Re: Red Sea Books/ habitat... Jake Adams... circ. input  2/5/09
Hi Bob,
<Simon>
Snowflake Morays are also listed in your FAQ as coming from the Red Sea - would you suggest that I swap the pair of Zebras out for a pair of Snowflakes instead for this Biotope?
<Mmm, no...>
The trip to Egypt has been sanctioned by the way! It was the possibility of seeing either/ or Whale Sharks/ Mantas that did the trick!
Cheers,
Simon Trippick
<Heeee! Have been quite a few times, never seen these there... Shhhh!
BobF>

G. zebra, Red Sea Books/ habitat... Jake Adams... circ. input
Gymnomuraena zebra does indeed occur in the Red Sea.  2/5/09
The first reports are by Klunzinger (1871) from Quseir, then Fowler (1945) from the Sudan coast and Clark et al. (1966) from Dahlak. Another specimen I know of is from Ras Muhammad, Sinai and was confirmed by Randall and Golani in 1995. The USNM also has two from the Red Sea. Cheers. Marco.
<Well I'll be. Thank you for this Marco. Bob Fenner, who has never seen this species in the Gulf of Aqaba... but...>

Hey WWM Crew 5/17/08
Hey WWM Crew, Giant Clam, Zebra Moray comp./sys.
<Okay...>
Sorry to bother you. I know you guys get swamped with questions.  I have a 90 gal grow out tank for my 14inch Zebra moray before I move him to a 150 gallon later this summer.  The tank right now has the Zebra moray, mushroom anemones, and various beginner polyps. The wife really likes how the giant clams look and wants to add some to the tank.  I was just wondering if small 3-4inch giant clams are safe with Zebra morays?
<Yes, should be fine... in terms of not being predated/eaten. The bright light needed by the Tridacnids may prove to be too much for the Gymnomuraena... this lighting might be best supplied by a directly overhead placed small MH of low/er wattage... allowing one side of the tank to be dimmer>
I wanted to ask you guys first before I went out and spent hard earned cash on a clam.
Thanks in advance for all the help.
Jason
<Thank you for sharing! Bob Fenner>

