black ribbon eel mystery

J

jc germ

Guest
Hi all
As some of you might know I had a black ribbon eel for 3,5 years, in the past couple of months it was changing from black to blue .
What a sight to see….. anyway the day before yesterday ,he was still eating and acting normal, for a eel hahaha
Last night when I got home back from work ,I fed the fish and the eel who did not want to eat ,and I noticed his breathing was strange (slow) and he was out in the open .
Which is strange because he is always in his shell cave, so the first thought I had is that he is stressed of the changing, and all the fish zooming around so I hit the lights so the fish could settle down
Anyway bout a hour later I walk past the tank and there he is dead !!!!!what could of happened any thoughts ???
So I tested the water and all test came back fine only my ni3 was 10ppm
I’m so very sad today
 
J

jc germ

Guest
Really nobody ????? BUMP..... Halloooooooo ... this place has gone dead
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by jc germ http:///forum/thread/381901/black-ribbon-eel-mystery#post_3330041
Really nobody ????? BUMP..... Halloooooooo ... this place has gone dead

I just noticed your post...BUMMER...I know a blue ribbon eel is female and the black is a male according to a fellow I asked about it. I never heard of a s.e.x change but clowns do so it isn't impossible..
As for why it died I can't imagine.
 
R

rcreations

Guest
Yeah, I'm sorry about your loss. Don't know much about ribbon eels though and who knows why it died? Did you add any new fish to the tank recently? There are so many variables with fish deaths, besides the obvious... bad food, handling food or putting hands in the water with soap/detergent residue, other contaminants. Hard to say.
 

aquaknight

Active Member
The color stages of a Ribbon eel are as follows;
Black is the juvenile/sub-adult color. As they mature all Ribbon eels turn to the blue coloration. From there, the males will retain the blue color, while female will began their transition to almost an all-yellow coloring. During the process, the females actually turn green.
First pic is a changing female, the second all-yellow one is a 'full-blooded' female

As far as what happened in particular to your Ribbon eel, the only thing that stands out to me, is that you described the other fish in the your tank as "zooming around." Sort of like that was odd. If that is the case, and the other fish were acting weird, that would point to something being up with the tank.
If that's typical of your fish, then my comment would be that we are not where near close to unlocking the puzzle, that is the Ribbon eel. I'm sure your aware, but the vast, and I do mean vast majority of Ribbon eels met a timely death in aquariums (over 90% failure in the first few months). The fact that you kept your's alive for 3.5 years, is astounding, and the longest I've ever heard of.
What did your diet for the Ribbon eel consist of? I my guess would be some type of nutritional deficiency. I'll explain more later.
 

flower

Well-Known Member

LOL...further proof to never go by what a LFS guy has to say. I saw a black one and commented I liked the blue and that's what the guy told me. He never even mentioned yellow.
 
R

rcreations

Guest
Interesting facts, Aqua. I never knew that. I always thought the black were juvi, blue were male and yellow female. But I never knew they all go from black to blue, then the females change color. Pretty cool! Thanks!
Always thought these were very interesting looking eels. I just never got one because I heard of the feeding problems and the fact that they get out of the tank. Well, all eels do, but the ribbons do it more because they are not as thick as the larger eels and since I only have an eggcrate cover on the tank, I didn't think one would work for my setup.
 
S

smartorl

Guest
Sorry to hear of your loss. That is a long time for a ribbon. They are fascinating eels, the mortality issues are what have kept me from trying.
Do you have a grounding probe? When you spoke of all of the fish swimming erratically and the eel dying, electrical bleed immediately sprang to mind.
 
J

jc germ

Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by AquaKnight http:///forum/thread/381901/black-ribbon-eel-mystery#post_3330196
The color stages of a Ribbon eel are as follows;
Black is the juvenile/sub-adult color. As they mature all Ribbon eels turn to the blue coloration. From there, the males will retain the blue color, while female will began their transition to almost an all-yellow coloring. During the process, the females actually turn green.
First pic is a changing female, the second all-yellow one is a 'full-blooded' female

As far as what happened in particular to your Ribbon eel, the only thing that stands out to me, is that you described the other fish in the your tank as "zooming around." Sort of like that was odd. If that is the case, and the other fish were acting weird, that would point to something being up with the tank.
If that's typical of your fish, then my comment would be that we are not where near close to unlocking the puzzle, that is the Ribbon eel. I'm sure your aware, but the vast, and I do mean vast majority of Ribbon eels met a timely death in aquariums (over 90% failure in the first few months). The fact that you kept your's alive for 3.5 years, is astounding, and the longest I've ever heard of.
What did your diet for the Ribbon eel consist of? I my guess would be some type of nutritional deficiency. I'll explain more later.
His diet consisted of hake, silver sides ,squid and other meaty foods .
the fish are acting normal just that day they where zooming around him all the time he was out in the open usually it is a treat to see him just hanged out in his cave most the time
 
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