Fire Eel Help?
- Thread starter Mushu
- Start date
I posted this in this thread because I also want advice on how I should properly set up a new tank that I'm getting. I've also researched this, but I want advice from you guys and see what's worked best for you. I'll be setting it up to accomodate a new Fire Eel that I'd like to get, but obviously don't want the same thing to happen.
I have never kept eels and don't know of their special needs but it sounds like the water was not ready for him. Was the tank cycled? What were the water parameters?
Sorry you had to see that, maybe we can help to get you on track with the next one.
Sorry you had to see that, maybe we can help to get you on track with the next one.
We let the tank sit empty with the filter running for about a day in a half and then got goldfish and a Dinosaur Bichir (my fiance was determined to get the Bichir even though the pet store warned us that they wouldn't be compatible for long; the goldfish were then removed about 2 days later, a day after we got the fire eel). I didn't realize that goldfish were probably not the best way to cycle the tank until now...so I know that was probably my first mistake.
As for the parameters...we got the water checked at a pet store and they said the water was fine except for it being a little soft (we have a soft water system for the WHOLE house...sprinklers, hoses, everything. We put salt in it but there are no conditioners or anything, just pure water). Is that what you wanted to know? :/
I feel so embarrassed for not researching my tank more before setting it up.
As for the parameters...we got the water checked at a pet store and they said the water was fine except for it being a little soft (we have a soft water system for the WHOLE house...sprinklers, hoses, everything. We put salt in it but there are no conditioners or anything, just pure water). Is that what you wanted to know? :/
I feel so embarrassed for not researching my tank more before setting it up.
Well, water from a softener is not the best bet since it does add a slight amount of salt and removes some of the beneficial minerals. Does your softener have a bypass valve? most of them do so that you can do maintenance. You can bypass the softener and then run the cold water for a few minutes to clear the lines of softened water and then fill your jugs. Don't use the hot water though since the water heater will be full of softened water.
Usually when a softener is installed the cold water faucet in the kitchen is not on the softener side so that people on low sodium diets can use the water for cooking and drinking. Hose bibs outside are usually also ahead of the softener because most plants will not like the salt either.
It probably won't hurt to use the softened water but you may need to replace the minerals that it removes. You can get a test kit for KH (carbonate hardness) and GH (general hardness) to see what your levels are. Too little KH can cause problems with PH stability.
You should also get a API freshwater master test kit and read the sticky at the top of this forum on the freshwater cycle.
Usually when a softener is installed the cold water faucet in the kitchen is not on the softener side so that people on low sodium diets can use the water for cooking and drinking. Hose bibs outside are usually also ahead of the softener because most plants will not like the salt either.
It probably won't hurt to use the softened water but you may need to replace the minerals that it removes. You can get a test kit for KH (carbonate hardness) and GH (general hardness) to see what your levels are. Too little KH can cause problems with PH stability.
You should also get a API freshwater master test kit and read the sticky at the top of this forum on the freshwater cycle.
2 days with fish in it is not long enough for a tank to cycle. Cycling usually takes anywhere between 4-6 weeks. Eels can be sensitive to water parameters so most likely the uncycled tank killed it.
According to the LFS your water parameters were "fine" which most likely means there was no ammonia or nitrite only because not enough time had passed for them to form.
I agree that you should get your own test kit and monitor water parameters while your tank is cycling. There is a sticky, at the top of the page, that talk about cycling a tank. Once the tank is cycled then you can add the eel. Just know that fire eels get very large and eventually will need a 180 gallon tank to be comfortable.
According to the LFS your water parameters were "fine" which most likely means there was no ammonia or nitrite only because not enough time had passed for them to form.
I agree that you should get your own test kit and monitor water parameters while your tank is cycling. There is a sticky, at the top of the page, that talk about cycling a tank. Once the tank is cycled then you can add the eel. Just know that fire eels get very large and eventually will need a 180 gallon tank to be comfortable.
I wouldn't trust water tests at most stores. Always do the test yourself. Last time I needed a water test done (a new Pictus Cat had mysteriously died) at a LFS they did the test and said "your water looks perfectly fine" (it was, but still...). Then showed me a vial.... apparently showing my PH was around 7.6. There was only enough water to do a single test. :huh:
Thank you for all the help!
The softener system can't be bypassed...my fiance's father installed it when he worked for the company and so there's no way to get around it...which seems really silly to me, but we can't change it :/ They use crystal salt for the softener which does an ion exchange or something like that...it doesn't add salt to the water, but just removes the hardness. That's what his father told me.
