Golden Dwarf Moray issue       10/19/16 Hello, <Hi Sam.> I have a pair of golden dwarf moray eels recently added to my 55 gallon reef tank. PH 8.3, Salinity 1.026, Nitrites 0, Ammonia 0, Nitrates 0, Phosphates >.5 ppm. There are no other aggressive fish in the tank. Today I noticed something wrong with the larger of the two eels that I have not seen before. One side of his head seems slightly distended and there is some sort of protrusion near the lower left corner of his mouth. The color of this protrusion is whitish. Around the protrusion is a small area of redness. I have tried desperately to get a clear image but have failed utterly. Could I be dealing with worms? He has yet to eat like his younger tankmate but I know that morays can go for protracted periods of time without eating. <Can't tell from the pictures in your other email what the moray is dealing with. I know it's hard to get proper pics, these pics are quite blurry and I'm not sure this is a parasite. If it occurred suddenly, could it be a flap of skin from a wound, maybe a bite from the other eel? Dwarf moray eels don't always tolerate conspecifics and can start fighting for territory. If it developed with time it is more likely a bacterial infection.> My suspicion is that they may be linked. Any input you could provide will be invaluable. These are my absolute favorite fishes in the trade and would hate to lose one to parasites. Thanks, Sam Porter <Check if the protrusion could be a wound and if hostilities occur. If it's a bacterial infection and grows you might need antibiotics. Let's hope the latter is not the case. Good luck. Marco.>

Tesselata Eel I have a Tesselata Eel the head has slowly deteriorated down to bone I have had this Eel for 8 month. I've had other eel's and nothing like this has ever happened. I've talked to a few people and none of them have seen anything like this either. It's like he has hole in the head. Do eel's get that?  <I suspect that you are not too far from the mark here... Eel's do get bacterial infections that are very likely linked to a good degree with nutrition, water quality... as the neuromast degenerative condition termed HLLE... More to the point perhaps, what can/did you do to reverse this problem? Improved foods, water chemistry... Bob Fenner>

Sick eel... Hi Bob, <Anthony Calfo in your service> I would greatly appreciate your advise. I've had my Gymnothorax funebris for about two months, and I thought he was doing great until I noticed some dark gray spotting on the lower portion of his body and fin. These spots almost look bruise like. He eats like a pig, and I do my water changes weekly. Unfortunately, Charlie did escape briefly about one week after coming to live with me. I'm wondering if this episode could be the cause of this problem, <quite possibly... eels are prone to true fungal infections and similar looking bacterial infections.> and what (if anything) can I do? He is in a 125 g tank with live rock and several pieces of coral.<little or nothing to be done in the display tank. A QT tank with a Furan based medication may be necessary if the patches do not abate within a few days or if they become more turbid. Do be alert and prepared to remove to QT promptly if necessary, bacterial infections with scaleless fishes like your eel can be quite difficult to navigate/cure> Thank you so much, April <best regards, Anthony> Ok. back to my eel. I am trying Maracyn can't tell if it is working, <it is a useless and outdated medication... gram-positive Erythromycin. Even if effective, most bacterial infections in fishes are gram-negative> it has been 6 days now. Thinking of trying Spectrogram by Aquatronics, how long should I wait? <you must always finish the full antibiotic treatment (5-7 days)> I tried to look real close with a flashlight at the spotting and I thought maybe it wasn't bacterial or fungal at all. But, maybe it was a break down in the slime coat. Do morays regenerate this slime coat if the slime coat is damaged? <indeed... but they also get skin infections easily. Please be sure to only medicate in a QT tank as the antibiotics will wreck your displays bio-filters. Use a broad spectrum antibiotic next if necessary> Thanks once again. <best regards, Anthony>