and not cause the parasites to move on to the other fish.

 

[rixy]

ph does sound low.how long have you owned the eel??has your ph always been this low since owning the eel??

 

[Francis]

I dont think he's going to die. He only tilts occasionly now when I posted a few days ago it was worse. The parasites should not spread because the sterazin should remove them all. And to rixy ive had him 2 years and the pH has not always been this low. I will fix it when the sterazin course has finished next week.

Thanks anyway,
Francis.

 

[WILDER]

Parasites are nasty thing they damage the gills up to the point they can't breath, once they start heavy breathing they are usually doomed, fingers crossed.

 

[mellowserra]

I dont think he's going to die. He only tilts occasionly now when I posted a few days ago it was worse. The parasites should not spread because the sterazin should remove them all. And to rixy ive had him 2 years and the pH has not always been this low. I will fix it when the sterazin course has finished next week.

Thanks anyway,
Francis.

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Don't be in a rush to change the pH of the tank, it is something that can naturally fluctuate throughout the day. A pH of 6.4 isn't that low, most (but not all!) species of tropical fishes will thrive in the pH range of 6-8.

Gradual, natural shifts of pH in a tank are harmless to fish. It is when you add reagents to the tank with the intention of altering water chemistry that you will cause undue stress to the tanks inhabitants. IMO, I would not mess with the pH, it sounds like your eel has been under enough stress already.

Looking at your tank stats, have you checked ammonia lately?? If you haven't in the past few days, maybe try a water change? If any of your bacterial colony is being killed off by the meds, ammonia will be the first thing to spike. If your tank is going into a mini cycle and you don't have any salt sensitive fish, it may help to add a *little* salt to the tank, this speeds healing of wounds, aids in the fishes' bouyancy, and also assists in decreasing the fishes uptake up nitrite from a cycling tank. I start out with about 1 tsp per 5 gallons of water added in parts with a water change, over a couple of days I increase it to a bout 1 tsp per gallon.

(Using salt in a freshwater tank is highly controversial, but I have success using it therapeutically. In the middle of treating ich a while back I got frightening nitrite readings between .75 and 1.0 ppm for two days straight. Thankfully, all my fish came through, seemingly unstressed, including a BGK, the eel, and two fancy plecos.)

I hope your eel gets better fast, keep us posted to how he is doing.

 

[Francis]

Thanks, I know this is probably a stupid question but i can't find were I noted the amount of gallons for my tank so how many gallons is a 3x1x1.2 size tank?. And with the salt how long do I keep it up for?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[mellowserra]

Thanks, I know this is probably a stupid question but i can't find were I noted the amount of gallons for my tank so how many gallons is a 3x1x1.2 size tank?. And with the salt how long do I keep it up for?

Thanks again everyone.

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I am guessing you are posting your measurements in feet, so that would make your tank approximately 3.6 cubit feet, which works out to be about 102 L or 27 USgal.

Converter Table

I use kosher or aquarium salt, you probably don't need more than 1/2 teaspoon or so per (US) gallon to have therapeutic benefits. Be sure to mix the salt WELL in a bit of water to be added back to the tank, half tsp/gal isn't very much and can safely be added over the course of a few hours. You can leave this in the tank until you've gotten through your "crisis", and then just let it get changed out with normal water changes. (Some aquariasts believe it is good measure to keep salt in their tanks "just in case".)

Just to note, if you have live plants they will be OK too. I kept at least a tsp/gal in my heavily planted tank for about two weeks without seeing the plants get affected one bit.

Good luck, keep us posted.