Dwarf Moray Eel With Ich

[thehvacman]

Hey guys. I recently picked up a golgen dwarf moray eel. I've read every article on ich (or close to it), and can't get any definite answers. Most people refuse to believe that eels can get ich. I've had the eel in quarantine for 7 weeks now, and I am certain that eel has ich. There are no visible signs like with tangs, but the eel is scratching constantly as if it's bothered by something. I've got the eel eating every 2-3 days and otherwise seems healthy. I'm considering putting the eel through a hypo salinity treatment as I've read that cooper is real bad for eels. Has anyone treated an eel for ich before? The eel isn't going in my display tank until I am 100% certain that it doesn't have ich.

 

[Pistol]

If hypo salinity won't hurt it I would go that route.

 

[AdInfinitum]

They are extraordinarily resistant to ich but because of their enclosed Gill structure they are often irritated by various things.

Morays have a slime coat and different blood chemistry than fish that make them toxic to ich and generally unsuitable hosts for the parasite unless they are severely diseased or weak and dying from other issues.

Look elsewhere for the cause of the irritation. Morals can get food or sand particles in the Gill pouches that may take time to dislodge. If it is straight from the ocean recently, parasitic copepods may be in the gills as well...most cannot complete their life cycle in aquaria and will run their course. Most medications must be used with extreme caution and some eels do not tolerate hypo where others can survive in FW short term...varies by species...

 

[heath]

They are extraordinarily resistant to ich but because of their enclosed Gill structure they are often irritated by various things.

Morays have a slime coat and different blood chemistry than fish that make them toxic to ich and generally unsuitable hosts for the parasite unless they are severely diseased or weak and dying from other issues.

Look elsewhere for the cause of the irritation. Morals can get food or sand particles in the Gill pouches that may take time to dislodge. If it is straight from the ocean recently, parasitic copepods may be in the gills as well...most cannot complete their life cycle in aquaria and will run their course. Most medications must be used with extreme caution and some eels do not tolerate hypo where others can survive in FW short term...varies by species...

not sure if eels can but can they get flukes...

 

[sunnykita]

I'd be erring on the side of caution for sure with this guy and not use anything that you weren't sure it would tolerate. I wonder too about other parasites. Is garlic safe to add to his food? possibly enhance his immune system while feeding garlic soaked food? Have you checked with the seller to try and track where he came from? There must be dwarf moray specialists out there somewhere. Good luck !

 

[thehvacman]

Ya I guess it could be any kind of parasite bothering the eel. I am very worried about how the eel would take any kind of treatment. The problem is that no one seams to have much experience with these eels. They come from a few select reefs in Hawaii and are fairly rare in the trade. How about transferring him to another system that is known to be parasite free, with a fresh water dip to rid the eel of some parasites. Then house the eel with a cleaner shrimp to finish them off. How bad would a fresh water dip be for the eel? And how long will it take the eel to the shrimp? Just an idea. I've also read that most parasites die off after a year in an aquarium, because of inbreeding, if nothing new is added. So maybe just wait a year. Somethings are worth the wait.

 

[shamous113]

You could try the tank transfer method, every 72hr max switch to a fresh setup, clean the previous setup and allow to dry completely before re filling.

 

[scubasteve]

How big is it and what are you feeding it and how big. If you feed them large chunks they may be getting irritated from that. Like a snake they will roll and rub themselves against things to help aid digestion of large objects. I always tried to keep the food half the size of their body to avoid digestion problems and impaction. I would highly doubt it is ich due to the physical characteristics of an eel

 

[scubasteve]

If you are that worried sell it to me

 

[thehvacman]

Its about 7-8" long, and yes his head isn't very big. He also does thrash around alot when eating pieces of shrimp. I offer pieces of shrimp, octopus, and fish, it always picks the shrimp. I will try smaller pieces of food. Thanks for the tip.

 

[BigReefer]

pics

 

[AdInfinitum]

BTW it is fairly characteristic of ich only...that without fresh genetic material colonies will die out after 11 months. Many other parasites have much longer life cycles but are not well known problems for reef keepers since they cannot complete them successfully in aquaria.

 

[thehvacman]

So a year may not be long enough. I've read that they, like most eels can live for 30 plus years so hopefully I'll have he for a long time. What would you do to ensure no parasites make it into the display tank? And here are a couple of pics. Lighting isn't that great in quarantine tank.

 

[BigReefer]

aww he is cute !!

 

[heath]

now, I know nothing about eels, but does his mouth look ok, the first pic it looks like there is something right behind the jaw and in the 2nd pic. is that his gills about half way down, it looks like a thickening spot...just an untrained eye...

 

[thehvacman]

Ya that is the gill opening. The light isn't good enough to get a real clear shot.

 

[sunnykita]

he's beautiful ! good luck with him, hope you get it figured out, have you tried the smaller pieces of food? is it helping?

 

[thehvacman]

I've tried feeding smaller pieces of food, and now he will only eat 1 little piece and he is done, so I then have to pick out all the food. Funny how he doesn't keep eating till full. Before when feeding him the pieces were the size of his head, and he really had no problem getting them down. He is just not getting that much to eat with smaller pieces, but i will keep trying smaller pieces to see if that does help with the scratching, so for no change there.

 

[heath]

I wonder if there are sites dedicated to eels... I would try to google it and see if there is anything out there..not that this isn't the best site...

 

[scubasteve]

eels dont eat alot or very frequently their digestive track works like a snake and is very slow. mine is 2 years old and i dont know how long jeffopentax had it forprior to me. i feed it one peice about half inch thick 3" long chopped slightly smaller than his head i feed with feeding spike twice a month if he no longer takes any he is full and anymore is just waste. sounds like your trying to feed him too much. If he is not very active that is another sign of overfeeding. They should be slowly cruising through your tank happily searching for nothing.