White bumps on ribbon eel

[Han]

Recently i’ve started noticing white bumps on my ribbon eel. He’s acting and eating normally but it’s concerning. Almost looks bacterial. I’ve had him for about 15 months and the water tests fine, nitrates are a bit high at 25 since it’s an aggressive tank with heavy feedings. Any thoughts?

 

[lion king]

I've never seen that and it is something to figure out. Does he live in a pvc or his his den the rocks. Just taking a wild guess with an eels normally thick slime coating, could it be baby snails. Have you looked through a magnifying glass.

 

[Han]

He has dens under the rocks, he never really showed interest in pvc. At first i thought he just scratched himself on a rock but now that it’s getting worse I’m not so sure. I don’t see any snails, I just checked.

 

[lion king]

I have no idea where to proceed from here. I would say you are likely right with the bacterial thought .It's hard to get answers about these guys because most can not keep them that long. The reason I asked about the pvc, because of all the eels I've kept, the ribbon is the only one I kept in a pvc. He may have nicked and scratched himself on the substrate and rocks, and then it has turned into a bacterial issue. How coarse is your substrate. Again just throwing out thoughts; maybe these guys need a smoother substrate and a pvc den as not to nick and scratch their "unusually delicate skin" for an eel. Sorry I don't know anyone to tag for help.

 

[Han]

I have a few different kinds of sand mixed together, some of it is a bit coarse. I do have pvc in there but he never used it and now it’s buried. I guess i’ll just keep an eye on him, I really don’t want to treat him and make it worse since they’re so sensitive. Something else worth noting is that sometimes my jawfish bites him, which i’ve noticed messes up his slime coat but it usually recovers. The eel has been hanging out in the jawfish’s den lately, maybe there’s a correlation.

 

[KrisReef]

@Humblefish

 

[lion king]

Yeah that makes sense. See eels are usually very resistant to most things because they have an unusually thick slime coating. But if that coating get disrupted from an injury or diminished due to nutritional deficiencies or stress, then it gives an opening. All those little bumps could just be love nips from the jawfish. So now is what to do about it, you know I am very resistant to medicating. And even if you were to medicate without finding and ending the cause, it would be for not.

 

[Han]

Worst case scenario I have another tank with more peaceful inhabitants I could move him to.

 

[Goodair]

From the first pic, it looks like substrate is bothering it. Maybe the jawfish nipping plus then the substrate rubbing against the same areas is causing it.

 

[Han]

From the first pic, it looks like substrate is bothering it. Maybe the jawfish nipping plus then the substrate rubbing against the same areas is causing it.

Probably. I guess I have no choice but to move him. Thankfully my other tank has only peaceful fish and a finer substrate.

 

[Han]

So I haven’t been able to catch the eel yet, haven’t caught him cruising around and I don’t want to take apart the rockwork. The good news is that he’s still eating normally, and whatever those white bumps were seem to have “popped?” Almost as if they were fluid filled.

I’ve been on a list since June with my lfs looking for a small yellowhead moray, he was supposed to go in the other tank. They called me today and said they finally got one in. Now I’m torn whether I want to go ahead and move the ribbon to the other tank and pass on the yellowhead, or if I should just leave the ribbon eel and continue as planned. I do want the yellowhead and feeling bad for making my lfs look for so long but I’m not sure what to do.

So I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, if I should leave the ribbon where he’s comfortable and eating and hope he heals up and that him and the jawfish work it out, or if I’ll move the ribbon and pass on the yellowhead. The oddest thing is that the ribbon and jawfish have been together for over a year and this aggression has only started recently.

 

[lion king]

Juvi's of many species will play well together, even species of the same, When certain individuals mature, angst can start.

Where is the yellow head going, those usually get pretty nasty when mature, If they are to be kept with fish, it needs to be a large tank that can handle such fish as triggers and large angels, many tangs aren't even safe with a mature yellow head.

Have you thought about reintroducing a pvc, maybe it is an irritation from the rocks and substrate that's causing it. I forget the diameter of the pvc I used, it does have to be large enough, but the ribbon doesn;t need too huge. But they literally have to be able to turn around in it. Eels are contortionist so it isn't as bad as it sounds.

 

[Han]

The yellowhead is about 6-8” long and about the width of 2 pencils. If I get him he’ll be going in a 75g with a kole tang and a few damsels (who can be moved if i can catch them). I can definitely try adding more pvc for the ribbon, if he ends up using it maybe that will even give him some protection from the jawfish too.

It would be nice to just add both eels to the same tank but I feel like that wouldn’t end well for the ribbon once the yellowhead grows up since the tank is only 75 gallons. I wouldn’t want to risk it.

 

[Han]

Whatever this infection is is getting worse fast. The last 4” of the eels tail has deteriorated and his skeleton is showing. I’m considering euthanizing him i don’t know if he can be saved and it looks painful.

 

[lion king]

Man thats a tough one, you didn't see the tail when you posted about the bumps. It happened that fast. You said he had been eating. Whatever it is because it satrted at the end of tail and it hasn't reached his body, it hasn't killed him yet. If you have a way to hospital him it wouldn't be a bad shot to treat with a broad spectrum antibiotic. Because of where it is he could still survive

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

@Jay Hemdal

 

[Han]

Yeah this happened really fast, he even ate last time I fed on Monday and his tail looked fine then. He’s in qt now I haven’t decided what I’m going to treat him with yet.

 

[Han]

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That's rough. I had seen your original post, but didn't respond because I've never seen spots like that before on an eel. The two options I see are a broad spectrum antibiotic or euthanizing it. If it were my fish, I would go with the latter.

Sorry,

Jay

 

[Han]

Given that the eel still seems to have plenty of energy (catching him was not easy) I’ve decided to try and treat him. I do have a lot of antibiotics on hand so I will keep this thread updated on my progress, though to be honest I’m not very optimistic. Thank you everyone for the input.