Tire track eel

Question
Hello Jaymie,
I have a tire track eel that has developed a growth of some sort and am having troubles finding information as tire tracks are not kept by many hobbyists. He has something that has taken form from where he disposes his waste. My water quality is always in good shape, I keep discus with him and constantly do water changes and tests. He has had this for the better part of 3 months now and hasn't skipped a beat. The only thing I can think of is that when I go on vacation, I throw rosy reds in for him to hold him over till I get back. I have a picture of it but cannot post via iPhone so this is the photobucket link:
http://s1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/Bdlehew/?action=view¤t=130314955...
have you seen this and are there any cures? I have been thinking about donating him to the local zoo because he is about 15" in length and very healthy; I thought maybe they can fix him and display him as this species lives quite a while. Honestly, if I can fix the problem and keep him, that would be great because he is my favorite fish. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.

Answer
Brandon,

I do not have much experience with these guys but I do know that your tank is not big enough for him. Your substrate is also not the right kind. It could be a couple things. Since the substrate is not right he could have cut himself on a sharp rock and and now he has a growth, or his intestines started to come out and healed that way. It does not look like it is bothering him at all. You can try to send this to a different expert and see what they say. Good luck.