First time this happens in almost more than 58 yrs in keeping eels

[OldManOfTheSea]

Here is something in which I been telling others that could and can happen, no matter how long their a pair of eels together for. For I had these goldentails together now for five years and I began to noticed a difference in the male goldentail when he was hiding at the very bottom, but I couldn't see if anything was wrong or not and more then a week ago he stuck his head out and I thought he was OK.

So now what I will do is if I cannot remove either of the eels without tearing apart the tank LR, I will then hope for the best that it will heal and become less stressful from it. Something I told so many when I use too answer eel questions that eels can either live well together and for whatever reasons, one can or could any giving day take bites out from the other.

So for now, I will feed twice a week the other eel in allowing it to leave be the male so that he might recover from its injuries but if I could seen these injuries sooner, it would had made more a difference to me changing their feeding schedule and as of right now, im preparing this weeks water change.
On the above message, I been lucky in that not happen up to now. For its not so bad a record when you think about it that I had eels for from the time I were 11 in which that I had kept eels for 58 years and only now something like this does happen. In any case, im not surprised however that it did happening and now I will do all that I may to help the male in his recovery.

Buddy

[kandibrandy]

Good luck and hope it recovers...

[Germanman]

im sorry to hear that Buddy! i hope it will recover well....but im sure it will under ur care!:)

[OldManOfTheSea]

I only just caught its injured for I knew that three weeks ago that something had to be wrong, but I couldn't see what the problem was and then I seen the male about a week ago and he seem to act like he was doing fine. Now I see him which has to be after three weeks of the injury and I rather had caught it at first, the chances would be great of my success to help it make a full recovery

Like I sold eels time and time again, replaced them with other species. To sold an eel and replace, is one thing, and now I could be faced with the fact that I might have to replace one that died. But one thing here which I myself feel well enough about that its nothing I done wrong. So if it came to the thought of the eel not make it, I will however get me a male goldentail to replace the one which be lost to me.

Its funny, I tell and told so many numbers of times to others that no one is beyond the normal facts of losing any of their prize species and this however makes me no exception. Unlike the mishap which happened to the male dragon, and he made a full recovery, not just anything is able to make it for first you would need to catch it early and not weeks later. That has been time wasted that I could had been doing something then and not almost a month later.

So all I can do is the best I can for it and it makes it, Great! And if not, well I have to think that you can figure that out. LOL

Buddy

[OldManOfTheSea]

I went to feed the goldentails today prior to doing a water change and even that the male goldentail is looking better then a few days ago, his not eating and he is still in a but of stress from its injuries. I will attempt tomorrow some ghost shrimps for any eel in this type of situation, its better that the food offerings be smaller so that if the eel takes it in its jaws, they are most likely to eat it. I'm tired today for I not had a day off from a few kids and now were coming closer to my granddaughters dance.

[Riverserver]

Man it sucks to hear about this sort of thing. Goldentails are supposed to be a less aggressive species too :( Hope your eel heals soon! You say its the male that is being bullied, any chance the female might be carrying? It could explain the behavior changes...

Have any pictures of them?

[OldManOfTheSea]

In all marine species, known or unknown, their all have a certain level in their aggressiveness. Goldnetails, they when being fed will at many times only know of the one single thing, they want to eat and will tear apart grabbing the foods at times from both ends. Sorry if this not sound so professional. But im tired :( and im still much to do now for myself and be up early to take my daughter to her work due to the fact that she is sick due to a medical problem.

But eels in any case, do have first, a docile side to them and the times when their show any aggressiveness is always mostly when hungry and the protection of their lair. Even the large Wolf Eel, it needs to worry when a larger of its species will come by and demand their lair as their own.

But still, eels when not hungry and are usually well kept in a home aquarium, they are for the most part docile creatures. Even while the Tess or green morays, when as juveniles, they do hang in small groups for they understand their numbers adds to their survival.

But when grown to a larger size then somewhere like 4-4.5', somewhere around then do their aggressive behavior begins to surface. It will all depend much on each individual species in this group. But always the final outcome is that the tess and the green must be alone in one huge tank for to add another when one is already grown somewhat, the attacks will begin on the much younger of the two or on both.

Its funny however if you think about it that all those who had tess eels a few years ago, now they never show them anymore today. Their is another person I heard lately who has three tess eels in a 120 I think it was?? Whichever, its a disaster in the making. I were told of this tank>

So, im not worried much here, I do know however that this could go either way. The eel recovers or I would finally lose one after so many years. In any case to how it goes, I am not how you say, feel that its of something wrong I done, for I been doing the very same thing for a number of decades. I did however lost a goldentail due too carpet surfing in my first 7-10 years, I were a teenager at the time.

Niko, later I will have something's to tell you in a PM, its to do when the reef tanks might be started and there happens to be another item in the works, and I not know how it will go as yet.

Buddy

[OldManOfTheSea]

Well folks, the goldentails are doing OK and they finally eaten after 3.5 months and the way I manage that is buy giving them something they couldn't pass up. I never bothered with ghost shrimps and such for those wouldn't be a live lone enough for the eels to become interested in them. I got them 15 peppermint shrimps, Yummy in their tummy and today they eat salmon and shrimp > The shrimp I had gotten a week earlier > They fed on salmon and shrimps yesterday :

Buddy

[Reefscape]

Thats brillaint to hear buddy...really glad they have finally eaten...and i hope this is a sure sign of things to come...

Niko

[OldManOfTheSea]

Aw shucks Niko, I wasn`t worried at all really for one way or another this was to come out with another happy ending for twice in about a years time two things happened, the female goldentail bit serious the male and the male dragon in their tank caused the LR to shifted trapping him on both side of his body, not from above was he trapped. And if most others had something as this happening to their eels, they always lost them :headshake2: which is really a sad thing>

Buddy

[Germanman]

glad to hear things are shaping up! i knew they would:)

[OldManOfTheSea]

I have to add that a little luck helps a lot when things like these happen for the one thing I not have in the eel tanks are so many other tank mates, their the only main inhabitants so stress shouldn't be an issue :)

[zazz]

I am glad to hear they are feasting.
Do you think she will bite him again?

[OldManOfTheSea]

there always be a possibility of it, for all through the years I had a number of minor incidents that I only needed to use formalin, for please not think that all was that perfect for I kept eels for some sixty years in all for the 58 years in the title of this thread is for that back then about the 2nd or 3rd years that I had a goldentail had gone carpet surfing on me and was the only time any eel got out of my tanks. I was about 10 of age at the time it happen. And these days, my tanks are escape proof for like the goldentails tank, when I first got them, they were 6-7" and I had the over flow box build high in their tank so they could never escape out that way and I do a number of other things as well. And at many times through the years, I had as many as three eels species in one tank and a few times I had four in one tank and that would depend much on whoch of the species the where for some 35-38 years, I had back then at any one time some seven eels in all>

Buddy