Golden Dwarf Eel Problems       4/17/17 Hello, <Natalie> I have a golden dwarf moray eel that started having some significant behavioral changes about a month ago. He started breathing harder and faster and started refusing food when he would normally eat vigorously. <The two principal issues of environment and nutrition come to mind immediately... Too little DO, too much organic content and Thiaminase poisoning in particular> Now he stays on the floor of the tank and doesn't move much, seeming to have a bit of difficulty swimming, though he stays upright and is responsive to stimuli. He moved to a spot where I could get a good look at his body today and I think his stomach area may be a bit distended and a bit dark. I have had him for about a year during which he has been thriving, and he lived in someone else's tank for some time before he was brought to the store I worked at. I don't know what he was being fed or how often by his previous owner, but I have been feeding him once a week, primarily feeding squid, shrimp, and silversides (squid was his favorite). <Trouble. Vitamin B issue at least a factor here. DO read HERE: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/thiaminase.htm NEED to change this diet, and likely supplement/soak foods to restore balance> He is in a 12g <... much too small... the other issues alluded to... likely insufficient dissolved oxygen... other variable water quality problems. NEEDS a bigger, more stable world> with no other fish, just a few snails and hermit crabs, and some rocks from his original tank with plenty of caves and tunnels. There are a few corals, mostly Zoanthids, <Toxic> and no anemones or other strong stingers. Water parameters are very stable. Temp: 78 F Nitrate: <10 ppm Nitrite: 0 ppm Ammonia: 0 ppm pH: 8.4 Salinity: 1.024 <All these values are good> The tank is very well-oxygenated, and I think I've gotten him to eat a scrap or two of garlic-soaked squid and octopus during this time period, though I am unsure as I had to leave it in front of him and check back a few minutes later as he won't tong-feed anymore. I used to dose iodine for my corals as I was unaware that eels needed this, I stopped about six months ago and have recently taken up dosing once a week again after reading some of your articles. Do you think the possible stomach swelling could be goiter or constipation? <Possibly; yes> Is it too late for him to recover, and if not, about what time frame should I expect recovery to occur in? <Not too late> I have been worried sick over him and really do not want to lose him. Should I continue to try to offer food? I have not attempted any feeding for about a week. Any other suggestions? <The Thiaminase reading and action>

Re: Golden Dwarf Eel Problems       4/17/17 Thank you, the article was very helpful. A few follow-up questions: I bought some Vitality and fresh predator mix food which I soaked and added garlic <Worthless> to, but it seems like it won't make a difference if he won't eat. I left a small piece of clam meat in front of him and he sniffed around for a bit but just curled around it and did nothing for several minutes until a hermit crab got to it. Can I add a small amount of Vitality to the water to help a little bit? <Might help> I know it's no substitute for soaked food, but I want to try and make some progress. How often should I try offering food? <Read on. B> Thank you, Natalie M. <Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Japanese Dragon Eel HELP!!!!!! Mysterious losses... env.      4/6/17
I was wondering if you guys could possibly shed some light on a problem I'm having with Japanese Dragon eels.
<I will respond here and have sent your message on to MarcoL for his sep. resp.>
I am currently on my 3rd specimen within a 2 year period. The other 2 passed away after being in my current tank after 1 year and about 7 months respectively. Unfortunately, the one in my tank now I fear won't make it
through the night, and has only been in the tank for 1 week.
<Mmm; something wrong here... environmentally likely. Do you measure dissolved oxygen?>
I have a 150 gallon display tank with a 20 gallon sump setup and refugium. I run a protein skimmer, carbon reactor, and biopellet reactor.
<Why this last?>
Temp 78F, ph8.2, salinity 1.023-1.025, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20-40.
There is about 130 pounds of live rock, sand bottom, and terracotta pots (non glazed) in the main tank. There are also anywhere from 6-12 damsels in the tank at any given time, who do not seem to ever be affected (3 of which have been in the tank since the beginning).
<A good clue>
Diet consists of haddock, striped bass, squid, silversides, shrimp, krill, etc... Every eel has appeared to be in great health. Very active during the day. Very social with anyone that walks up to the tank. Great appetites. However, out of the blue it is like a switch is flipped and they stop eating, begin "gasping",
<This too>
become very lethargic, then die within a day or two. I have tried water changes, antibiotics, antiparasitics, without any luck. The first 2 eels were around 18-24 inches, while this new one is only about 12 inches. Any ideas what could be going on and why it only affects the eels?
<The DO issue comes to mind most prominently. A 150 isn't much room for a large eel... I'd add aeration... mechanically; and check to see that O2 is near saturation (7 or so ppm) here. Bob Fenner>
Thanks for any advice or help, Evan
Fwd: Japanese Dragon Eel HELP!!!!!!     4/6/17
I forgot to mention I have a full cleanup crew of Nassarius snails, blue legged hermits and peppermint shrimp that also appear to never be affected.
<Also leading me to suspect gas solubility issue. BobF>
Re: Japanese Dragon Eel HELP!!!!!!     4/6/17
Bob,
Thank you for such a quick response...sadly though, this eel has passed as well. In terms of O2, how do I measure it?
<There are colorimetric assays like for much of what interests aquarists water-quality wise; as well as more expensive electronic meters>
Would the protein skimmer add enough O2 into the system?
<Not necessarily, no>
Could the terra-cotta be leaching some sort of poison?
<Mmm; good question: A point of fact is that there ARE other possible sources of morbidity, mortality here that would disfavor a large Muraenid (over damsels, the mix of invertebrates you mentioned)... I would remove
ALL that is questionable. I might avail myself of PolyFilter... as an aid (via coloring) as to what might be trouble here>
If O2 related, why do you think the larger eels lasted so much longer than the little one, who only survived 1 week and was doing great at my LFS for months in a much smaller tank and a Kidako eel tankmate?
<Can't say directly... but this IS the case... that smaller eels are more easily poisoned, die from env. stress vs. larger. I would have you (it will take a while) read generally re such HERE:
http://wetwebmedia.com/toxictkuf.htm
AND the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: Japanese Dragon Eel HELP!!!!!! Plus DO f'      4/7/17
Bob,
<Evan>
Thanks again for your insight. What is the best method in order to add more dissolved O2 to the system?
<Mmm; lower temperature, more circulation, total turnover (w/ all water skimming the air/water interface); pump, power-head discharges set near the surface, mechanical bubblers... Biotowers...>
I added two more power heads to aerate the water in my sump. They make a lot of bubbles, of which rise to the surface and dissipate...is this actually doing what is needed?
<A help; yes. B>
Evan

