Eel Might Not Make It

[D.J.]

well.....i came in from workin on the mustang and the snowflake was outa the tank....

found him in the dinning room under the table.....and one of the cats got ahold of him...

he has one eye messed up and a few holes in his side i guess they bit him....

he is slowly moving around the tank, wont eat which is a given and breathing irractly(SP)......

thought i had it fixed where he couldnt get out but he found a spot next to one of the filters between it and the heater which isnt but 1/2in or less opening.....

[jenglish]

ouch sorry to hear that. Eels are amazing escape artists. It's mostl a waiting game now. There's nothing I know of that you can really do for him.

[D.J.]

i feel really bad for him/her........wish i woulda better prepared the tank...

lookin at him today he is swimmin around in the tank alil but bumpin into everything so im guessin he is blind now...

still wont take any food thou....i know he has got to learn to seat all over again now that he cant see whats in front of him but i hope he doesnt starve to death....

i was debating puttin him out of his misery but dont know how to humanly or if it would even be called for...i just dont want him to suffer....

[icebear]

i have heard of them doing quite well with one eye... that itself is not a death sentence

i think his big trick will be to get away without a big infection taking hold on his wounds. i think they can go some time without food- not too long though, but enough so he'll have time to set himself right.

you might try researching using garlic in the tank to help him heal and boost his appetite (seems i read it was useful somewhere for more than just ich)....keep offering food...

hope he pulls through, they can be pretty tough, he's made it 24 hours so far. that might be a good sign!




if you do need to put him down, AFAIK, the freezer is still the most humane way available to a home hobbyist. put him in a large lidded container with tank water and just tuck him in for the night.

[D.J.]

yeah i know they can make it with 1 eye but has has both eyes that i think he is gona loose....

they are both cloudy and llok like most fish eyes when they loose them...


i was able to hold him a lil to look him over and he has some pretty bad wounds on his sides...im still guessin thats from the cat....looks like bite marks more than anything....

this really makes me alil sick to the stomach thinkin about it.....

i really hope he does pll thru but if he does he is gona need alot of attention now for feedin....

[ZMattie]

sorry to hear about the eel.... its too bad hes a really nice speciman... its up to you but the only way ive heard of humanly putting a salt water fish down is by putting it into fresh water. it doesnt sound good but i think its better than suffering. Thats really weird tho too.... i have my filter and my heater right next to each other and i never once saw him try to escape! well best of luck with him/her! who knows it might turn around for the best! lets hope atleast

Zach M.

[jenglish]

I would personally see if he can can hunt by smell. I have seen a FW crab survive for over a year w/o eyes. If you decide to euthanize it I would think the freezer would be quicker and less stressful than kidney failure which is what i would think would kill a SW animal in FW. Thats JMHO, never used either. The one time I had to euthanize I stunned and severed the spine but thats not for everyone.

[Neuticle]

eyes may be cloudy from being exposed to air, ever go fishing?

I'd give him a while, it's a tough fish.

[D.J.]

yeah im gona give him a few days and see what happens before i go and kill him....

i know the one eye is history...its outa the socket....the toher doesnt look to healthy but we'll see what happens...

[ZMattie]

Hows the eel doing??

[D.J.]

still no improvement on him.....still wont eat and but has started to swim around the tank some and bumpin into everything so im takin it that he is 100% blind.....

i feel so bad about this....i know that they are escape artist but i thought i had it where he couldnt get out....

i keep wantin to give him another day and another day to see if he'll start to eat but i cant sit here and watch him starve so i dont know what to do.....

[jenglish]

sorry to hear that. I wish I could tell you the magic cure or that he was for sure too far gone to save. I was hoping that as they hunt so much be smell that he could adapt and restore some quality of life. I don't suppose he had a favorite treat that he just couldn't resist eating? Eels can sometimes go awhile w/o eating if they are not moving much though. Its been almost a week, if it were me I would set a date a few days from now and if there is no improvement on a set date, then euthanize. JMHO

[Afish4u]

Originally Posted by D.J.

still no improvement on him.....still wont eat and but has started to swim around the tank some and bumpin into everything so im takin it that he is 100% blind.....

i feel so bad about this....i know that they are escape artist but i thought i had it where he couldnt get out....

i keep wantin to give him another day and another day to see if he'll start to eat but i cant sit here and watch him starve so i dont know what to do.....

if hes moving around that sounds like a huge improvement.

[ZMattie]

I agree.. i would set a date and if there hasent been any signifigant improvements it would have to be the end. It sucks but its better than the animal suffering/starving.

Originally Posted by jenglish

sorry to hear that. I wish I could tell you the magic cure or that he was for sure too far gone to save. I was hoping that as they hunt so much be smell that he could adapt and restore some quality of life. I don't suppose he had a favorite treat that he just couldn't resist eating? Eels can sometimes go awhile w/o eating if they are not moving much though. Its been almost a week, if it were me I would set a date a few days from now and if there is no improvement on a set date, then euthanize. JMHO

[D.J.]

im goin to put him down today......this really makes me sick to my stomach....never had to do this before.....he is startin to look pale ans his breathin has worsened.....

im still confused as which way woud be best.....i was tol to submerg him in freezin fresh water.....UMMMM.......NO........not happening....think im just gona sever(SP) his spine......im hopeing that us the fastest way......