# Sick Tire Track Eel :(



## williamlv282 (May 11, 2013)

Help me figure out what's wrong with my eel! He's been acting very strange the last two days. He will usually eat blood worms as if he's never going to see them again but since yesterday he hasn't had much of an appetite. Today I also added some CO2 for my plants and tried to feed him again but he didn't go for it. Instead, a few minutes later he freaked out and darted around the tank in a craze. I caught it on video so take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viPQbFTJ2VM

This can't be normal behavior right? He's usually so calm and just hangs out in my log all day.

This video is from after his episode, he's been sitting in the same spot on the floor of my aquarium for over 5 hours. I think he's also developed some sort of slime on his skin. This isn't ICK is it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW800munZZs
Help me out guys, I've had this eel only a little bit over a month and I am really bummed to see him in this shape.


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## williamlv282 (May 11, 2013)

So after doing some more research I think it is just a simple case of ICK. I'm going to treat for it and provide further updates on his health.


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

Check your water with a test kit if you have not already. It looks as though something's stressing it out. You could also try adding a few more hiding places for it, most of the time the more places to hide the more secure your fish will feel which can help calm them down.


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2013)

It is either ich or velvet disease. To see if it is velvet, shine a flashlight on him, velvet is gold dust on fish. Ich is white spots, like the fish has been sprinkled with salt. If it is ich, you are in the early stages of it.


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## williamlv282 (May 11, 2013)

I treated for ICH but he died yesterday 
I didn't see white spots or gold dust.
He had developed a layer of white slime over the entirety of his body, even when he was still moving and breathing. The ICH bottle says that there are two types and that one type of protozoan parasite looks like a film. 
One LFS I went to said it was ICH without a doubt and that he had a 90% chance of survival, the other one I went to said that it wasn't ICH and that he had never seen that before.

My water testing showed that everything is stable and at good levels with the exception of my nitrites, which were a tad bit high for my tastes. The other fish in the tank are unaffected and still healthy. 

This is very bothersome to me as I've taken meticulous care of that eel. I expected a good four or five years out of him and instead I only had him for a month


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## williamlv282 (May 11, 2013)

The more I read up on freshwater fish diseases, the more I think it was probably Velvet disease.
In the future, would my QuICK Cure medicine work on Velvet? I just can't believe it took him so quickly, I didn't catch it in time

I've been reading that velvet or a bacterial infection can be cause by abrasions that the eel receives in tank. I have a sandy substrate, is this optimal for eels??
I opted to not get gravel because I thought he would enjoy the sand more but I will be replacing this eel and I want him to be happy and healthy.


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## Guest (Jun 2, 2013)

I know that ich meds are the meds to use when treating velvet. I am so sorry that your eel died. I had a clown loach that died when I was doing a deep clean of my fish tank. Not sure why my clown loach died but the other two are doing good. Anyway, someone will chime in for your other questions, as I have gravel substrate not sand.

There is a disease called slime disease. It removes the slime coat on the fish. Did the eel have any slime coming off of him? Slime disease can affect all freshwater fish that I know of.


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