Re: Please help.... bring in another victim of env. dis.. No rdg.     1/25/15
Hi Sir/Madam
<Hi Paul.>
I am seeking some help with my morey lepord erl.
<I guess this should read Leopard moray eel... or maybe Leopard moray Earl.
Yes, Earl would be nice name for a Leopard moray eel. Anyway, from your text I guess you are talking about a Gymnothorax favagineus.>
We have had him for two years he lives in a 800 litre tank with live rock and a skimmer, biomedia and a sock for filterisation.
<filtration.>
About a month ago he wasn't eating as regular as normal he is approx. just under 5 ft in length
<that's quite a big fish for a 800 litre tank.>
and normally has two squids a night (frozen then defrosted first)
<You should keep the diet more varied. Also feed various fish filets, mussels, shrimps...>
so we had the water checked and the only issue was the nitrate was on the second colour down from ok.
<You should get a test, where you get real values. Nitrates should be smaller than 20 mg/l.>
We did a 200 litre water change and I cleaned all the rock and filled the tank back up all ok with this, since then this being nearly two weeks ago he hasn't eaten at all, he is moving around still just has no appetite even for sardines.
<You should do more of those water changes until the nitrates are below 20 mg/l.>
Tonight I checked him and his eyes had gone white and he had lost the yellow in his spots so I turned off the lights and left it for five min.s and when I turned them on again his eyes had gone back to brown and his colour had started coming back.
<That's normal. Many moray eels have a lighter night coloration that
changes back after disturbances, esp. turning on the light. People are often upset when they see it the first time.>
I am quite worried now, but don't know what to do as no one seems to know about these fish.
<I see no problem here so far. It's normal for Leopard moray eels and many other morays to refuse to eat for weeks from time to time. The night coloration is also normal. Educate yourself about nitrates und get a test that can measure ppm or mg/l, then do water changes about twice per week until they are below 20 mg/l and keep them there. Also check temperature
and pH, and vary the diet once he is eating again. Please
see http://www.wetwebmedia.com/EelPIX/Moray%20Eels/tesselatedMorayF.htm 
and http://www.wetwebmedia.com/moraysysfaqs.htm  and 
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/moraysysfaqs .htm for morays eel care.>
Many thanks in advance if you can help
Kind Regards Paul
<Welcome. Marco.>

