How long should it take for my eel to come back alive

shaunda

shaunda

Member
I have a snowflake eel and he jumped out of my aquarium last night. I noticed him in the tank at 10 p.m. The next morning at around 6:30 a.m. I found him behind the tank covered with dust bunnies. He was dry and stiff. I cleaned him off the best I could and have put him back in the tank. He looks a lot better but he is just curled up and won't move. I think he is dead but was afraid to take him out because of all the other cases I have read of the eel coming back to life. How long should I wait and what should I do. I placed him in his favorite cave so the other fish would leave him alone. Any suggestions????
Thanks!
 
shaunda

shaunda

Member
Wow, that was mean. I am a new user and the first reply I get is from some funny man making bad jokes. Thanks! I am so glad I am here.
 
clown boy

clown boy

Active Member
Originally Posted by Shaunda
I have a snowflake eel and he jumped out of my aquarium last night. I noticed him in the tank at 10 p.m. The next morning at around 6:30 a.m. I found him behind the tank covered with dust bunnies. He was dry and stiff. I cleaned him off the best I could and have put him back in the tank. He looks a lot better but he is just curled up and won't move. I think he is dead but was afraid to take him out because of all the other cases I have read of the eel coming back to life. How long should I wait and what should I do. I placed him in his favorite cave so the other fish would leave him alone. Any suggestions????
Thanks!
Wow! I've never heard of that before, but I'm not an eel expert.
Just out of curiousity, were about in Texas are you?
 
aquatics24

aquatics24

Member
Originally Posted by Shaunda
I have a snowflake eel and he jumped out of my aquarium last night. I noticed him in the tank at 10 p.m. The next morning at around 6:30 a.m. I found him behind the tank covered with dust bunnies. He was dry and stiff. I cleaned him off the best I could and have put him back in the tank. He looks a lot better but he is just curled up and won't move. I think he is dead but was afraid to take him out because of all the other cases I have read of the eel coming back to life. How long should I wait and what should I do. I placed him in his favorite cave so the other fish would leave him alone. Any suggestions????
Thanks!

hey, im sorry to hear that, hope those guys didnt make this forum a bad impression. that sure is a shame...i think the only thing you could do is put him in a tank, alone, so if he does die he wont kill your fish...and just wait...if he is kinda moving/breathing, it might be too late, but you can hold him by the neck kinda, and move his tail in the way it would if it was swimming, that way if it is in shock you can slowly make him "remember" i guess you can say it...sorry about the eel, i cant imagine if that happened to me.
 
my way

my way

Active Member
If an eel who jumped does'nt show any movement within about 5 minutes of being back in the tank, it's dead. If it was dry and stiff it was dead already. Take it out before it starts to foul your tank.
 
joshd123

joshd123

Member
Man i do feel bad. I just was not thinking. I hope she did not leave the site. Wish I had her Email to tell her that i am really sorry
 
shaunda

shaunda

Member
Thanks for the replies. I live in North Texas for whoever asked me and as for the eel, I don't have another tank set up to put my snowflake eel in. I know I should have a quaratine tank, I just have not gotten that far yet. My tank is only 3 weeks old. I guess I will wait until tommorrow and then if he has not responded, I will flush the poor thing. I didn't even have him for a week! I taped all the holes up and I thought he would never be able to get out. Guess I was very wrong.
 
cunningham

cunningham

Member
Originally Posted by Joshd123
dry and stiff = dead haha
i beg to differ one time an eel got out of my tank and i found it on the floor all stiff and dried out, i thought it was dead for sure. i picked it up and was walking to the trash can, and i felt a slight movement :scared: so i went back too my tank and dropped it in and that thing instantly started to swim i could not believe it but if you cant see him breathing he's probobly gone. sorry
 
joshd123

joshd123

Member
kewl, If ya ever need help just ask away. There is alot of nice people here. I have been here for almost a year now. It gets kinda slow at night. That is when I am thinking and needing answers the most. =-( O well. just stick around and you will learn lots of good stuff!!!
Did you say your tank is only 3 weeks old? is that 3 weeks old after cycling?
 
shaunda

shaunda

Member
No that is 3 weeks old total. I am in the process of cycling my tank now. I was told at my LFS that the eel would be fine and could handle the spike in ammonia. I am wondering if that is why he found a way out
 
my way

my way

Active Member
Originally Posted by cunningham
i beg to differ one time an eel got out of my tank and i found it on the floor all stiff and dried out, i thought it was dead for sure. i picked it up and was walking to the trash can, and i felt a slight movement :scared: so i went back too my tank and dropped it in and that thing instantly started to swim i could not believe it but if you cant see him breathing he's probobly gone. sorry
Then it was'nt stiff. Stiff=rigormortise(SP.), rigormortise=dead. I have had them escape and revived them a few times, but stiff and dry is dead.
 
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