I went back to the LFS today that I had gotten the eel from and they also checked my water and what not...but I'll definitely get the kits to check it myself. I guess I really jumped the gun for getting the fish, which I regret doing now. Anyways...at the store he gave me some bacteria stuff (not quite sure what it was, he told me but I can't remember anymore) to help jump start the cycling in my current tank.
The fire eel...I'm not getting another until I can get a suitable tank for one.
As for when I get the 45gal...what all should I get for the cycling process? I have aquarium salt (API), bacteria supplement (Top Fin), and stress coat+ (API) which is a fish and tap water conditioner. The guy at the store said something about lime..? What else should I get? And I should wait 4-6weeks before transferring the fish, correct? Should I get some tetras to help the cycle?
Also, I have a cory catfish and dinosaur (senegal) bichir and was wondering what you guys reccomend as tank mates?
Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I do this correctly this time!
The softener system can't be bypassed...my fiance's father installed it when he worked for the company and so there's no way to get around it...which seems really silly to me, but we can't change it :/ They use crystal salt for the softener which does an ion exchange or something like that...it doesn't add salt to the water, but just removes the hardness. That's what his father told me.
I went back to the LFS today that I had gotten the eel from and they also checked my water and what not...but I'll definitely get the kits to check it myself. I guess I really jumped the gun for getting the fish, which I regret doing now. Anyways...at the store he gave me some bacteria stuff (not quite sure what it was, he told me but I can't remember anymore) to help jump start the cycling in my current tank.
The fire eel...I'm not getting another until I can get a suitable tank for one.
As for when I get the 45gal...what all should I get for the cycling process? I have aquarium salt (API), bacteria supplement (Top Fin), and stress coat+ (API) which is a fish and tap water conditioner. The guy at the store said something about lime..? What else should I get? And I should wait 4-6weeks before transferring the fish, correct? Should I get some tetras to help the cycle?
Also, I have a cory catfish and dinosaur (senegal) bichir and was wondering what you guys reccomend as tank mates?
Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I do this correctly this time!
cycling a tank generally takes about a month...I admit I was anxious to get my (37 gal) tank started up too, I only left mine about 2 1/2-3 weeks, which is how long it took for the water to stop being cloudy. The bacteria supplement will certainly help things along. I also put live plants in there as soon as I could see through the water to the bottom of the tank. Plants can help speed things along as well. This will only cycle the tank up to a point, the real cycling doesn't generally start untill you actually have fish in there.
At the 3 week point I put 3 zebra danio's in there (after getting the water tested) and left them in there for about a week and and a half before putting any new fish in. Most people will tell you to wait a 2 weeks to a month (depending on the person and their experiances) before putting new fish in after the 'cycle' fish. I was actually planning to have the danio's in my tank so i wasn't specificaly using them as a cycle fish (there is mixed opinions on using fish for only that purpose). The best cycle fish are the more hardy and less expensive fish that you are planning on using, if you use the most expensive fish and something happens, thats alot of money down the drain. The ph and amonia levels can change alot in the first month as the bacteria establishes itself. Its the same when you add alot of new fish at once, so it is recomended to only add a few fish at a time and wait a couple weeks in between. It took me a little over a month to finish stocking my tank.
As for your stocking options for your current fish, cory's are pretty good fish for just about any community set up, though he might be lonely, as they like to be in groups. With the bichir, you will want to consider how big he (and his mouth) will be at his full size. They are carnivours and will try to eat anything that will fit in its mouth, with possibly the exeption of a pleco (almost everything ignors them).
At the 3 week point I put 3 zebra danio's in there (after getting the water tested) and left them in there for about a week and and a half before putting any new fish in. Most people will tell you to wait a 2 weeks to a month (depending on the person and their experiances) before putting new fish in after the 'cycle' fish. I was actually planning to have the danio's in my tank so i wasn't specificaly using them as a cycle fish (there is mixed opinions on using fish for only that purpose). The best cycle fish are the more hardy and less expensive fish that you are planning on using, if you use the most expensive fish and something happens, thats alot of money down the drain. The ph and amonia levels can change alot in the first month as the bacteria establishes itself. Its the same when you add alot of new fish at once, so it is recomended to only add a few fish at a time and wait a couple weeks in between. It took me a little over a month to finish stocking my tank.
As for your stocking options for your current fish, cory's are pretty good fish for just about any community set up, though he might be lonely, as they like to be in groups. With the bichir, you will want to consider how big he (and his mouth) will be at his full size. They are carnivours and will try to eat anything that will fit in its mouth, with possibly the exeption of a pleco (almost everything ignors them).