Dragon Moray Eel issues       1/16/15
Hello,
<Mark>
You all have helped once before a few years back, hoping for your help again. I have a dragon moray eel that is about two feet long. He is housed alone other than some turbo snails. I do water quality tests and water changes once a week. However over the holidays I got very sick and had a month where instead of doing four water changes only two got done. Nitrate levels did rise during this time.
<Ahh; to how high? Oh, see this below. WAY too high>
The eel has begun chewing his tail and has not eaten since Tuesday of last week. The tail looks very nasty and I am not sure he has stopped. I have begun doing water changes every day
<DO see WWM re other means of nitrate reduction. Do you need help using the  search tool, indices?>
and the nitrates have come down from 160 to 80 and hopefully still dropping. The heat also may have risen higher than I normally let it. I usually keep him at 78-80 and Any experience with this? Any suggestions?
<Yes; and the reading. Am sending this off to MarcoL here as well (our resident Muraenid resource). He may well suggest med. use... I'd for now be doing what you can to improve the environment. Including use of chemical filtrant/s>
Thanks,
Mark Mazzei
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Dragon Moray Eel issues /Marco       1/16/15
Hello,
<Mark>
You all have helped once before a few years back, hoping for your help again. I have a dragon moray eel that is about two feet long. He is housed alone other than some turbo snails. I do water quality tests and water changes once a week. However over the holidays I got very sick and had a month where instead of doing four water changes only two got done.
Nitrate levels did rise during this time.
<Ahh; to how high? Oh, see this below. WAY too high>
The eel has begun chewing his tail and has not eaten since Tuesday of last week. The tail looks very nasty and I am not sure he has stopped. I have begun doing water changes every day
<DO see WWM re other means of nitrate reduction. Do you need help using the search tool, indices?>
and the nitrates have come down from 160 to 80 and hopefully still dropping. The heat also may have risen higher than I normally let it.
I usually keep him at 78-80 and Any experience with this? Any suggestions?
<Yes; and the reading. Am sending this off to MarcoL here as well (our resident Muraenid resource). He may well suggest med. use... I'd for now be doing what you can to improve the environment. Including use of chemical filtrant/s>
Thanks,
Mark Mazzei
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
<<I agree with Bob. Improve the environment with daily water changes until you reach nitrate levels <20 mg/l. You can keep this species colder, since they mostly come from colder parts of the oceans. 76 F or 24°C is also okay. See http://www.wetwebmedia.com/HIDragonMorayArt.htm 
and the disease link on top for further information. Also check your filtration: two water changes less should not result in such high nitrates. If the infection you observe expands or does not heal by itself, try antibiotic baths with Neoplex (the antibiotic in this product is Neomycin) or Maracyn if you find some available. Good luck!
MarcoL >>
Re: Dragon Moray Eel issues Thanks for the quick response. I will keep working on the nitrates and keep
watching for more info.
Mark
<Ah; do please keep us/WWM informed. Cheers, BobF>
Re: Dragon Moray Eel issues       1/16/15
Thanks for your response. Here is an update. I am continuing daily water changes. Yesterday I added Seachem Denitrate yesterday and also a Deep Blue brand nitrate reducer pad and they do seem to have helped. Nitrates were down this morning to about 50 from 90 yesterday. I will continue in this vein unless you a have other suggestions.
>Nope; carry on<
His tail looks slightly improved - a bit less red but still not good.
Hopefully it means he has taken a break from chewing on it. Still is spending less time in his tunnels and maybe breathing a bit more labored.
Any input is welcomed. Thanks,
Mark Mazzei
<The reading Marco and I've suggested. BobF>
Re: Dragon Moray Eel issues. Not a reader      /RMF    1/21/15
Thanks so much for your input on the dragon eel thus far. I do have a wet/dry filter system on this tank and have gotten away with it up to now but reading your nitrate reducing articles....sounds like that needs to go.
I currently am still doing daily changes and have nitrates down to 40ish but that5 is as low as they seem to be going.
<.... read again on WWM re NO3... you were directed there last time>
They have been stable at that for the last 5 days.
His tail was looking less red but today I got a good a view and apparently he is back to chewing as it is red again.
What are your thoughts on antibiotics added to the water?
<... had you read>
Could they help?
Will they kill any good bacteria I have going on? Any particular antibiotic you would recommend? My local aquarium m shop, have recommended this.
<That you READ: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/FishInd1.htm
scroll down to Morays, disease, this species. We can't help you if you won't READ. BobF>
Thanks again for any advice,
Mark
Re: Dragon Moray Eel issues     /Marco      1/21/15
Thanks so much for your input on the dragon eel thus far. I do have a wet/dry filter system on this tank and have gotten away with it up to now but reading your nitrate reducing articles....sounds like that needs to go.
<Yes, use a strong skimmer to remove a lot of waste before it turns into nitrates. Also have strong circulation for gaseous exchange and high oxygen levels.>
I currently am still doing daily changes and have nitrates down to 40ish but, that is as low as they seem to be going.
<Still too high.>
They have been stable at that for the last 5 days.
<If you are still changing water and the nitrates remain the same: Check the nitrates of the water you use for the changes. If this has significantly lower nitrates it's obvious bound nitrates are leaching back into the tank water. Possibly from the substrate, pad and bound by Denitrate. Try changing the pad and carry on with the water changes.>
His tail was looking less red but today I got a good a view and apparently he is back to chewing as it is red again.
<I have never seen an eel chewing on its own tail. The wounds there are probably from flesh eating bacteria unless you have seen it biting its tail.>
What are your thoughts on antibiotics added to the water? Could they help?
<Very possible. See the recommended products in our former answers.>
Will they kill any good bacteria I have going on?
<Should not have significant impact, however using antibiotic as baths or in a hospital tank is more safe, but more trouble for the fish.
Any particular antibiotic you would recommend? My local aquarium shop, have recommended this.
Thanks again for any advice, Mark
<Good luck. Marco.>

Is my Eel near the end?    12/14/12
Hey All - first things first - many thanks to all of you for all of the information you have provided to me and others over the years!  I have been a daily reader for many years and learn something new every day.
<I am very glad you like the site.>
Now on to my dilemma.  I have had the privilege to care for a 4' Undulated Moray (Gymnothorax undulatus) for about the last 25 years.
<That's impressive.>
Because of his rather unruly behavior (Hannibal the Cannibal - he eats EVERYTHING!) he is the sole inhabitant in a 72" 125g Oceanic tank with a 120g tank as a refugium and a 50g sump.
<I have a moray eel with the same name for the same reason, too.>
I have fed him a selection of various ocean fish/shrimp/scallops/squid about weekly.  I will sometimes inject some Selcon into the food as well. 
Over the last year or so, he has lost all his teeth, to the point where he is having trouble positioning the pieces of food so that he can swallow them.  Last week, and again tonight, despite his best efforts, he was unable to swallow the food and quickly became exhausted to the point where he just gave up trying.  I know they can go on hunger strikes - his longest was almost 6 months, but that was early on in his tenure with me and I attribute it to poor water quality/insufficient filtration. (Remember when putting a powerhead on UG lift tubes was revolutionary?)
<Yep.>
Water quality is no longer an issue - pH is 8.1, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates barely detectable (Salifert test kits), temp is 78.
<Sounds perfect.>
Is it possible (likely) that he is coming to the end of his days?
<I fear this likely is the case. I've collected information on maximum life spans of various moray eels in captivity, and for G. undulatus I suppose 25 years would be the equivalent of a 90 or 100 year old human.>
If so, I do not want him to suffer - he has been with me almost 3 times longer than my wife! What would you suggest as the most humane way of easing him on his way?
<A MS 222 or clove oil overdose and pithing (destruction of the brain when the fish is unconscious). Please see
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasia.htm for a thoughtful article on the topic.>
Assuming, of course, that it is indeed that time.
<I would carry on offering small pieces of food loaded with vitamins and only take the path of euthanasia when the fish suffers (e.g. shows hunger, but can't eat or becomes lethargic.>
Thanks again for all your help over the years. Bill
<Take care. Marco.> 
Re: Is my Eel near the end?       5/28/13
It is with heavy heart that I must report the passing of my old friend, Hannibal, a Gymnothorax undulatus.
<I'm very sorry to hear that.>
I had the pleasure of keeping him for someplace in the neighborhood of 25 years, So I figure I did all right by him. 
<Definitely.>
After a proper period of mourning (well, not really) I will turn his tank into the reef tank that I had originally purchased it for, way back in the day.  The wife would like some anemones and clown fish, so the tank will become something new and different, but live on none the less. 
Thanks for your help with him over the years. I'm sure that the new system will bring its own share of questions, so rest assured, I'll be back!
Bill Smith
<Take care. Marco.> 

