Snowflake Eel Losing Color & Won't Eat! Please Help!!

[wackyvolitan]

I have a 55 gallon FO aquarium. I bought a 7.5" Snowflake Eel about 2 weeks ago,
and when I first got him, he seemed to be doing fine. He was fed feeder fish (rosy reds) at
the pet store. But I fed him freeze-dried krill after I bought him, and he was eating really
well. Then a few days later, he stopped eating. I thought maybe it was because I was
overfeeding him earlier, because I read online that if you overfeed them, sometimes they
go a couple weeks without eating.

But then today, when I woke up and turned the tank light on. I looked at him, and he was
a lot lighter-colored than he was yesterday. There was an area near his head, a couple
inches long, where he was all pale and white, and the big black spots were gray instead. But all the rest of his body
was still the normal color - light yellow with big black spots.

And the white
part of his body looks fatter than I think it used to be. He still looks the same, it's horrible! He also seems to be breathing a bit
heavier now, too, but it could just be my imagination.
I also recently (after I bought him) read that feeding them freshwater feeder fish will cause
liver disease for the eel - do you think that’s what it could be, since that’s what he was fed
at the pet store? Does anybody know what it is, or has anybody here ever experienced this
before? Please help me!!!

 

[beth]

Please post your water readings. Can you post a picture of the sick eel? Is it possible that the fish ate spoiled or contaminated food?

 

[wackyvolitan]

pH: 8.3
Temperature: 77°
Salinity: 1.023
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 70
Sorry, I don't have any pictures yet... I'll try to get one up ASAP!
If the food was contaminated, then none of the other fish ever showed any symptoms. I fed the krill to all my other fish (a clownfish & several freshwater fish) all the time.

 

[nicetry]

Your nitrates are pretty high and this might be a contributing factor. Eels often appear to be breathing heavy, but most likely it's normal respiration as the eel pushes water through it's gills. Try a couple of good water changes over the next several days. You also want to offer the fish a varied diet. Krill is not a good staple for any sw fish. It's not uncommon for them to fast for several days or even longer.

 

[wackyvolitan]

::UPDATE::
I looked at him this morning, and he still looks the same as he did yesterday morning. So at least it doesn't seem to be getting worse. But I'm still very worried about him!

Originally Posted by nicetry
Your nitrates are pretty high and this might be a contributing factor. Eels often appear to be breathing heavy, but most likely it's normal respiration as the eel pushes water through it's gills. Try a couple of good water changes over the next several days. You also want to offer the fish a varied diet. Krill is not a good staple for any sw fish. It's not uncommon for them to fast for several days or even longer.
What I meant was breathing heavier than he was before.
I'll make a water change today, and then do a couple more on other days.
I'll go get some other food for him today, probably like shrimp or squid. Is that ok for the eel?
Thanks

 

[wackyvolitan]

No!!! He died yesterday!

 

[prk543]

I'm sorry that you lost your eel. I hope your loss doesn't discourage you from keeping eels in the future.