# Peacock eel not eating



## Jaysn (Dec 13, 2006)

I have two peacock eels in my 55, bought at the same time ~3 months ago. One of them is very healthy looking, and the other is really thin. I've tried feeding him: Freeze-dried bloodworm, FD brine shrimp, FD tubifex, shrimp pellets (Wardley and Top Fin), cichlid pellets, betta pellets, and FD krill. He doesn't really show any interest in any of them. His behaviour has also changed over the last month or so, before he would swim the length of the tank and check out the filters. Now he's usually just sitting across the top suction cup of the heater. Does anyone have any suggestions on what else to try? I'm afraid I'm going to lose him 

Here's a pic of the healthy one:










and here's one of the skinny one:










You can't really tell from that pic, but his body is thinner than his head all the way back, whereas on the big one there is a nice big bulge that you can see in the top pic.


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

Have you triied gost shrimp or other live foods?


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## Jaysn (Dec 13, 2006)

There are a few ghosts in the tank, but so far i don't think anything has eaten any of them. They're the only live food I've been able to find in town.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

There is probably a presence of intestinal parasites in its stomach unfortunately judging by how you say the fish is getting very thin as some intestinal parasites tend to grab the nutrients from the fish.:shake: Is its poo stringy and whitish? Metronidazole might work. Another plus is it improves the appetite of the fish.


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## Jaysn (Dec 13, 2006)

I've actually never seen it poo. Would I (Should I?) dose the entire tank? The other fish in the tank have normal looking poo, if that's any help. I tried frozen brine shrimp today, he didn't eat that either.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Jaysn said:


> I've actually never seen it poo. Would I (Should I?) dose the entire tank? The other fish in the tank have normal looking poo, if that's any help. I tried frozen brine shrimp today, he didn't eat that either.


Metronidazole is pretty mild so you can do so. Having a case of intestinal parasites in the main tank calls for treatment of the whole tank because the possibility of other fish infested with parasites is already there. Although healthy specimens may not be easily infested with parasites, there is still a chance the parasites are in their bodies.


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## Jaysn (Dec 13, 2006)

Add frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, and live bloodworms to the list of foods he will not eat  He's currently in my recently available 10 gallon tank, with some of my LFS's "Paragon II" medicine. It contains metronidazole, furazolidone, neomycin sulfate, naladixic acid, and salt. I really hope he lives, I've spent ~$30 trying to save this poor $6 fish.


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## Jaysn (Dec 13, 2006)

*He's eating!*

The meds must be doing their job, he took about 10 bloodworms from me last night!


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

garlic works too


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