HELP.. Hungry eel can't eat! -- 07/10/09
Hello all.. hope you can help'¦ We have a medium sized Tesselata eel for about a year now. He has always been an aggressive eater. For approximately the last two weeks when we go to fed him a shrimp, he acts very hungry.. trying to find the shrimp. Once he finds it he grabs it and acts like he wants to eat it, but can't chew it or swallow it, no matter how small of a piece we try to feed him. His breathing seems normal, water parameters are normal. We have approximately 1500 gallons total, same filtration, but separated into 5 tanks. He is in one of the tanks by himself and all of the other fish are fine. I see lots of article and have experienced fish that loose their appetite for one reason or another, but he seems to still have his appetite, just unable to get it down. Any suggestions?
<Sounds like a problem with its pharyngeal jaws/their ligaments or less likely a swollen throat, maybe due to physical injury or possibly due to a shrimp only diet related deficiency disease. Did the eel happen to eat anything sharp, are you missing a fish with sharp spines, a trigger, filefish etc. that might have jumped into the eel tank? Options are: sedate the animal and force feed (vitamin enriched food) and examine it (together with a vet) or try to let it heal naturally providing perfect water quality. Since moray eels can got without food for months, I'd use the second option first and if this fails try force feeding. Good luck. Marco.>
My Tess Thanks 7/26/09
You Hey everyone. I wanted to shoot you a quick note to say thank you from myself and my Tesselata eel. After a major move of his 300 gallon home he ate once and then didn't eat again for a couple of weeks. As soon as I decided it was a problem, I came to WWM and did some searching on Tess's and lack of feeding. Turns out I didn't have enough flow in the aquarium to ensure optimal oxygen saturation. I pointed the returns at the top of the water and added a Koralia 8 Magnum to the aquarium. He ate a big sardine Ryan
<Congratulations on your discovery and rescue. Bob Fenner>

Sick Zebra eel, James' go 12/11/07 Hi Bob, James with you today, Jack.> Owner: Jack I'm 12 years old. <Mmm, a young aquarist, good for you!> Tank: Corner 110 litres, Crushed coral base, 3 hand size & 3 golf ball size live rocks. One hollow ship wreck. Built in filter, Heater, Power head set up to pump in air as well. Occupants: 35cm Zebra Eel, 18cm Snow Flake eel, Blue Damsel fish. General: Zebra Eel. I have owned the eel and tank for about 6 months. The eels have both been eating fine every second day (Cooked and uncooked prawns, Pipis ) Tried calamari, squid and mussels. They both swam around during the day and night, They hand feed and loved to be petted. <Not a good idea to hand feed eels, they have a nasty bacteria infested bite which can lead to a bacterial infection on the wounded area. Do discontinue this practice.> Their breathing was fine and they are very calm and seem relaxed in their environment. I did water change of 5-10 litres every week to ten days. I tested the water every week and adjusted when needed. We did adjust the pH with Marine buffer (Seachem brand) I did once put the buffer in the tank directly without mixing it in water from the tank in a cup first and then pouring it in. Problem: Last Tuesday I noticed the Zebra Eel's head was laying on bottom of tank and seemed to struggle to breath and hold his head up. He was not swimming around and stopped eating for about week. His eye was a bit smoky gray. His stripes were fine, skin was slimy. On Tuesday afternoon we transferred the eel to the aquarium that we bought him from. In capturing the eel this made him swim around and seemed to pick him in itself. <?> When we arrived at the aquarium and they transferred it to their tank it seemed a lot better, they said they will keep it for observation. They increased the salt in tank and the next day it ate and seemed on a recovery. When i\I called the next day they said it seemed to relapse back to its old ways. The next day they said it was about the same but had a white spots on its face appearing and in its mouth. From this position he did not recover and this afternoon the eel passed away. The aquarium said they are not sure why it passed away but I would love to know why so I can take better care of my other eel and I would like to one day get another Zebra Eel. General: The Snow Flake Eel and the damsel are fine. I did check the water when all this was occurring and it was perfect and the aquarium checked the water as well the day we took the eel there and they said it was fine. We have been told that eels are hardy pet is this true. <Yes, they are hardy if conditions are favorable for them. A 28 gallon tank is much too small for this fish. They can grow to about two feet and really need to be in a 50 gallon or larger aquarium. I'm guessing what happened to eel was caused by environmental stress. They are huge waste producers for their size and I believe this led to his demise. In reading your email, I'm guessing you have a 28 gallon all in one nano tank. The filtration system on these systems isn't really suited to keeping eels or any large fish.> Thanks for reading my email but I would appreciate your feedback. <You're welcome Jack, and please read here. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zebramor.htm James (Salty Dog)> Jack
Sick zebra moray eel... too small, too little filtered, mis-buffered... reading, Bob's go 12/11/07 Hi crew, Owner: Jack I'm 12 years old. <Howdy: Bob, I'm 55> Tank: Corner 110 litres, Crushed coral base, 3 hand size & 3 golf ball size live rocks. 1 hollow ship wreck. Built in filter, Heater, Power head set up to pump in air as well. Occupants: 35cm zebra eel, 18cm snow flake eel, Blue damsel fish. <Mmm... I wish I knew the make-up of your built-in filter... Moray eels do produce a good deal of waste... And this tank volume is much too small for these two> General: Zebra eel. I have owned the eel and tank for about 6mths. The eels have both been eating fine every second day (Cooked and uncooked prawns, Pipis ) Tried calamari, squid and mussels. They both swam around during the day and night, They hand fed and loved to be patted. Their breathing was fine and they are very calm and seem relaxed in their environment. I did water change of 5-10 litres every week to ten days. I tested the water every week and adjusted when needed. We did adjust the ph with Marine buffer (Seachem brand) I did once put the buffer in the tank directly without mixing it in water from the tank in a cup 1st and then pouring it in. <I see... and you've hopefully learned better> Problem: Last Tuesday I noticed the Zebra eels head was laying on bottom of tank and seemed to strangle to breath and hold his head up. He was not swimming around and stopped eating for about week. His eye was a bit smoky gray. His strips were fine, skin was slimy. On the Tuesday afternoon we transferred the eel to the aquarium that we bought him from. In capturing the eel this made him swim around and seemed to pick him in itself. When we arrived at the aquarium and they transferred it to their tank it seemed a lot better, they said they will keep it for observation. They Increased the salt in tank and the next day it eat and seemed on a recovery. When I called the next day they said it seemed to relapse back to its old ways. The next day they said it was about the same but had a white spots on its face appearing and in its mouth. From this position this he did not recover and this afternoon the eel passed away. The aquarium said they are not sure why it passed away but I would love to know why so I can take better care of my other eel and I would like to one day get another Zebra eel. <Mmm...> General: The Snow flake eel and the damsel are fine. I did check the water when all this was occurring and it was perfect and the aquarium checked the water as well the day we took the eel there and they said it was fine. We have been told that eels are hardy pet is this true. <Most species, specimens if placed in appropriate settings are, yes...> Thanks for reading my email but I would appreciate your feedback. Jack <Your Zebra/Gymnomuraena likely succumbed to the buffer being poured directly into the tank, along with general stress... This system is too small... Please read re these two species needs here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/index.htm  the third tray down. Bob Fenner>

