Please help? Eel might be sick

[cowboy_manic]

I'm afraid my eel might be sick. About a week ago I noticed some of the feeder/filler goldfish were acting strange, like rubbing up against the glass and rocks, so I took them out and put them in a bucket with some medication and salt, the next morning all of them were dead. Yesterday I brought home several more goldfish, one of which I noticed was white on one side (not markings) and looked half dead, so I took him out and got rid of him. Now I noticed one of my eels seems to have a white spot that I've never noticed before, right by his gills, and he looked like he was rubbing this spot on the gravel. Is he sick and if he is what do I do? I put freshwater salt in about a week ago, which I've heard is supposed to help cure diseases, and the medication I have has killed off any fish I've used it on. Can someone please help me? I really love this fish and would hate to loose him. :sad:

[joephys]

I can't give much advice on dealing with sick fish, but I can help prevent it in the future. Don't get feeder fish. They are almost always full of diseases, and provide very little nutriant value to your eel, since they are usually under fed and sick. If you want feeder fish raise your own in uncrowded conditions so that you know they are healthy.

[Pandora82977]

What kind of eel is it (fire, tire track, peacock, zig zag?)

How big is the spot? Tiny like a grain of salt? Bigger and fuzzy? Grayish, soft looking? Is it eating?

Eels can be tough to treat. If they get a bacterial infection it spreads fast and most die. They are very sensitive to meds like copper.

[cowboy_manic]

He's a bichir eel/dinosaur eel. The spot is a greyish whitish colour and it's about the size of the tip of my pinkie. He's eating very well, he's a bit of a pig, and just an hour or so ago he snatched a large dried earthworm from me before I had time to break it down into smaller pieces. So he's deffinately eating, in fact he's on the prowl right now. But like a day or two ago I came home and thought he was dead because he was just sitting at the bottom of the tank not moving, which is rare for him, he's always either swimming around or hiding out in a pipe to sleep. I really hope it's just a light spot from him changing colours (half my tank has white gravel, half has black, so he's constantly changing colours depending on what side he's on), cuz I'd really hate for him to die, especially since he's so young. :(

[Pandora82977]

Ok, I think it sounds like a fungus/bacterial infection, especially if your fish is trying to rub it.

It's still pretty small, so I would try a water change, remove your carbon (so it doesn't filter out the meds) raise the temp to about 84 and dose Melafix, Pimafix and add salt.

If you aren't seeing improvement using the Melafix, Pimafix, and salt after a few days, then change some more water, run fresh carbon in your fiter (to remove any leftover meds) and get your self some Maracyn and Maracyn-Two or KanaPlex by Seachem(seems to work better, IMO.) Remember to take the carbon out of your filter when you medicate.