ZigZag Eel - Bloated, Mouth Open and Will Not Eat :(

[Game2Fame]

So its been about 3 days now and my ZigZag Eel looks miserable.. I went to Petsmart and my local mom and pop shop had my water tested at both for free and both said my water is perfect. I then told them both about my Eel and showed pictures but to no avail. Neither had helpful advice. I was told to just wait it out.

The Eel is Bloated up to about the size of a quarter, Mouth is always open and hasnt eatin in about 3 days.. I read something about that they can get Kidney Disease or infection but i have no clue on what to do.

I've attached pics of my Eel.. Any help is appreciated thanks.

 

[absolutangel04]

Poor guy! Do you happen to know what sort of test kits they used? It wouldn't hurt to do a pwc just in case.
What do you feed him?

 

[Game2Fame]

Well I feed him Blood worms as his normal everyday food and have been for 2 years now. Petsmart does a paper dip test and the other place had 4 separate vials but I have no idea what kit it was.

Friday I bought a Farlowella and 2 Tadpoles. Also picked up some Black Worms as a treat for the eels. Thought I would switch it up with some live worms. after I got the Farlowella and Tadpoles in the tank about an hour later I went to drop in the black worms and noticed that the zigzag was no where to be found only my peacock eel came out which is def not normal.

Anyway I did do a pwc the next day just wanted to let the tadpoles and my farlowella get use to the tank over night before i did a water change as i didnt want to cause them any more stress since they were new.

 

[absolutangel04]

Ok, bloodworms are good food for those guys. The blackworms should have been fine too. I wonder if its a parasite or something. The bloat takes up so much of his body that is definitely not normal "I ate too much" bloat IMO.
Are the new guys still acting ok? Does anybody else in the tank have any symptoms?

 

[Game2Fame]

Nope everyone else looks great! I actually just finished posting in my album. I just took some pics of the fish. Altho, if its parasites I dont see anyone with white patches or damaged appearance. however there are 3 fish I rarely see cause there nocturnal and if they are harboring something I would physically have to get them out of there hiding spots.

 

[absolutangel04]

I was looking around a little. It seems that maybe a gastric disease could be the culprit. I am not sure about that though.
I do not think its dietary, but I am asking these questions just in case, do you use frozen bloodworms? So, you enver saw him eat black worms right? I was thinking about the chance of a black worm intorducing a parasite, but I think a gastric disease is more likely. If it is a gastric disease, I don't know what you could do about it though.

 

[Game2Fame]

Yeah I read that also. Yes, they are frozen Blood worms and no he never ate a Black worm he was already bloated at this point when i was looking for him. he actually would not come out of the hut i have in my tank.

 

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, is they are just planaria, then they are harmless. Try googling planaria and seeing if that what you have been seeing. If so, don't worry about it. If not, then try to get a picture or else google white aquarium worms and try to find a picture that matches.
I am still thinking gastric disease though.

 

[Game2Fame]

This is what I've been reading and for what I see on the list the cure may be AquaLife Complete?

8. Treatment & Quarantine

but I really dont know. Maybe you could have a look..

 

[absolutangel04]

I guess I will ask you on here, what tankmates do you have with the eel? Some meds can be a bit hard on other fish so treating the eel in a qt might be best in this situation.
Anybody else have an idea besides a bacterial infection, parasite, or gastric illness?

 

[absolutangel04]

What about dropsy? Its hard to diagnose without the scales sticking out though. I suggest googling it and seeing if that fits.

 

[FxT4LyFx]

exact same thing with my tire track eel. a month ago i got 4 new african cichlids to add to the tank and for the last two and a half weeks its been in the same condition js this eel and its sk4n is peeling. dont know how to help the poor thing :/