Sick moray - 5/12/2006 Hello WWM crew, <GSD Leader Pup> It's been a long while since I have had to write you. Many years ago Mr. Fenner ID'd my saltwater moray eel as a Siderea Pictus, now known as a Gymnothorax Pictus. I have had the eel nearly 6 years and he is approx. 2'9" in length. He has always been extremely healthy and active, not reclusive at all like I have read many eel species are. <Yes> His diet consists of most any meaty frozen food (he is not fed feeder fish of any type). He eats: krill, silversides, bloodworms, beef heart, brine shrimp, a little veggie based frozen food once in awhile, mysis shrimp, etc. You name it, he'll eat it. The tank is a 75 gallon (standard 4' by 18") that houses only him and is filtered by a Fluval 403. It has been set up and running with him for the length of time I've owned him. I've never had any problems, he's never been sick. The tank parameters test out perfect: zero ammonia, zero nitrite, very low (safe level) of nitrate. Salinity is within the normal range as well. In short, nothing has changed in this tank or eels care and he is suddenly rather sick. He was not a juvenile when I purchased him, so I am unsure of his exact age. Given his size, it's my belief that he was stunted prior to my ownership of him and could be older than I would think. I'm estimating him around 10 years of age based on prior information. Now, to get to the problem... He's going downhill, and fast. I noticed the last couple of days he's been behaving a little oddly, but nothing so extreme as to cause me to worry much. He's very "friendly" and rather tame, so he will come right up to the glass. I noticed he has some little areas near his gill opening that look like they are holes in his body, like the skin is rotting away. His eyes are getting cloudy (does not look like pop eye - maybe the beginning of it though?) and there are little tufts of eye covering that seem to be coming off. He also has little tiny pieces of skin around his facial area that are scruffing as well. He acts disoriented and hardly responded to a feeding, much less ate. He is listless and gives a little "shiver" on a regular basis. He's also open mouthed gaping on a regular basis, though oxygenation should be fine since he's been healthy for the last 5 1/2 years. The only medication I had that seemed to fit his descriptions was "Clout" by "Aquarium Products." It advised treatment of one tablet per 10 gallons. It's a 75g tank, so I put 7 tablets in. I retreated the tank last night and will do so again tonight. <I would not use this on/with true eels, including Muraenids of course> If you have any advice or suggestions as to what may be causing this, I would greatly appreciate it. I suspect he is too far gone to save, but I would like to try anyway. Thanks in advance. <Very likely the root cause of trouble here is environmental... a dearth of ready/soluble biomineral and alkalinity in your water... I advise actually temporarily removing the eel, retaining a good part of the water, dumping the tank of gravel, replacing this and whatever else you might want to change at this time, returning the eel and the old water, topping off with new, and running several ounces of good activated carbon, Chemi-pure or equivalent in your canister filter... Stat.! Bob Fenner>

