Eel acting weird...? need some insight

[pitt_prodigy]

My zebra started acting really weird today. He was out of his PVC hiding place most of the day and at times would start thrashing around wildly in the tank? I tested all my water params and everything checked great.

Ph- 8.1
nitrates - <10ppm
amonia - 0
nitrite - 0
alk - 8kdh
temp - 79
sg - 1.027

My sg is higher than usual... usually between 1.025-.026... but other than that nothing has changed... no new addition, etc. All my other stock is doing great.

He has no visible abraisions or wounds.... the cleaner shrimp is constantly picking at him so im no real worried about parisites or anthing else.

I did see that the cleaner shrimp had moulted again and its partial shell was behind my rockwork..... is it possible that he could be choking on the shell peices?? He hasnt really had an interest in food today and that is not typical of him at all... he is usually quite vicious when it comes to feeding. I think i'll get him some clams tommorrow since thats his favorite. I just cant seem to explain what is going on with him.... anyone seen anything like this before?

 

[stevebydac]

Have you added any medication to the tank? Have you cleaned the tank with household cleaning products (ex. Windex on the outside glass)? Has any foreign substance got into the tank somehow? While any fish can be affected by these things, eels are sometimes more sensitive. Have you been painting in the room?

Other than that, it could be anything. Watch him for signs of parasites, or any red streaks or bruises on his body. Note his breathing, is it normal? Is he eating normally?

While I don't think it is related, get your SG down -- slowly, to not harm the inverts -- a couple of notches. Let's eliminate that as a possibility.

 

[pitt_prodigy]

Thanks for the reply steve.... as far as the sg... im already on that.... i got the ro/di making fresh water right now. I tested everything again and got the same results so i have eliminated params as a problem. Fish, corals and anemone are all vibrant and healthy.

I dont add medications to my main tank, so thats out. I dont use windex or any other glass products.... i usually use a cloth towel and just buff until its clear. No painting or anything out of the ordinary going on in the house either.... not even running the sweeper for the past week.

I bought some fresh clams and put one on the feeding stick and he wasnt interested at all. I went in under the reef structure and bumped his nose with it and a few seconds later he went crazy again thrashing around wildly?!! I have no idea what going on with him. His breathing was elevated but that was right after he got done thrashing about....i grabbed him to make sure that he didnt bump into anything and pulled him out to give him a look for parasites of any kind.... and nothing. The cleaner shrimp is always pecking away at him too so that shouldnt be the case. BUT whats really weird though is when he is thrashing he looks like hes trying to get something off of him but there is nothing there? Slime coat is still there cause i can see the sand sticking to him in places (as it normally does) but nothing out of the ordinary. No abrasions or bruises... which is really surprising the way he beats around in there.... im really stumped.

I have Prime (denitrifier/slime coat protector/amonia eliminator) and i was thinking about adding some to my new water just for added protection for him... good idea or no?

I really appreciate you help... because im at a loss.. i have searched all my literature and cant find anything that describes his behaviour. I'll keep you posted.

 

[LisaD]

Sorry you are having problems. Mine has never acted like that. How long have you had him? Any chance he could have eaten something bad for him in fresh mollusks?

 

[pitt_prodigy]

Hi lisa... ive had him since the beginning of December and he's always been really good for me. Ate like a pig the first day i had him.... always came up to the glass to see what i was doing when i was fiddling around with the tank... and was just generally a very healthy critter. I dont know whats got into him lately... but i know he's not right. Im not really worried about him not eating as much as the thrashing around. So far i've seen him do it 4 times in two days. As i said above... i've tested everything and so far no dice.

He did eat 2 cubes of my frozen formula now that you mentioned it. Its a concoction of shrimp, clam, squid, and seaweed blended and then frozen into cubes. My fish love it... he also ate some prior to all this happening.... kinda inadvertently. He used to go crazy when the stuff hit the water (i think mostly due to the clam) and he ended up ripping the plastic feeder clip apart and stole it from the fish. That is the only thing besides the sg that i can think of that would be different than normal. I keep that stuff in a plastic tray in the freezer.... but its sealed and i cant foresee anything that could have happened to it to spoil it. And i know that he hasnt had any bad clams or even anything suspect since he started acting weird.

Luckily i have this weekend off so i can keep an eye on him. Hes not breathing heavy.... but hes out of his pvc hiding spot more than normal. I vacumed it out earlier today to see if there was some type of irritant in there but didnt come up with anything more than sand. I guess i'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.