Snowflake Eel won't eat

[Tatiana]

I have a 2 year old snowflake eel that all of a sudden quit eating. He used to eat salad shrimp twice a week with great gusto, and about a month ago he quit eating alltogether. I have tried feeding him shrimp, Krill, and squid to no avail. I also noticed that he looks like he has a film over his whole body. Do eels molt? He also still acts just that same as he used to, so I dont think that he is hurt. Anyone have any ideas? And i have not noticed any other critters missing so I dont think he is eating them.

[Hong Kongan]

That white film could indicate a disease. Check your water params. Sorry I cant help more but you need to give more information for us to help you.

[Tatiana]

my readings as of tonight are:

Salinity 1.022
Temp 81F
Ammonia 0.25
Phosphates 0
Nitrate 0
Iodine 0.02
PH 8.1
Nitrite 0

[Loverotties]

You shouldn't have any ammonia,How old is your tank.It sounds to me you didn't let it cycle long enough.do a water change of at least 25% NOW!

[FishDaddy]

Hi, Tatiana,

As already observed, you should do some water changes to eliminate the Ammonia. What size tank does your Snowflake live in? Something's going on in there to produce the NH4.

My Chainlink would occasionally stop eating for a week or so but never as long as a month. The film' is definitely not normal.

Dick

[Tatiana]

My tank is cycling again after I moved to my new house. Started getting an alge bloom right after the move and it is starting to go away. I have been doing weekly water changes as Normal. I normaly change out around 7 gallons. My tank is 55g.

[Superman]

Your ammonia level is too high, but that is obvious, so you need to do water changes that do not disturb your sand bed in order to export that ammonia but still let your bacteria colonies build up in order to naturally sustain your nitrogen cycle which should leave you with only nitrates to deal with. A healthy eel can go on long stints of fasting, so this behavior (minus the "molting" look) would be perfectly fine, but since you know your tank is cycling (shame shame for having the eel in there while you knew your water params were not up to par) you need to do 15-20% water changes as needed, do not wait to do this once a week, but AS NEEDED.

[Tatiana]

Originally Posted by Superman

(shame shame for having the eel in there while you knew your water params were not up to par) you need to do 15-20% water changes as needed, do not wait to do this once a week, but AS NEEDED.

What was I supposed to do with him? The tank was perfectly fine untill the move. Cant very well set him on the kitchen counter for weeks wating for the water quality to return to normal. And I only have 1 tank.

[Superman]

Moving a tank is a chore and a large responsibility, the correct thing to do would have been to find a friend, fellow hobbyist, pet store, SOMEONE with a tank that had decent water parameters to hold the eel until your tank got back under control. Knowingly letting the eel suffer under bad water conditions is the problem, there is always a solution. If there was no other way to house the eel somewhere stable then consistant water changes could have been done to keep water params in normal ranges, but this takes time, testing and generally more effort on your part. Now all you can do is try and get those ammonia levels back down to zero and hope that the eel recovers. Make double sure that your ph levels of your water change water is the same as your tank water, since you will be doing multiple water changes within a short period of time this becomes an important issue that can not be overlooked. Good luck, sorry if I seemed to come down hard on you, I hope your eel recovers.

[Tatiana]

Originally Posted by Superman

Moving a tank is a chore and a large responsibility, the correct thing to do would have been to find a friend, fellow hobbyist, pet store, SOMEONE with a tank that had decent water parameters to hold the eel until your tank got back under control. Knowingly letting the eel suffer under bad water conditions is the problem, there is always a solution. If there was no other way to house the eel somewhere stable then consistant water changes could have been done to keep water params in normal ranges, but this takes time, testing and generally more effort on your part. Now all you can do is try and get those ammonia levels back down to zero and hope that the eel recovers. Make double sure that your ph levels of your water change water is the same as your tank water, since you will be doing multiple water changes within a short period of time this becomes an important issue that can not be overlooked. Good luck, sorry if I seemed to come down hard on you, I hope your eel recovers.

The eel was having these problems before we moved. So I know that the Move and the resulting water condition is not the problem that I am having. I just came here to see if someone had any idea why he would just stoping eating, and if anyone knew what the filmy looking stuff was. Also everything else in the tank Corals and other fish are doing just fine. they have no film or any change in thier behavior since the eel starting having its problems.

[skeety]

wish I could help. Don't know much about eels. sorry.

[Junkzoo]

The slime could be a result in protection from the ammonia "burns" it might be experiencing. Most times ammonia levels are higher ,in the lowest part of the tank,if you do not have a lot of water movement churning up the water.
Ditto on what everyone else has posted, do a water change(a few over time,like every third day),watch your feeding, i would not worry about the eel eating right now, and like Dick said, eels can go for a while without eating,,,i'd be more concerned about the tank water parameters. change out your carbon , if you are using any, fairly often, because after a while it will leach what it's absorbed back into the tank,,,
Good luck,,and keep us posted.

[kwjones]

My snowflake loves squid, octopus, shrimp and silversides. Occasionally he'll eat a small scallop and he doesn't care for mussels at all. You might want to think about soaking the food in something like Selcon or garlic extract...it might entice it to eat.