Gymnothorax melatremus dumped on floor repeatedly, overheated, chilled... what's wrong? 10/16/05 Alright <All right?> I hope you guys can help me quick cause I'm getting impatient and I think that's really the problem here. My question is about Gymnothorax melatremus. I had em in a 10-gallon quarantine tank for about a month. I know the time period was a bit excessive but I saw him at the LFS and had to have him and the tank for him was being set-up. Anyways, in the quarantine tank he was doing more than fine. He ate daily and pooped daily. I did daily to bi-daily water changes on the q-tank. I got em to hand feed and even feed from the top by hand which was great. He even to the side of the tank if you tapped on it. So as it came to moving him (my roommates tried to move him) they got him into a bowl and he slithered right out. <Very common> I wasn't in the room while they were doing this as I was prepping the tank. <Time for new roommates> They didn't even tell me they were doing it as I was planning on moving him myself. Well apparently he fell to the floor and they got em back into the bowl and then he came out again so I rushed in after hearing the commotion and got him into a bucket (high enough where he wouldn't come out). Well after acclimating him for an hour to the tank water I moved him in. <I hope you rinsed him... to clear the dust-bunnies> That night he was swimming all over the place.. guessing he didn't like his new surroundings so I let it go for a bit. During this time period he wasn't eating either.  <... would you?> I tried feeding him his favorite enriched prawns every day and nothing. I tried feeding him with lights on and off. Then I found out the temp was a bit high in the tank…86F. I know I know, so I removed the cover and put a huge fan on it and slowly got the temp down to 79-80. This took about 2 hours.  <Too much change too soon> He still hasn't been eating but I've noticed his facial area around his upper and bottom mouth and nares seem to be a bit inflamed and reddish. Pretty much his nose region. Is this a bacterial infection or am I just being paranoid and should just give him some time? <Likely a bit of both and trauma, and rubbing...> I'm really worried, as I've already gotten attached to this guy. Oh also the param.s in both tanks were the same so that is highly unlikely the cause. Only thing that was different was the temp. The sand type was also different. <Do these statements make sense to you? Me neither> Q-tank sand was normal aragonite but the display tank was oolitic.  Thanks for any help you guys can give me. Mike <Very likely this eel will survive, heal... Bob Fenner> 

Sick eels, please help I have a 300 gallon salt water live reef tank. About two weeks ago my wolf eel (had it for 6 months) started hiding, just laying around in one spot and stop eating. He is sick. <Mmm, not necessarily... and this fish is not a true eel, but a Dottyback family member> I asked the guy that takes care of my tank, what is going on? He does not know too much about eels, just that it happens. When I lived in Hawaii I had a 150 salt water tank with a zebra eel for 8 years, he never got sick. <Gymnomuraena zebra is a great aquarium species> Well, today my snow flake eel (I've had him for 9 months) is lying on it's side, I think he is dead. he was fine yesterday. The odd thing about this is that the snowflake eel is lying on the sand and the wolf eel is lying on top of the snow flake eel. <Coincidence likely> Please tell me what you think is going on. Thank you, Robin <Strange loss... I take it you check your water quality often, feed all well... perhaps something the one ate, or touched... Bob Fenner> 
Re: sick eels, please help... What's really odd is every time the guy who services my tank comes he never checks the quality of the water in the tank. <?!> I questioned him on this and he says, "Oh it's a live reef tank, you do not need to check the water quality." All he does when he comes is refill the back up container with distilled water and cleans the glass. I'm beginning to think I've been put together. <... I beg to differ... most simpler systems can "get by" w/ simple observation of livestock, routine water changes... An expensive, large reef system? I suspect "additives" are being utilized... perhaps a calcium reactor... Everything that is being supplemented must need be tested for... MUST! Else imbalances are a foregone conclusion> The big question..... Does the water quality of a live reef tank need to be balanced and checked. <Uh, yes> One more thing in January I lost 12 beautiful fish to ick. The fish service guy said for me to by some natural stuff (I forget the name) and treat the water. When I could not get or find about 5 of the dead fishes, I asked him to come out and find them in the rocks and remove them, he said, no need they will disintegrate. How true is this. <... if small biomass, this laziness can be tolerated...> Okay, so I just called the fish guy and he is coming out to my house this afternoon, should he be removing the dead eels (I would think so) and checking the water? Please advise. <... I maintained such systems (we had the largest service company on the planet) for about two decades... You should shop around for someone else. Bob Fenner> 

Zebra Moray sick? Is this aquarist learned? Hi all my fish died yesterday in quick fashion after a few days of a couple of them not eating. <!> I checked all the water reading and they were all fine except maybe the phosphate which was 7.6. <What?! This is incredibly high> I think they died of either velvet disease or Brooklynella disease (I found it hard to distinguish between the two). <... my young friend, these two parasitic diseases are easily told apart> Now my question is that I still have a Zebra eel, anemone and blue starfish left in the tank that all seem to be doing ok. Do these have to be taken out and put into quarantine or do I just wait till something physically seem wrong? Will the disease in the water dissipate over time or will I have to do a complete water change? I have a 420 litre tank with canister filter, protein skimmer with dead coral and shell grit. I'm sorry if any questions or info sounds silly as I'm relatively new to the marine keeping game.  Cheers, Shane <Please read... starting here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mardisease.htm  and on to the many linked files re marine disease... in blue, above. You need (obviously) a good introduction to aquarium keeping, health... Bob Fenner>
- Zebra Moray sick? Is this aquarist learned? Follow-up - Oops my mistake it was the pH low that was 7.6 not phosphate (side effect of shift-work for my error) and it was Brooklynella disease. sorry for my error.  <Please don't apologize to me... apologize to your fish. A pH of 7.6 is quite likely the single culprit, and not a parasitic disease that did in your fish if it stayed in that range for any time. You really should address that issue before you also lose the eel. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marphalk.htm > Shane <Cheers, J -- >

