GREEN MORAY EEL white spots, please help

eelman · Oct 15, 2024

Hello,

my green moray eel I’ve gotten 2 weeks ago, just started getting these white spots everywhere. Looks like ich but apparently they’re pretty immune to getting ich, is it velvet? Has anyone else had this issue with their moray eels? Just want to diagnose so I can start to treat

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

vetteguy53081 · Oct 16, 2024

eelman said:
Hello,

my green moray eel I’ve gotten 2 weeks ago, just started getting these white spots everywhere. Looks like ich but apparently they’re pretty immune to getting ich, is it velvet? Has anyone else had this issue with their moray eels? Just want to diagnose so I can start to treat

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

This does appear to be ich or ectoparasite and will require treatment. While I favor treatment with general cure for eels, they treat well with use of chloroquine Phosphate at 45mg per gallon for 10-14 days

eelman · Oct 16, 2024

vetteguy53081 said:
This does appear to be ich or ectoparasite and will require treatment. While I favor treatment with general cure for eels, they treat well with use of chloroquine Phosphate at 45mg per gallon for 10-14 days

Thank you for replying, is this something I can get at my local saltwater shop? Or is this more along the lines of human medicine? Wasn’t sure if you could see the video or not, thank you for replying again

vetteguy53081 · Oct 16, 2024

eelman said:
Thank you for replying, is this something I can get at my local saltwater shop? Or is this more along the lines of human medicine? Wasn’t sure if you could see the video or not, thank you for replying again

Yes - saw video. Chloroquine is human version and mild on fish and comes in tablet form in which you want to use a milligram (mg) scale

Jay Hemdal · Oct 16, 2024

eelman said:
Hello,

my green moray eel I’ve gotten 2 weeks ago, just started getting these white spots everywhere. Looks like ich but apparently they’re pretty immune to getting ich, is it velvet? Has anyone else had this issue with their moray eels? Just want to diagnose so I can start to treat

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

What size is the eel? The spots are WAY too large to be ich. Also, eels are pretty resistant to ich, but can get velvet. However, the spots for velvet are so tiny, you really wouldn't see them.

How did the spots develop? Did they show up all at once, did they increase in number over time? Are they changing location? Is the eel eating?

Green morays are prone to a variety of skin infections, including bacterial problems, but in this case, because the spots are localized and not diffused, I wonder if there is some worm or crustacean parasite involved? Doing a skin scrape and looking at it under a microscope would tell you more, but of course that needs to be done carefully so that you don't harm the eel or get bitten in the process.

Treating blindly, without knowing the actual cause is risky.

eelman · Oct 17, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
Welcome to Reef2Reef!

What size is the eel? The spots are WAY too large to be ich. Also, eels are pretty resistant to ich, but can get velvet. However, the spots for velvet are so tiny, you really wouldn't see them.

How did the spots develop? Did they show up all at once, did they increase in number over time? Are they changing location? Is the eel eating?

Green morays are prone to a variety of skin infections, including bacterial problems, but in this case, because the spots are localized and not diffused, I wonder if there is some worm or crustacean parasite involved? Doing a skin scrape and looking at it under a microscope would tell you more, but of course that needs to be done carefully so that you don't harm the eel or get bitten in the process.

Treating blindly, without knowing the actual cause is risky.

Hey jay just saw this,

they’re definitely spreading. It started with one or two which I assumed was sand, then just sporadically starting popping up all over its body, the eel hasn’t eaten, but isn’t scared and doesn’t seemed stressed whatsoever compared to what it was a last week.

The local aquatic store said it definitely looks like a parasite. Looks like there is purple bruising underneath them on direct light.

Eel is about 16” treating it now with what they recommended Metroplex

The eel still swims, isn’t panting heavy and doesn’t seem too bothered or ill mannered at all as of today. But the spots are all the way down its body

Jay Hemdal · Oct 17, 2024

eelman said:
Hey jay just saw this,

they’re definitely spreading. It started with one or two which I assumed was sand, then just sporadically starting popping up all over its body, the eel hasn’t eaten, but isn’t scared and doesn’t seemed stressed whatsoever compared to what it was a last week.

The local aquatic store said it definitely looks like a parasite. Looks like there is purple bruising underneath them on direct light.

Eel is about 16” treating it now with what they recommended Metroplex

The eel still swims, isn’t panting heavy and doesn’t seem too bothered or ill mannered at all as of today. But the spots are all the way down its body

Metroplex is really only effective against some protozoans and a few bacteria. If these lesions are caused by flukes or leeches, it won't help. Likewise, if it is a systemic bacterial infection, it likely won't help.

I hate treating blindly - the skin scrape I mentioned is really the best way to diagnose this.

eelman · Oct 18, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
Metroplex is really only effective against some protozoans and a few bacteria. If these lesions are caused by flukes or leeches, it won't help. Likewise, if it is a systemic bacterial infection, it likely won't help.

I hate treating blindly - the skin scrape I mentioned is really the best way to diagnose this.

How do you recommend do that? Do I need to take the eel to my local store?

Thanks again.

eelman · Oct 18, 2024

eelman said:
How do you recommend do that? Do I need to take the eel to my local store?

Thanks again.

Just checked on him and it’s spread very rapidly, not sure what to do to help the progression from continuing

Jay Hemdal · Oct 18, 2024

eelman said:
Just checked on him and it’s spread very rapidly, not sure what to do to help the progression from continuing

At this point, you may need to just try SOMETHING, as whatever this is, it's getting worse quickly. The easiest thing to do would be a five minute freshwater dip. That is tough to do with eels because they are difficult to handle. After the dip, you look at the bottom of the bucket for signs of parasites that have fallen off. The eel will be very stressed by this process. If it is close to death, the dip may actually kill it (but it would have died soon any way). However, if it survives the dip, and there is a parasite, the dip will reduce the numbers a bit and the eel might show some improvement.

eelman · Oct 18, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
At this point, you may need to just try SOMETHING, as whatever this is, it's getting worse quickly. The easiest thing to do would be a five minute freshwater dip. That is tough to do with eels because they are difficult to handle. After the dip, you look at the bottom of the bucket for signs of parasites that have fallen off. The eel will be very stressed by this process. If it is close to death, the dip may actually kill it (but it would have died soon any way). However, if it survives the dip, and there is a parasite, the dip will reduce the numbers a bit and the eel might show some improvement.

What usually causes something like this? I can try the fresh water dip in rodi water. If nothing falls off does that mean it’s something else? Is there anything aside from metroplex I should be doing? How often are these problems fatal? Is there a chance the eels own immune system can fight this if I do have the wrong treatment? Thank you

eelman · Oct 18, 2024

eelman said:
What usually causes something like this? I can try the fresh water dip in rodi water. If nothing falls off does that mean it’s something else? Is there anything aside from metroplex I should be doing? How often are these problems fatal? Is there a chance the eels own immune system can fight this if I do have the wrong treatment? Thank you

Jay Hemdal · Oct 18, 2024

Those pictures are clearer - these are "mucus plugs" - some fish, including eels produce mucus from their skin cells as a response to stress. That stress can be water quality issues or certain diseases. In some cases, the issue is "idiopathic" and the cause isn't known.

eelman · Oct 18, 2024

So that’s what we think it is? Water read good but I don’t mind doing a full water change

Jay Hemdal said:
Those pictures are clearer - these are "mucus plugs" - some fish, including eels produce mucus from their skin cells as a response to stress. That stress can be water quality issues or certain diseases. In some cases, the issue is "idiopathic" and the cause isn't known.