Gymnomuraena hlth, lack of info., Anglish  1/25/07
Hi, my name is Laura and I have a question about a zebra eel.
My boss got a zebra eel from some
<?>
off employees for christmast
<A perverse religious-icon/ship cross?>
a few years ago and he had been doing great.
About 2 months ago we added some different fish to his tank and I noticed that one of them was picking at him real bad
<Mmm, does happen... Gymnomuraena are very passive>
and it looked like he was making the eel hurt. I finally got the fish out and figured that the eel would calm down.
Since this time the eel has stopped eating and has lost all of his wait.
<Too impatient?>
I talked to the guys that clean the aquarium for us and they just told me to leave him alone for a couple of weeks and then try to feed him which I did.
<Good advice>
I still can't get him to eat. I usually feed him squid from the store and he has always loved it, but he won't eat it so I went and bought some Krill for him to see if maybe he wanted something different.  He will put the Krill in his mouth and act like he's going to eat, but then he just spites
<To frustrate you?>
it out.  He has also develop
<Tense...>
all the red blood spots all over him and all around his mouth.  I noticed last Friday that he had what it looks like white pockets on the roof of his mouth that I haven't seen before. I talked to my local fish store about him and they told me to buy some ghost shrimp to see if maybe that would
stimulate him to want to eat
<Also good advice>
but it hasn't so far and I am kind of wondering if maybe he has all the blood around his mouth because he's been trying to get the ghost shrimp.
<A worthy guess>
I'm kind of at a loss because I don't know what to do anymore. My boss tells my I'm to attached but it's hard not to be when you feed them and care for them everyday.  I just don't want him to suffer if he's going to die.
Thanks for your time.
<Mmm, not much to proffer due to a/the lack of information presented re the system itself... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/zebramdisfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Sand Trouble... dust, in the tank... dude!   11/30/06
Morning fishy folk...
<And a good morning to you as well, David. JustinN with you this morning.>
I have a newly installed 3" CaribSea Aragamax Sugar Sand sandbed in a new 200gallon setup.  The package says little or no rinsing required.  I put about 10lbs at a time into a bucket with some freshwater, stirred it up and then scooped off all the particles as well as the cloudy water.  Then I'd repeat again until the water produced no particles, yet stayed a little cloudy.  
<Ok>
Anyhow, I have a sump system and am using a small Fluval filter with sponge material to help clean out the water.  I read in your FAQ's a few times there was the mention to NOT filter out the sand dust.  In other FAQ's you providing tips on how to filter out the dust.  
<Simply the result of many minds working together here, difference of opinions. The finer dusts are more soluble into the water column as freely buffering the solution. Both methods will work fine, its all in your patience levels *grin*>
It's been about 10 days and I can JUST now see through to the other side of the tank.  I imagine that the majority of the results are from filtration, and partly due to some of the dust settling.
<Likely a balance of both here>
At this point, all I have is the sand, the salted water running through my sump/pump, and a small Fluval helping to clear it up.  I think if I put in my liverock to aquascape it will cloud up again because of the disturbed sand.  I'm wondering if I should stir up the top layer of my sand to cloud the water a bit in hopes of the filter cleaning it up a bit more for me and getting rid of the settled dust?
<Mmm, too likely to 'make things worse' here>
Or if I should just proceed and likely let the water cloud up again when I place my cured liverock?  
<Bingo>
The water is milky, not gritty... my pre-rinsing seems to have taken any fine particles. One of the first critters I wanted to introduce is a Snowflake eel and I'd imagine that it'd stir up the sand a little.  I guess I'm afraid of it stirring up the sand frequently throughout the day and me not being able to view the tank for a week or so after the fact.
<Of little concern here, once all settles>
Of note, I am currently using that tiny Fluval which is rated for tanks up to 40gallons... again, it's only being used to clean up the dust (it's the filter I use on my quarantine tank).  I wonder if it'd be worth while for me to dish out the $150 for a filter that could handle up to about 200 gallons?  
<Mmm, I would not, with your existing sump. Canister filters can become nitrate factories very quickly.>
With an eel, a lionfish, and other critters, I'll have messy eaters... The bigger filter would allow me to better handle carbon, etc... if needed in the future?   I see also on your FAQ's the mention of using DE Filtration?  It seems uneconomical to purchase a DE filter from a pool company just to clear a tank and none of my retailers have or rent out filters.
<There are specialty filters for aquarium use that will do exactly this, I believe they are known as diatom filters.>
In short, once my tank clears should I be fine just placing my liverock and living with a bit or a lot of dust until it eventually all filters out over a month or so?  Or, do you think I should make the purchase of a larger filter?   Any harm in a lot of dust with critters in the water... i.e. them stirring up the sand to create the dust?   I've noticed the dust is like a minor smog in my aquarium room... you can't see it, but you can smell it.  My external pump also has a fine light white colored dusting on it.
<I would simply add the rock here, and stay the course. All will settle with time. Do be sure to blast any sediment accumulation on your rock away after all clears up.>
Oh, going off on a tangent here.  I was at my retailers two weeks ago.
At the time, a guy was trying to sell back a Zebra Moray of substantial girth (it must have been a few years old?).  I was quite curious as I've been interested in either a snowflake or a zebra... so I watched the retailer staff member place it in an empty tank (which had no cover on it).  The eel swam at the surface for about 30 seconds before it started to jump/spill out over the top where this staff member goes to grab it with his bare hand behind it's head to push him back.  The eel clamped onto the underside of this guys wrist to create quite a bit of a mess of this guy.  
<Ouch! That's one mistake you don't make too many times...>
In short, even with just the molar crushing teeth... seems like these guys can still deliver a pretty nasty bite.  
<Indeed>
I'm building my chain mail glove as we speak... hehehe.
Dave
<Hehe, even with chain mail, it would likely still 'hurt like the dickens!" I would stay the course with your tank as you are currently going, add your rock when you feel comfortable, and don't sweat the sediment settling. It will eventually clear, no matter how cloudy it seems. As a tip, when I've filled tanks after adding oolitic sand, I simply use a trash bag to cover the surface of the sand, held in place by a dinner plate. I add the water to the surface of the dinner plate, and when done, remove all from the tank. I still get a bit of kick-up, but using this method I was able to add about 30 pounds of sand to my 40 gallon tank without rinsing, and the water was clear within a day! Hope this helps you! -JustinN>