Azaeil
Fish Fanatic
I don't currently have any photos right now due to it being really late at night when I found my eel in the condition he's in. I'll post them in the morning when the light's able to clarify wound photos.
Tank size/type - 20 gal. Long tank maintained at 78 F
Tankmates- Disclaimer - I know the conditions are not 'ideal' but the fish have so far been cooperating with each other save for two - I had already listed the tankmates earlier on a query about Blue Rams and the situation is fine.
Giant Plakat male betta (keeps mostly to the top or behind plants, though he's picked up the habit of eating off the bottom instead of the top)
3 Blue Ram Cichlids (middle levels that eat off the plants and surface)
2 Brichardi Cichlids (male and female I believe) (I had done research on them prior to getting them, and they caused a territorial dispute with the Rams at first before they settled to their one cave)
4 glass cats (they keep to themselves near the filter)
2 Algae eaters (too big for the eel to pick off)
2 Black Khulis (they don't eat a lot, and not so fast that the eel doesn't get anything) - they mostly clean up some of the excess food the other fish don't eat.
1 Senalgi Bichir (he keeps to the top and doesn't eat much either comparatively)- New addition when I noticed the eel's condition as a replacement fish should the worst come to pass - and he's more interested in watching me do my artwork than messing with the other fish.
For the last few months my eel's taken to hiding in his cave (there's four little caves and a ceramic jar to provide ample hiding places for him and his tankmates) even though nothing's occurred that would cause him to do so. This made it very difficult to monitor him as he would retreat as soon as he caught me looking for him. His sudden reclusiveness had led him to not getting ample food and he's lost a lot of weight and energy, which I wasn't aware of until the last two nights due to the situation stated above. Prior to this the fish were fed every other day with alternating between flakes and thawed brine shrimp/bloodworm cubes.
I finally found him resting limply on some of the top level plants and managed to carefully scoop him in the net meant for smaller fish (I couldn't find his net at the time) and transfer him to a quarantine container hooked on the edge of the tank in the water to keep the temperature level. Prior to this I had been doubling the dose of their food to every evening to hopefully make sure the eel got at least something to eat when I found his condition. Once I transferred him, and put some thawed bloodworms in his container to make sure he does have something to eat, did I finally notice the two wounds on his back near the fin and mid-body.
Now, knowing the fish in my tank and their personalities and size, I know it wasn't the bichir as the marks are too small for his handiwork and definitely looked older than he had been in the tank. The Blue Rams, despite being South American, hardly mess with him and mostly to the pecking order with each other and the Brichardi before they turn tail and flee from the other cichlids to their hiding holes. The betta has never messed with the eel and probably would have killed him long ago if he did have a problem with the fish. Glass Cats are too timid for their own good when it comes to aggression, and the khulis are cave partners with the eel and lack the particular biting power to inflict that wound before the eel moved away.
My guess is the Brichardis are behind the wounds and I've been trying to get rid of them locally but no one's been able to take them aside from the LFS I bought them from offering to take them back to give to their co-workers or anyone else.
I will be initiating my monthly water change tomorrow, so the tank will be unfortunately cloudy at the time of the photos.
My main concern is - are there any medications out there that can help the healing of the wounds while I try to get his health back in gear appetite-wise? He's very weak and I fear he might not make it for much longer but I still want to try to restore him to health before I'm forced to put him out of his misery humanely :C
Tank size/type - 20 gal. Long tank maintained at 78 F
Tankmates- Disclaimer - I know the conditions are not 'ideal' but the fish have so far been cooperating with each other save for two - I had already listed the tankmates earlier on a query about Blue Rams and the situation is fine.
Giant Plakat male betta (keeps mostly to the top or behind plants, though he's picked up the habit of eating off the bottom instead of the top)
3 Blue Ram Cichlids (middle levels that eat off the plants and surface)
2 Brichardi Cichlids (male and female I believe) (I had done research on them prior to getting them, and they caused a territorial dispute with the Rams at first before they settled to their one cave)
4 glass cats (they keep to themselves near the filter)
2 Algae eaters (too big for the eel to pick off)
2 Black Khulis (they don't eat a lot, and not so fast that the eel doesn't get anything) - they mostly clean up some of the excess food the other fish don't eat.
1 Senalgi Bichir (he keeps to the top and doesn't eat much either comparatively)- New addition when I noticed the eel's condition as a replacement fish should the worst come to pass - and he's more interested in watching me do my artwork than messing with the other fish.
For the last few months my eel's taken to hiding in his cave (there's four little caves and a ceramic jar to provide ample hiding places for him and his tankmates) even though nothing's occurred that would cause him to do so. This made it very difficult to monitor him as he would retreat as soon as he caught me looking for him. His sudden reclusiveness had led him to not getting ample food and he's lost a lot of weight and energy, which I wasn't aware of until the last two nights due to the situation stated above. Prior to this the fish were fed every other day with alternating between flakes and thawed brine shrimp/bloodworm cubes.
I finally found him resting limply on some of the top level plants and managed to carefully scoop him in the net meant for smaller fish (I couldn't find his net at the time) and transfer him to a quarantine container hooked on the edge of the tank in the water to keep the temperature level. Prior to this I had been doubling the dose of their food to every evening to hopefully make sure the eel got at least something to eat when I found his condition. Once I transferred him, and put some thawed bloodworms in his container to make sure he does have something to eat, did I finally notice the two wounds on his back near the fin and mid-body.
Now, knowing the fish in my tank and their personalities and size, I know it wasn't the bichir as the marks are too small for his handiwork and definitely looked older than he had been in the tank. The Blue Rams, despite being South American, hardly mess with him and mostly to the pecking order with each other and the Brichardi before they turn tail and flee from the other cichlids to their hiding holes. The betta has never messed with the eel and probably would have killed him long ago if he did have a problem with the fish. Glass Cats are too timid for their own good when it comes to aggression, and the khulis are cave partners with the eel and lack the particular biting power to inflict that wound before the eel moved away.
My guess is the Brichardis are behind the wounds and I've been trying to get rid of them locally but no one's been able to take them aside from the LFS I bought them from offering to take them back to give to their co-workers or anyone else.
I will be initiating my monthly water change tomorrow, so the tank will be unfortunately cloudy at the time of the photos.
My main concern is - are there any medications out there that can help the healing of the wounds while I try to get his health back in gear appetite-wise? He's very weak and I fear he might not make it for much longer but I still want to try to restore him to health before I'm forced to put him out of his misery humanely :C
