Dinosaur Eel Question?
 

Okay I bought one and the guy at the aquarium store said he would do fine with my community fish, only 3 days later 3/4 of my fish are missing their tails, and one is missing. I feed him every day and he always eats. I have seperated him from everyone else by putting him in a big mesh thing I bought for when my other fish had babies. So do any of you have these fish Eel things, Is it him doing it? I am a new aquarium keeper, so we have started out with easy fish, Fantail Guppies, etc..I just thought I would ask before I took him back, or is there a disease or something I don't know about where they loose their tails, but then there is still the case of Sunshine missing, no body to be found. Thank you for your help.

Oh and he is only about 2.5 inches long.

Does it look like this? http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...e57eH7Q-fnLYDb If soo then you need to return it. Its a Senegal Bichir( click shaded name) they eat smaller fish and need a 75gal min. Not the best community fish as you can see.

Thank you very much. I have a 60 Gallon tank. This is a very nice Saltwater/fresh water fish store, not a chain, they know their stuff, why would they have told me it was okay? now 3/4 of my fish have no tails, and that is why I got them for the beautiful tails. I have 4 neon fish (sorry I can't remeber what they are called), and both of the Pink ones have nothing but a nub. Do you think they will die. I don't see how they are propelling themselves around the tank. My orange Fantail barely has anything left. Along with several others. Yes it looks just like that. I really appreciate your input. I am just sick about this. Why tell someone he would do fine? I just don't get it, this was my first "harder" fish to take care of. Now I am scared to get anything else, especially if I can't believe the advice someone who should be TRUTHFUL tells me.

Its called MONEY, 90% of pet stores work for profit and commission sales for the staff.

It happens,which is why EVERYONE, not just yourself should research and ask questions before believing anything a fish store says.

Am sorry for your losses.

Just because the store knows their stuff, does mean everyone who works there does. To some people its just a job in a fish store, soo what. As for the fish I sure they'll be fine with treatment I'm sure someone will tell you the best. I think melafix may be good, not 100% I would return the fish ASAP!!! I also want to point out that you speak of a orange fantail. Goldfish are tropical fish shouldn't be mixed, because of many reasons: goldfish grow VERY large most need 75+ tanks, (not a goldie guru, but I know) they're also VERY messy, they prefer cool water (64-75), tropical fish prefer warm water and need a heater( 75-78), for most, some higher.

No I don't have a goldfish. They are all fantail Guppies. I have an Orange/silver one,- a Blue/silver one,- a Yellow with black spots,- a(all one fish lots of color) orange/blue/yellow/ silver one,- a silver with baby blue stripes on top and bottom of tail(clear tail in center), -the yellow and orange one is the one mssing,-
~I also have-
two orange and green with one black spot Tetras, a corey, a Plecco and an upside down catfish. and the four neon whatever they are, two neon pink, and one neon yellow, and a neon blue.

I dealt with the same guy I always deal with, he is the manager/Co-owner of the place. Not just an employee, that's what makes me even more mad.

Once again just because he works there, it doesn't mean he knows what he's doing. As for you stocking Upside down catfish do best in a school of atleast four and cories need to be kept in schools of atleast six. The tetra also need to be kept in a school, atleast six, maybe some more it depends on the species. Can you provide a picture? The Neon fish are either berry tetras or Glo- fish( Zebra Danio) The pleco is most likely a Common Pleco which grow extremely large, soo I would return it. Click shaded names to vist profiles.

This depends on the species, if it is the smaller species yes they like company, if it if the larger species then it will reach 8 inches (eat everything it can fit in its mouth) and prefer to be alone as far as others of its species.

So your answer is just to return everything. No my Pleco is just fine I have a 60 Gallon Tank and yes he is about 7 inches long. He is very docile, as he moves around the tank, but he doesnt move around alot, he is quite lazy from the day we got him. The woman I bought him from had a 75 gallon and said the same thing, he has always been lazy, so I bought a small albino Plecco also. So the tank actually gets clean. Next The tetras. I bought 4 at first because that is what they said, two ganged up picked on the other two till they died. Now they are happy as a lark together, side by side, and don't bother anyone else, So no I wont be putting any more in.-more on that in a second. My Upside down catfish is the same, we had two, and they stayed apart from each other. And we lost the second one to a case of Ick, when I brought in yet two more tetras to get more for them to be a "clan" again. So I wiped out half my tank trying for that, plus the two were ganging up on the new two the whole time. So they are fine in twos. I believe it is a corey as the person told me in the store, no I have not been able to find a picture of him. I call him Arnold (for the actor) because his head and everything are so muscled looking and he is a bottom feeder and cleanes to gravel, all over the tank all by his lonesome.
So if my attachments load, you can see the neon fish, Arnold, , my orange and blue/silver Fantail,- (Ricky and Lucy) also the yellow with black spots one.