New Spiny Eel

kramerisacat

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Hello, today I bought my first spiny eel! I have put him in my tank (about 25 Litres) with a bunch of other friendly fish like tetras, loaches, and a dwarf cichlid (harmless). My PH is normal, if not a little high and my nitrates are down. I have a plant and many places for the eel to hide. My aquarium is well established, I've had it set up for nearly five months. I've read up on the eel and I'm prepared to meet his needs, but what I don't understand is his fast breathing. He is breathing maybe three times a second. At first, he circulated around the tank, now he's borrowed into the sand (except his head) which I assume is normal. It looks like he's hyperventilating. When I first got him, I introduced along side another loach so he wouldn't be singled out and bullied for being the new fish on the block. I also kept the lights off for many hours. The temp is good and yesterday I did a water change. Nobody seems to be bullying him, the cichlid checked him out than backed off. I did a water change just yesterday so the water is nice and clean (obviously I used dechlorinator). So why is he breathing funny? Is he stressed out? Why? Is he sick? Will he go back to normal? What can I do differently? I'm concerned about my new baby!!!
 
Ummmmm........ Your tank is severely overstocked :look: .I recommend that you take ALL the fish back as none are suitable for your tank. And sorry to be the bearer of bad news
 
I'm aware :). I have a solution (i'm in the process of setting up another tank). You don't put a new eel into a new tank. Thanks for pointing that out. But is the overstocking the only reason for the breathing issues?
 
cycling new tank. once again, is that why the spiny eel is struggling? Can we focus on that, that's my big concern right now. :)
 
Ammonia poisoning is probably the reason why.... So yes it all comes back to overstocking the tank
Or it could be stress related from being introduced into a new place, he might just be getting used to his new home
 
ammonia poisoning? i see. would the other fish show symptoms? everyone else seems okay. would there be other indicators? i take pretty good care of the tank... besides the admitted overstocking.

and if it's stress, can I do anything else to reduce it? i've aerated the tank about three hours ago, that didn't seem to help. the lights have been off for a while now. any suggestions?

(ALSO: thank-you for the reply. i couldn't find any concise responses elsewhere, its good to be in touch with others, reassuring).
 
in regards to length, i was told six inches, tops, if that. my pet shop guy is competent, so, maybe little eel...? Again, I'm pretty good with community tanks and I did some research so size isn't my concern. If he grows, I'll give him a bigger home! :)
 
Look at the gills to see if there's any redness. If so most likely ammonia poisoning. For stress I believe stress-zyme works good.
 
It sounds like ammonia poisoning because your tank is overstocked. How often do you preform water changes?
 
every week or so. i noticed my PH is high a little while ago so I did two this week. my most recent one was yesterday. three days before that.
 
Hi there, unfortunately Fishy friend is correct, you are over very over-stocked, unless all the fish are tiny at the moment and you plan on upgrading to a much larger tank within the next month! :no:

Not to worry, however, you have most likely been given lots of bad advise from LFS (local fish shop) and/or outdated websites and books, so you are not to blame as long as you learn from mistakes :).

I have put him in my tank (about 25 Litres) with a bunch of other friendly fish like tetras, loaches, and a dwarf cichlid (harmless).
25L is too small for most commonly available species of tetras, loaches and dwarf cichlids. While I don't know the size, or exact species of any of the the fish you are keeping, given what LFS usually advise I have to conclude that your aquarium is probably massively overstocked - and potentially any one of the species you mention could become stressed in this environmental situation. It is hard to tell if a particular species is behaving normally if you have to experience with it - so even though the fish may look happy to you as a beginner, that is not necessarily the case :good: .

Could you provide the exact species names of what you are keeping? This will help members advise more accurately on which fish you can keep, need to re-home or alternatively, what size of tank you should next acquire :D.

My PH is normal, if not a little high and my nitrates are down. I have a plant and many places for the eel to hide.
"normal" and "down" means nothing on these forum really! We need exact measurements to know what you mean, since LFS can give such varied and inaccurate advice, what you may think is "normal" or "down" may be very high, or low in most's opinions here.

My aquarium is well established, I've had it set up for nearly five months.
Age doesn't necessarily mean established, depending on how the aquarium is set up and maintained, also 6 months+ is generally considered "established" or "mature", though like I implied, age doesn't necessarily denote stability :good:.

I've read up on the eel and I'm prepared to meet his needs, but what I don't understand is his fast breathing. He is breathing maybe three times a second.
To me this suggests either lack of oxygen from over-stocking, less than adequate filtration or insufficient maintenance - or nitrite poisoning (to which the eel may be more sensitive). Could you supply full water stats and brand name of the test kit? I believe that you may have read inaccurate articles in your research :(.

At first, he circulated around the tank, now he's borrowed into the sand (except his head) which I assume is normal.
Both normal behaviours.

It looks like he's hyperventilating. When I first got him, I introduced along side another loach so he wouldn't be singled out and bullied for being the new fish on the block.
Hyperventilating is not good. I'm confused, eels are not loaches, and since you specifically mention "spiny loach", I really don't understand how you could confuse the two unrelated fish?

I also kept the lights off for many hours. The temp is good and yesterday I did a water change. Nobody seems to be bullying him, the cichlid checked him out than backed off. I did a water change just yesterday so the water is nice and clean (obviously I used dechlorinator).
Lights-off can be good for introducing fish, thats once piece of good advice you have acquired :). Extra water changes are good too, in pretty much any situation when you have problems with an aquarium (other than when you are medicating), water changes will help. More-so, with small (i.e. 25%) water changes you cant go wrong even if you do one every day, it will help a bad situation such as overstocking.

So why is he breathing funny? Is he stressed out? Why? Is he sick? Will he go back to normal? What can I do differently? I'm concerned about my new baby!!!
If you answer the aforementioned questions, members will be able to help you! :D It's good you treat your fish so dearly, alot regard them as decoration :(. If you follow the advice given, I'm sure you will be able to help all your tanks inhabitants! Pictures go a long way in helping people online understand your aquarium, and thus improving the advice, so I would recommend uploading pictures if you could as well :good:.

Lol, bit slow to reply there, missed the whole discussion mid-reply. Time for my bed.

Water stats would help though :).
 
i use tetratest. no nitrite. PH is 7.0. tank is two feet across. a foot and a half tall. just over a foot width. i didn't add a spiny loach, obviously that was a typing error. i added a loach at the same time that I added the spiny eel. i have been previously told that adding one fish at a time can cause the one fish to be harassed because it alone is new. adding two fish divides the attention of the existing fish. i also thought that it may be a lack of oxygen so I have been off and on aerating the tank. however, i fear the aeration itself may be stress inducing so I do it periodically. nitrite is not the issue. i have a plant in my tank that seems to keep nitrite down. i recognize that age does not equate to quality, allow me to correct myself: My aquarium is well established; I've had it set up for nearly five months. Semi-colon heals all.
 
If you dont mind, ill butt in as i impulse bought a spiny eel when i first started out and had similar problems. Pardon me if you already mentioned, but what specific species of spiny eel is it that we are we dealing with? Whats the measurement of your ammonia level? So what size (gallons) is your tank, 25 gallons? 25 litres is about 5 or so gallons whch is too small for ANY of the fish you mentioned... Just wanted to clear some things up to better help with the situation thats all..


are you using a liquid test kit?
 

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