Snowflake Eel looking like he is "gasping" for air

[lecootl12]

Hello All - I recently purchased a baby SFE - our LFS and I drip acclimated for about an hour or so. When I released him, he went and hid in the live rock. He has now come out and looks like he is "gasping" for air. Is this normal? He is moving around fine but he is opening his mouth as if he is "gulping". Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
:help:

 

[hooktonfsh]

hi all! this is lecoot's hubby and i thought this info may help:
temp - 80
salinity - 1.023
amonia - 0
nitrites - 0
nitrates - less than 12.5
kh - 10
thanks in advance for any imput

 

[garrett042]

just keep an eye on him cuzz he might still be in shock so just keep an eye on him...good luck

 

[lion_crazz]

sounds like something an SFE would do normally. However, is the fish eating? This will be a sure sign to see if he is healthy or stressed.

 

[hooktonfsh]

Thanks for the replies!
We're hoping this is just normal for him since we just put him in about 3hrs ago. Our LFS tried feeding him some Aquadine before we bought him but didn't think he'd been trained to eat preped food yet. We bought 15 ghost shrimp to make sure he had some live food in the tank. I'm gonna keep a close eye on him tonight to see if he eats since i hear they're supposed to be more active at night.
PS: Those little ghost shrimp can move when they want 2! Is he gonna be fast enuff to catch em?

 

[lion_crazz]

Yes, the snowflake will be fast enough to catch them. Let me know if he eats any and then we can go from there.

 

[hooktonfsh]

Will do!
Thanks again for your help!

 

[lecootl12]

Thank you so much for the information. I see that my "hubby" was on here and helped me out with all the hard stuff! Like he said, we will keep an eye on his eating pattern and get back to ya! Thanks again!