Eye Growths on Fimbriated Eel 12/29/04 Hello, I have a question for you in regard to our eel.  Here is the background on him: Our eel was sold to us as a "yellow headed eel," but as I have researched him on the internet, he appears to really be a Gymnothorax fimbriatus, although his spots are larger than most of the pictures.  We have had the eel for approximately 2? years and he lives in a 75 gallon SeaClear System II tank.  His only tankmate is a 3 inch trigger, which looks like a Rhinecanthus aculeatus, except he has no blue markings.  The eel usually eats every day, although he takes three- to four-day breaks at times (we know he is hungry when he swims to the top during the feeding of the trigger). <All sounds fine, although your could easily reduce feedings.> Here are the specifics of the tank:  Temperature = 74 f/ ph = 8.4/ Nitrate 100(yikes!)/ ammonia = between 0 and .25/ Nitrite = 0/ Specific Gravity 1.021  For good or for bad, this is about what our tank conditions have been for as long as we have had him. <Yikes is right!  Home made coil denitrators, or even more simply a static sand bed in a bucket or other el-cheapo container are very effective and inexpensive.  Search WWM or the web for info.> Yesterday, when we went to feed him, we were shocked to see "growths" (?!) coming from behind the back of his eyeballs (the eyes themselves appear to be fine).  One is small, about the size of a bee bee and whitish-pink.  The other is about twice as large, reddish-pinker, and more lumpy/bulbous.  His breathing is normal and his behavior appears normal.  We immediately did a water change (about 15%), let it go for the night, and in the morning went to our LFS. In the morning, the growths were a little smaller. <Hard to guess what this might be, although since the fish seems to behaving normally I wouldn't panic.  I would suggest adding variety to your fishes diet if you don't already do so.  Avoid any freshwater foods (especially live feeders) and avoid krill.  Silversides, squid and Mysis are all good choices as are prepared "carnivore formulas".  Supplementing with vitamins or injecting/stuffing foods with Nori, Spirulina or other vitamin source is helpful too.  (silversides are easily stuffed/injected).> The LFS said that it sounded like a sinus infection (?) due to high nitrates and to do 2-3 50% water changes over the next week.  My question is: does this sound correct to you?  I have found nothing relating to this on the internet and do not know what to do to help our eel.  Could you advise please?  We are very worried about him.  Thank you for any help you can give!  Kelly <Searching for "Fish Sinuses" is as useless as seeking "Frog's hairs".  Neither exist.  I do agree with a couple of aggressive water changes since water quality could be contributing to the Eel's problem.  Unless the condition worsens, I would continue to perform reasonable water changes (20% a month after the initial biggies) and ensure a varied diet.  Best Regards.  AdamC.>
Eye Growths on Fimbriated Eel (additional info) 12/29/04 Sorry--two more thoughts for you:  Our eel is about 24 inches long.  And regarding his eye growths, he rubs the larger one on the sand or against the rocks.  <This is no surprise, but is of concern since an abrasion may lead to secondary infection.  If it is possible, please send a digital picture.  Best Regards.  Adam>

Snowflake Moray Stopped Eating >Hi crew, >>Greetings Lorenzo, Marina today. >My snowflake moray stopped eating and hid away a month ago. My pH dropped below 7.9-8.0. >>OUCH! >Now the pH was restored to a normal pH range of 8.0+, but few days have elapsed and moray haven't yet started eating again. What can I do for it?  Help me, please.  Thanks a lot, Lorenzo >>Lorenzo, if the pH has bounced (changed up or down more than a tenth or two of a point) then this will not only SEVERELY stress the fish, it can kill it.  I would do a large water change, and wait, then try again.  If he's lived through the pH changes, he's probably just not "feeling well", and water changes will only help (do be absolutely certain the pH matched).  Best of luck, Marina

Moray With Cloudy Eye Hello! It's been awhile since I've written - hope all is well with you! I have a large (and growing) 2'9" peppered moray eel currently residing in a 75g with a medium red Volitans lionfish. Seems happy and is eating well. A few months ago he came down with what I believe was Popeye. I say believe because I've never seen it in person and am unsure what exactly it looks like. <Do look into the disease FAQs on the wetwebmedia.com site for more information> A series of water changes over  the course of  a week cleared it up 100%. Now he has it again. Two days ago I noticed his eye looked cloudy/puffy again. I decided to see how it looked in the morning and go from there. It looked the same, so I fed him, tested the water, and everything checked out great. This evening however his eye appears to have sank into his head (is this possible or am I seeing things?) and he has some sort of off white cloudy looking swelling going on near that eye on the top of his head. <Well- this can be caused by an injury (if it's just one eye) that may have become infected. In the absence of other symptoms, I'd probably rule out Oodinium or Cryptocaryon, but do check the wetwebmedia.com resources for a confirmation> I did a 30% water change after testing and again, water param.s were fine. Ammonia/nitrite were zero. Nitrates were 30ppm (a little higher than usual, but not enough to cause a problem like this right?). <Well- declining water quality is often implicated in infections with morays- it's a slight possibility> pH is 8.2 and water temp is 78. He is still acting completely normal, and I'm at a loss as to what has  suddenly gone wrong with him lately. Why two outbreaks? What am I doing wrong? I do bi-monthly water changes but I'm going to bump that up to weekly and see how things play out. Any other suggestions? I have had this guy for over two years and he's a part of the family - I don't want to lose him. Thanks for any advice you can offer! <I'd definitely look into doing smaller, more frequent water changes to keep up the water quality. Use aggressive chemical filtration from PolyFilters and carbon to keep up high water quality with reduced organics. I'd consider treating the fish with an antibiotic in a treatment tank if this condition worsens (stay away from non-chelated copper medications), or do investigate the use of Epsom salt in the treatment tank as a possible way to reduce the swelling. I think the first step is to review your husbandry procedures, as you indicated, and to execute procedures to increase water quality to levels even better than you already have achieved.  Hope that these ideas help. Good luck! Scott F.>

