Don't you just hate it when that happens?

[JennM]

I came in to the shop this morning, turned on the lights, and do my usual "fish check" to make sure everybody was fine and dandy.

The cover from one tank is pushed aside, and on the floor, coiled up is one 2' Cheetah eel, dry and crispy looking ****...

Grumbling, I went and got a fish bag to use as a glove/disposal receptacle. I picked up the eel - it's stiff... rigor had set in -- or so I thought The darned thing started to wiggle!!! ARGH

I wrestled it back into its tank, where it took a couple of really deep breaths, and it slinked back to its hidey hole Looked none the worse for wear. Go figure.

I'm still creeped out. I don't mind eels I hate it when they jump...

Ewww.

Jenn

[Stang69]

hehehh We had a 3 ft gold flake do the same thing and he is still alive and kickin as far a s I know in Utah. We used to call him Jaws because he would eat anything we put in with him including a 12 inch clown trigger.


Jeff

[Clownfishman]

Scary stuff

[Junkzoo]

Yup Jenn, been there seen that,,,
had my share of jumpers in the old days of the shop too,,,
had a few dried up ones survive,,,but most of them , were not"right" after,,,,
nothing like seeing a eel "walk" across the floor to get your pulse goin'!

[tims]

where you been hiding Jenn?
question should be did he move before or after coffee?


thinking about summertime for that cup of coffee with you...
going to move any more big tanks?

[Paradox]

In my old eel tank, the most aggressive occupant was a lemon headed moray. It actually latched onto my arm once and my isnt reaction was to retract my arm which in turn pulled the eel out of the tank. Those things are near impossible to grab and hold on to. The second its in your hand, it slithers out of it...


I had the proud scar on my arm for a long time....It has become to faded for me to tell the story with the effect as it used to have.. =)

[FishDaddy]

Jenn,

Our Chainlink, "Spotty", has had one 'out-of-tank' experience, similar to yours. I found him behind the tank, quite dry and stiff, and thought he was dead until I picked him up. He lost a little skin from sticking to the carpet, and took him a few days to return to normal, but he's fine now. They seem to be able to handle that kind of thing better than regular fish.

Glad yours made it!

Dick

[cath]

Yowza!! That really is creepy, Jenn. ickeramma

[cdemeritt]

Well, my eel experiance is limited to the freshwater kind, which I used to catch fishing. one winter, while Ice-fishing, we caught a 3' eel that had to be 4" in diameter. This was early in the day, and we set it aside on the ice for 6hrs in about 15*f temp. It stopped wiggling very quickly, and we thought it was dead. When we got it home, we saved cleaning that one out for last as we worked the bass an pickeral first. As we were getting ready to start gutting the eel, it started to move about the sink. Apparently it warmed up enough to thaw, and wasn't ready to be dinner just yet. We did finally get it, but it took some time, as it just wouldn't die. but it tasted great, after that instead of horn-pouting, we'd go for eel.
sorry, not quite on topic

[cdemeritt]

jenn,
sounds like it's time for a brick or something on that tank. Glad to hear he was still alive at least.

[Rick O]

Well I hope he learned a lesson. Whadda ya think is going on in their mind when they hit the floor?

[JennM]

I'm shattered that you'd even think I would sell a lint-covered eel to an unsuspecting schmoe...

There never really was any doubt, was there??? I'll keep him a while. He's got Wessonality... slippery.

I have another snowflake in the shop that the last owner had for about 3 years, and one day it went carpet surfing and the guy's wife freaked out and made him trade it in. It's been in my place for a couple of months now - it's fine. Yes, eels seem to have a penchant for jumping - and we do keep our tanks covered, but the other night there was a gap left open from feeding (cover was on crooked) and voila! Eel overboard!

I bet they think, "Oh crap......." The one yesterday was all curled up - I think perhaps he just decided to hunker down and wait for me... "I've fallen and I can't get up".... He was coiled up like a spring and I thought Rigor Mortis had set in when I first picked him up, he was all stiff until he began to wiggle YUCK.

I've been busy and out of town but Tim, if you drop by, we'll find a big tank to move I was going to move my 120 into the new section this weekend but the electrician isn't finished my GFCI outlets where the tank is going, so next weekend it is.

We were away last weekend I've been playing catch-up all week with my paperwork, but Karen and Joe who kept the store for us did a FABULOUS job and their daughter Shania cleaned out the (empty) big tank.

Scott has to reconfigure some of the plumbing on our FO system so I've not ordered many new fish for a couple of weeks so there is not an overload of fish, because he has to shut it all down for a while today. Once that's done he can finish the plumbing on the big tank... he plans to start putting water in it today.

I'm going down to Columbus to get some furniture - a store there trades in the same barter exchange I'm in. Gotta love Barter, I've done most of my store expansion on trade

Well time to get myself in gear - I'm running an hour behind schedule, but I think the rain has stopped...

Keep you eels in your tanks

Jenn

[cdemeritt]

I'm shattered that you'd even think I would sell a lint-covered eel to an unsuspecting schmoe...

Who said anything about that? That would be just wrong.

[JennM]

Originally posted by cdemeritt
Who said anything about that? That would be just wrong.

Oh I was kidding - they were kidding me - they know I wouldn't sell it to an unsuspecting schmoe.

FWIW he's fine today

Jenn

[Alice]

I'm glad he's fine Jenn but I just am not an eel lover. Too many close calls with lampreys when I was a kid. (shudder)