Moray Eel Emergency

[Marine/Freshwater?]

I know this is a brackish/marine fish and it shoulod probably not be posted in the saltwater section but i need sombody who actually knows about moary eel injuries in general, not just somebody that knows about freshwater morays.





Help! My 18 inch Freshwater Moray (Gymnothorax Tile) is sitting at odd angles in the tank, and whenever it twists its head side ways, one of it gills stops working and then the eel coughs really bad. He has always had problems sitting straight, but now it barely grabs food when I give it to it. It looks very painful when it eats and when it coughs. I think it has always had some kind of nerve damage but now, I think something sensitive ion its gill pouch got damaged. He was recently fighting with 3.5 inch Grey Snapper (Lutjanus griseus). The little snapper was trying to eat the little snapper was trying to eat the new small moray I bought but instead it got confused and swallowed my sick morays head! Please help me figure out what to do.

Water Parameters are as follows (Ph.7.8, Specific Gravity 1.014.) All of my other fish are doing great including my new juvenile freshwater moray.

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

I'm sorry your having much difficulties with your eel for most of what some might be able to help you with is that they would truly need to know more then what little you offered in the case of your eel. For the eels body in general has much complexity to it for your the eels heart, liver and glands as well as its stomach and much more. Unlike most fish we keep, the eel is the most hardy of them all any hobbyist can own.

For the one most differences between from freshwater and marine species be their diet at most and freshwater eels in general aren't considered as true eels.

Now now too long ago, one other in AC has a SFE and it just happens that everything in my opinion to his situation is all wrong about the eel and his tank setup. I was sorry to had told him that he caused the eel stun growth for he had his eel for three years and its not nearly the size it should be.

For everything within keeping any eel for many years come into play here from a variety nutritional diet as well as great water conditions meaning also water changes without fail.

Now I just gotten to the part in which you said that your snapper tried to swallowed your eel is it? Your explanation however only makes me to believe that a large fish were trying to swallow whole your eel. If so, this is one the problem in keeping larger fish with morays which not grow as large and now your eel is totally stress out and depending on how long the incident had gone on, it may have a good chance to recover from it. Meaning now that the eel shouldn't be in this tank, but a QT and if I could get further details of the tank. Also if the eel is looking so bad off, I always a saying not to cause any further stress issues if you can help it. That you look at the possibilities of getting that snapper out..

As for what damage the snapper had caused the eel, it would depend on how strong a pressure it had while the eel was in the snapper mouth and the longer it had gone on the worst off the eel would be even if still alive.

The best idea when keeping any eel is not to house fish far too larger that can cause some serious damage to your eel, tangs or one thing, snappers and groupers are another as well as triggers. The gill you said that stop working, the snapper has done much pressure in that location and for this, the eel needs to be in a tank of its own for now if it could recover or even if its a chance that it could.

You see here, snapper are not all that differ from groupers when it comes to certain types of prey, they too can swallow whole a small size eel to where a grouper can manage to swallow a larger eel. They as well will take the eel head first as the eels do when it takes a prey.

If you can get a close up of this eel of the are of its gill and head, it may be more helpful and your salinity is too high, get it down to no higher then 1.010

 

[Marine/Freshwater?]

I'm sorry your having much difficulties with your eel for most of what some might be able to help you with is that they would truly need to know more then what little you offered in the case of your eel. For the eels body in general has much complexity to it for your the eels heart, liver and glands as well as its stomach and much more. Unlike most fish we keep, the eel is the most hardy of them all any hobbyist can own.


If you can get a close up of this eel of the are of its gill and head, it may be more helpful and your salinity is too high, get it down to no higher then 1.010(wrong does extremely well in a saltwater tank)


thanx for reiterating the things of done wrong but is there anything i can do to help it heal? Or is this just a wait and see kind of thing?
It is in fact a true eel, genus(gymnothorax) It is in the same genus as the Green Moray. Its salinity realy should be at least 1.010 not less. The snapper that bit it got confused because it was really chasing after my new baby freshwater moray, instead it bit my 18incher on the head. The snapper was so small that the eel did not have a hard time obliterating it. Ill atach a picture but it wont show much the damage seems internal.

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

On the not so true morays are the freshwater and the snapper in this case wasn't confused for it too as the grouper swallows whole when it can. I understood that they snapper is small as yet, but that should tell you in the actions it taking that your eel will suffer again if it should recover. By keeping this snapper I mean>

Now if that photo is after the facts, the photo shows nothing, even if the eel is extremely stressful.

I still say your a docile eel in with what will become a aggressive fish the snapper it will that anything it can mange to fit into its jaws, it will as the grouper will do>

Being it not appears to look as bad, I can only suggest at this time that the eel be not with this snapper or any other larger growing fish> Keep high water quality and feed a healthy diet as best you can and time should tell that the eel makes a full recovery on its own, eels what if brackish or marine or with great healing powers of their own, but you must keep this eel with as less stress that you can. Also, if the new picture you take proves no differ from the last photo, you will not need to post it so right now, do watch this carefully for the next week or two and if this goes pass this first week with no signs of ill fate and to the middle of the second week, the eel should be fine afterwards and that it is also eating.

Now you need to wait and see


I did however forget to add that you might have to look and try to feed it smaller fish pieces then before for I am however concern if it will have some difficulties in swallowing or so larger pieces of foods, it is a technic in which I used so many times for either some ill moray or for the most part, eels in which gone on a long hunger strike.

 

[kkyyllee]

i cant help with ur problem, but theres no such thing as a freshwater eel

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

i cant help with ur problem, but theres no such thing as a freshwater eel

Would you like for someone to name you a bunch?

 

[Lynden]

Indeed, there is even a species of moray that can live in fresh water for it's entire life.

As for the problem, if the damage is internal, I would probably just leave the fish alone. Feed it as normal, and let him heal himself.

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

Indeed, there is even a species of moray that can live in fresh water for it's entire life.

As for the problem, if the damage is internal, I would probably just leave the fish alone. Feed it as normal, and let him heal himself.

That be pretty much of what I said, but too moditor the eel for the next two weeks if its situation detours for the worst.

 

[andywg]

i cant help with ur problem, but theres no such thing as a freshwater eel

Perhaps you should tell that the all the specimins of Gymnothorax polyuranodon that live all their life in freshwater in the wild?