Eel Emergency!? Plzz Help!

[Kasiopea]

Hi,
I got a beautiful Fire Eel around 4 days ago. He came in from the shop with white circular white patches, that looked like fungus. They are elevated from the skin. I have treated him with API Fungus Cure that contains the green dye that i later read to be bad for eels as they do not have scales. I changed 25% of water right away, and got a different medicine. Im treating him with the Jungle brand Fungus Clear, which i cant tell that it helped at all. Today i looked at the Eel and where the original spots were, they became ulcers! Can fungus do that? or did the copper in the dye burn the skin?
What do i do now??? Is it fungus or bacteria?

Please Help!
He is not eating also.
And i also got another treatment that contains antibiotic in it. its Mardel Maracyn with erythromycin. Should i start it or should i wait for the other one to work?

Thanks.

 

[lordofthesea]

run some carbon to remove the other meds before you do anything else.
water stats?
pics would be VERY helpful here.
any other symptoms?

 

[indigoj]

sounds like columnaris - so bacterial but without pics this is a guess.

tank size/occupants and water stats pls.

Eels can be sensitive to meds too so definitely run carbon to remove and do some water changes to see if that helps.

 

[WILDER]

Water changes and run some fresh black carbon.
Columnaris is bacterial so you need to use maracyn.

 

[Kasiopea]

Thanks for advice. I looked up Columnaris it looks like it.
Now, what do i do?
Put back the carbon, and change 25% of water again? How soon should i treat with erythromycin?

Here are some pics, its hard to get him in focus... But anyways:

Also i read that a fish infected with columnaris often falls prey to a secondary infection which is resistant to the antibiotic. Therefore, a combination of Maracyn and Maracyn Two or tetracycling and kanamycin is recommended. Are those safe for eels? What other medication should i consider?

Thank you for your help

 

[WILDER]

I would ask about the eel and meds in tropical discussion.

I would use maracyn one and two.
if you use antibiotics they wipe the beneifical bacteria out in the filter.

I would do a bigger water change than 20%, say 40%.
Run some fresh black carbon for aday.

 

[Kasiopea]

sounds like columnaris - so bacterial but without pics this is a guess.

tank size/occupants and water stats pls.

Eels can be sensitive to meds too so definitely run carbon to remove and do some water changes to see if that helps.

Umm, sorry forgot some info.

Tank size is 75 gal. He is alone in there now. Water temp is about 76F and the pH is in the safe zone too. Its a brand new tank, so he has no mates yet, till he recovers.

How often should i do water changes? and how much? is 25% good? 30% to get the other meds out before i start the antibiotic?

Uhhhh, i hope he recovers....

I would ask about the eel and meds in tropical discussion.

I would use maracyn one and two.
if you use antibiotics they wipe the beneifical bacteria out in the filter.

I would do a bigger water change than 20%, say 40%.
Run some fresh black carbon for aday.

Thanks for a fast reply

Umm, what about the pics? does it look like columnaris to you, cuz i have little knowledge in these things. The description fits though....

 

[WILDER]

What are your water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate.

Don't add the meds till you have ran some black carbon for aday. Do a 40% water change.
use maracyn one or both maracyn one and two. It knocks water stats.

What your tank ph and tap ph.

 

[WILDER]

Columnaris has many disguises.
Anys signs of flicking and rubbing.
Fish can soon break out in columnaris due to stress, bad water quality, overstocking, unstable temp.

http/www.flippersandfins.net/flexibacter.htm

 

[Kasiopea]

What are your water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate.

Don't add the meds till you have ran some black carbon for aday. Do a 40% water change.
use maracyn one or both maracyn one and two. It knocks water stats.

What your tank ph and tap ph.

The ammonia is at 0.02, and im ashamed to say that i dont know the nitrate, nitrite and pH stats. Ill do everything to find out. What are the standards? what should they be? ill run to the store and get test kits and try to meet the standards if any are off. What should i look for?

I got the carbon running and about to do a water change.

 

[Kasiopea]

Well, i went to the local fish shop and got a 10 gal tank. Put a filter, air, some hiding decorations and moved the eel in there. Now i got quarantine tank
As far the meds go i was told that Nitrofurazone and Furazolidone work better than Maracyn and are eel safe. Im using API FURAN-2 which is an antibacterial with both of those antibiotics. Also gave him a STRESS COAT for better healing, added salt and a drop of garlic as a natural immune stimulator and appetite stimulator. As for the big tank i completely restarted the whole proses. Cleaned refilled and redecorated.
Now all i can do is wait... the treatment goes for 4 days. Hopefully he will do good.

Thanks

 

[samiam9818]

have you cycled your 75 gallon tank?

tank stats should be: ammonia 0, nitrIte 0, and nitrate about 10 or so.

if you haven't cycled it i would take a look at the fishless cycling process and not buy any more fish until it had been fully cycled.

 

[Kasiopea]

have you cycled your 75 gallon tank?

tank stats should be: ammonia 0, nitrIte 0, and nitrate about 10 or so.

if you haven't cycled it i would take a look at the fishless cycling process and not buy any more fish until it had been fully cycled.

Yes, im looking into the process, the problem is the fishless cycling seems a bit complicated. I think ill just introduce a small number of fish into the tank and see how it goes. Ill consult the fish shop i use for some sturdy fish. The eel is on quarantine for couple of weeks anyways now.

Maybe someone has an advice on the fish cycling? what fish are good to use? What about bacteria? i added MICROBE-LIFT SPECIAL BLEND as was advised at my fish store.

 

[WILDER]

Ok.
Good Luck.
Post about which fish to add in tropical discussion.

 

[1411939]

Hi,
I got a beautiful Fire Eel around 4 days ago. He came in from the shop with white circular white patches, that looked like fungus. They are elevated from the skin. I have treated him with API Fungus Cure that contains the green dye that i later read to be bad for eels as they do not have scales. I changed 25% of water right away, and got a different medicine. Im treating him with the Jungle brand Fungus Clear, which i cant tell that it helped at all. Today i looked at the Eel and where the original spots were, they became ulcers! Can fungus do that? or did the copper in the dye burn the skin?
What do i do now??? Is it fungus or bacteria?

Please Help!
He is not eating also.
And i also got another treatment that contains antibiotic in it. its Mardel Maracyn with erythromycin. Should i start it or should i wait for the other one to work?

Thanks.

many people confuse columnaris with other diseases, i once had this going in my tank, i did a huge water change, and the next day it was almost gone, and i had this as well with an oscar, everybody told me it was columnaris i did everything they told me and it still wouldnt go away until several weeks later the oscar was tired of the treatment that it jumped from the stress and died, sometimes its just fin rot that jumps in to the skin, later i found out it was lymphositis virus that was slowly killing my oscar, but this one looks like columnaris if it doesnt heal u may want to check this website: http/www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseases/fins.html