Sick Eel My zebra moray is approx. 2ft. long. it has developed two spots on its head. They are similar in size and location. there is a spot over each eye. The spots are red and meaty looking. they are raised and about the size of a BB if not a little larger. can you help me figure out what's wrong? I need some insight on how to cure this problem. Thank you, Terry Haymore  <Hi Terry, I suspect water quality (nitrates) first, so please test your water parameters, feeding, filtration, etc. If you find nitrates are not the problem, write us back with your tank stats so we can narrow this down for you. I would start with water quality. There is much more on Zebra Morays at: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zebramor.htm Water quality is key to this eel.  Hope this helps you, Craig>
Re: Sick Zebra moray eel Craig, <Hi Terry> The distributor called me today and faxed a picture taken from a marine atlas. The spots on my eels head is caused from over feeding. I would like to thank you for your assistance. Terry Haymore <Ahh, just as I thought!  Overfeeding is contributing to poor water quality.  If you test your water I bet you get a high nitrate reading....change water, maintain and upgrade filtration, perform substantial water changes to get those wastes down as they are irritating your Eels sensory organs. IOW, burning in urine, feces and decaying food.  Ouch!  Good thing it's a weekend!  Go for it!  Craig>

Mexican dragon moray with White-Spot Bob, I am the proud owner of a Mexican dragon moray eel, recently I introduced a lion fish approx 6" in length not as large as my eel, with him was introduced white spot which I have now cleared with the use of a copper compound,  <WOW... you are VERY lucky not to have lost the eel and the Lion. They are both scaleless and quite sensitive to organic dyes and copper! The election to use it was very ill-advised> the rest of my fish are eating but my eel has now not eaten for 3 weeks <I am not surprised... at least some copper poisoning here. Please do a large water change or two and use PolyFilters to dilute residual copper ASAP. What's worse is that for having dosed the tank, your calcareous media (gravel, shells, coral decorations) have been nearly ruined (absorbed copper and they will continue to leach). Keep the PolyFilters in and you might be fine with the gravel/sand/rocks. BUT... please!!! research and apply proper quarantine procedure for all new fishes. You could buy have a dozen QT tanks for the price of one dead dragon moray eel. It is critical my friend. Please read up on it in the archives hear at WWM (articles, FAQs, etc)> I have contacted the vendor they are not worried about him not eating but I am not only for the monetary value but we are really attached to him.  <they can go many weeks without food> I am running an Eheim pro II a protein skimmer (red sea)  <do consider upgrading this skimmer if you are not getting a full cup of dark skimmate daily from this unit. You should in any predatory fish tank. Do review this skimmers reputation on the message boards (and in archives) for insight and possible modifications> I have an 8 watt UV filter which I have just replaced the Lamp after 5 months initial use,  <use heavy carbon and fine floss prefilter for this unit to work at all... very slow flow too> I use water produced from an RO unit.  <aerate and buffer this water always before use> I have in the tank, 1 tang, 1 lionfish, 1 eel and a porcupine in a 180 litre tank. I carry out regular tests on water quality and am showing good levels what else can I do to make him feed. <time and as above> Please help me Chris Head <best of luck, Anthony>
Re: Mexican dragon moray with White-Spot Dear Rob, I just thought I would let you know that my Mexican Dragon has now eaten, <Thank goodness. Good news> I have got the copper levels to zero it has taken several water changes to achieve this but I have got there. I contacted the retailer who suggested using copper as a treatment and they had no idea that copper was catastrophic when treating for white spot with an eel in the tank, <What? Ridiculous> they even tried to cover their tracks by phoning one of their suppliers to establish their treatment and were told that it was not advisable. <Of course... at least their supplier is/was "in the know"> Thank you for all your help and in future I think that they will think twice before recommending this type of treatment with scaleless fish, you might have saved a lot of distraught people like myself. I shall if you don't object contact you with any further problems that I get with my tank for your invaluable help. P.S. Even my wife is happy with the eel and that is saying a lot. Chris Head <Real good. Thanks for the heads-up. Bob Fenner>

Zebra Moray Hello Bob, Thank you for all the wonderful information on your site. I love my Zebra. "Mongo" was the first fish I purchased a year ago, and he is my pride and joy. He has grown 2.5 feet since I purchased him to an impressive 4.25 feet total now. However, in the last week he has been demonstrating very alarming behaviors. He has begun to lay on his side or slightly upside down, and has rather evenly spaced discoloration patched along the ridge of his back. It almost looks like scarring but none of my other fish are messing with him. He also will not eat. His diet has, until now consisted of krill and live Fiddler crabs and he has always been amazingly active. I performed a 50% water change 2 days ago as my pH was at an all time low of 7.6. <Ugh, there is/was your problem.> I know this is probably a major concern <You eel and I agree whole heartedly.> (my nitrite was at 0, my ammonia at .25 and my nitrate at 50-250) <One out of three is not good. Both ammonia and nitrite should both be zero and your nitrate, anywhere in that range, is too high.> but none of my other inhabitants are showing any symptoms. <Give them time> I have a Navarchus angel that is my indicator fish and he is the picture of health it seems. <For now> During two outbreaks of ich, the angle picked it up but I treated the tank and no other fish were affected. I have always thought the Zebra was one of the hardiest. <Hardy but not immune to everything.> Why would he be having problems when the others seem to be okay? <Merely a delay in reactions.> Incidentally my tank is a 115 gallon with 2 triggers, a jeweled eel, Mongo (the zebra), a Lunare wrasse, a Navarchus angel, and a lipstick tang. Please, I am sure you are busy and you must get contacted all the time with problems and questions, but I love this fish, I will give up all the others to make sure he is okay,... can you please help? <Water quality, water quality, water quality> Thank you for your time, Jack Garrett <You are welcome. -Steven Pro>