Moray eel keeps acting weird

I have a question about my moray eel. He was a very aggressive, territorial, active eel. Then About 3 weeks ago he freaked out. Swam about 100 miles an hour at the top of my tank, back and forth about 5-6 times. Then went under the rocks and hid. Wouldn’t come out. Would only eat if food was dropped around him. The last few days, he has slowly started to come back out like he use to. All of a sudden, he freaked out again last night, swam 100 mph back and forth and went to hide in the rocks. He didn’t eat at all. He lays on his side underneath hidden. Does anyone know what is happening to my eel???? Please help.
kushaquarium.

 

I have a question about my moray eel. He was a very aggressive, territorial, active eel. Then About 3 weeks ago he freaked out. Swam about 100 miles an hour at the top of my tank, back and forth about 5-6 times. Then went under the rocks and hid. Wouldn’t come out. Would only eat if food was dropped around him. The last few days, he has slowly started to come back out like he use to. All of a sudden, he freaked out again last night, swam 100 mph back and forth and went to hide in the rocks. He didn’t eat at all. He lays on his side underneath hidden. Does anyone know what is happening to my eel???? Please help.
kushaquarium.

It sounds like something is spooking him. Do you have any other pets like a cat or something? Do you have anything that turns on and off during the day besides the lights? Like an alternating flow powerhead or something?

Do you think maybe a big mantis shrimp could do this? They're a mean critter when they get big and they can hitchhike in on live rock, but I have no idea if they'd be tough enough mess with an eel.

 

It sounds like something is spooking him. Do you have any other pets like a cat or something? Do you have anything that turns on and off during the day besides the lights? Like an alternating flow powerhead or something?

Do you think maybe a big mantis shrimp could do this? They're a mean critter when they get big and they can hitchhike in on live rock, but I have no idea if they'd be tough enough mess with an eel.

Thank you so much for responding to me. I am just clueless and really need some insight. I think your right, something is perhaps spooking him. But there is nothing new or different to the tank. This eel is literally the size of a human arm. So I don’t see anything large enough in the tank to spook him. I have 4 eels, including him, 2 starfish, and two sea urchins. That is it as far as my pets go. My tank is located in my place of business. Which is a hair salon. So no cats or animals are around. I have fans on the inside wall of the tank. They go on and off real fast. But that’s always been there.

 

I don't think there is any people who keep eels on here so I think you might get better help if you went to a saltwater specific forum.

 

I don't think there is any people who keep eels on here so I think you might get better help if you went to a saltwater specific forum.

Can you recommend which ones to ask please. Maybe a couple suggestions. Thank you

 

Not sure if I am allowed to sugest other forums but I'll do it for the sake of your eel. My favorite saltwater forum is Reef2Reef.

 

Thank you so much for responding to me. I am just clueless and really need some insight. I think your right, something is perhaps spooking him. But there is nothing new or different to the tank. This eel is literally the size of a human arm. So I don’t see anything large enough in the tank to spook him. I have 4 eels, including him, 2 starfish, and two sea urchins. That is it as far as my pets go. My tank is located in my place of business. Which is a hair salon. So no cats or animals are around. I have fans on the inside wall of the tank. They go on and off real fast. But that’s always been there.

If it's a hair salon, it might be something turning on at a frequency that we can't hear easily, like the clippers or blowdryers or something. That could be transfering through the water. That's just a guess though. I don't think there's anything you can do really. As long as you've got a lid on the tank and the can't jump, I would just hope he gets used to whatever is spooking him.

Also, are eels territorial? It might be a territory dispute if you've got four. I know some species of freshwater eels are like this, but I've never kept a saltwater eel.

Not sure if I am allowed to sugest other forums

I would guess that in a case like this, it's probably acceptable. Fish should always come first