# green moray question.



## parrthed (Nov 17, 2006)

Hello everyone. I am new here so please go easy on me. I have tried to search the forums and have had no difinitive answer on a particular topic.
I recently aquired a large green moray ( 4 foot 8 inches) he is eating and acting fine. (btw- all i keep is eels) 
My question is that his eyes seem to be hazed over. He has ben like that since I aquired him. None of my other eels even my smaller greens have this problem. can anyone help? I know that it is a common problem but maybe someone with more experience can explain it to me. Does this only happen in glass tanks?
Here is my setup
300g tank 8'x24" (tank is low iron glass)
central overflow
125 gallon sump with two return pumps
dual sump skimmers rated 200g ea
also feed shrimp,clams and large fish occasionaly.
one 24" actintic blue for light. (very dim)
thin substrate 1"

Thanks,
Brian


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Cloudy eye can be a result of water parameters, or just stress. My GSP gets cloudy eye everytime I mess around with his tank decor.  Usually clears up on its own after a couple of days.


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## i have crabs (Apr 30, 2006)

hard to say without seeing what your talking about but some large preditors have a hazyness to thier eye wich prevents light from reflecting off them giving them away


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

You can always try www.waterwolves.com and see if they have a forum section there. I believe they specialize in Eels and such. I happened to see an ad in a fish magazine the other day.


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## parrthed (Nov 17, 2006)

*Thanks*

I will give waterwolves a shot. Thanks for the input.


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## OldManOfTheSea (Sep 17, 2006)

Hi Brian, I for reasons of a pest who attacks me had some time ago giving up on ever possibly assisting others with their eels. I was the person if ever heard called Dragon Moray Eels and I have some 55 plus years with keeping morays. 

This cloudy eye can be caused by two type of problems. One is water quality and the other is that the eel could had scraped its eye against the LR . Now if the eel eyes are cloudy because of water conditions, you would first needs to make water changes and later treat the tank with formalin and if your water is great, then proceed a head and start the treatment with the formalin. Just follow the directions on its label and you count the sump water volume as well. 

Also in all my years in keeping eels, only one my eels developed a cloudy eye and it was be caused of rubbing against the LR and it will be a good while before it clears. So it also has nothing to do with the type of tank, other then the size tank you have this type of eel in is too small, but that is your business.

The thing be is that eels like the green or the Tess morays need huge tanks with plenty of movement space with a huge lair build for it with LR and that the LR be bolted together with stainless steel bolts or if this eel your are doing all the right type of feeding and water quality, this eel will grow and a 300 gal tank can never hold it. 

(also feed shrimp,clams and large fish occasionaly) It is good to feed treats such as clams and so, but this animal need a huge meal and not every other day for there is lots of things I can tell you on that for over feeding in a home aquarium with keeping moray is to become less healthy and will not live as long as it normally should.

That means no farm raised sea foods as well that the fish be as fresh you can get it in which a fresh fish market if your one around you would do better for this.

Also as Tina has said that this cloudy eye could be the caused of stress in which you said the eel is now more then 4.5' and this too can cause serious health issues in time. You a animal that can grow too an average 8' and you not be easy to transport this eel for also its body width with be of that of a football and as of right now is able to bite in half any fish it would prey upon.
You need to make a decision for the best interest of this eel, and that is one of two things. (1) is that you give it a larger tank, and this tank shouldn`t be any smaller then a 1000 gal and (2) is that you see if you can find a fool who might take the animal off your hands. In which case will live a short life span just the same. 

In this tank, you also need a good water currents flow and I not need to know what your turnover rate an hour is. for on my eel tanks I have a turnover rate of only 6x and I had it like this for many years. And as you mention, your a thin substrate of 1", within a eel only tank I go not more then 2" for as well, you will need very large LR pieces for the eels body would knock the LR around as if playing ping bong with them.

At your sea food market buy fresh fish such as, salmon (when in season), grouper, trigger, and the large frozen packages of octopus (1) is in this package for you be feeding the eel so many with the small octopus. And and other type of fish from the ocean you can try.

So the ball is now in your court in it is up too you on what if you would like this eel too live for more then 50 to 70 years or not.

i have crabs Im sorry, but I disagree with that>

Ice , I will check that site out for im always looking for one who know things on eels as myself>

Good luck on doing the right thing for this eel  

PS. Brian, unlike other fishes a eel can endure much punishment before death.


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Ice said:


> You can always try www.waterwolves.com and see if they have a forum section there. I believe they specialize in Eels and such. I happened to see an ad in a fish magazine the other day.


Don't go to waterwolves....

If your lucky, you'll get a response in the brackish/saltwater section. All that site is are supposed "experts" talking about cichlids and pea**************** bass, and maybe a catfish or pred. fish here and there. I don't mean to bash, but have over 900 posts, have been on there for years, and it's just what i've seen. When it was predatoryfish.com, it was generally good, now as waterwolves.com it focuses on cichlids I guess. And no, they do not specialize in eels, but a few members may be able to help. I know of at least one that's successfully kept Ribbon Eels...



i have crabs said:


> hard to say without seeing what your talking about but some large preditors have a hazyness to thier eye wich prevents light from reflecting off them giving them away


Btw, I also have to disagree. Preds have this almost "multi-colored" lens that look blue from an angle. Hazyness (white overcoating), and this feature would be easily distuingished, and, I don't think most eels posess this (correct me if wrong). As for puffers getting this, I have to agree Boxermom! When I first ran my protein skimmer a week after it was placed in saltwater, it got it. But, a few days later it disappeared.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Another good website with pretty knowledgeable people is www.aquaticpredators.com


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

www.grimreefers.com specialize in saltwater preditors. although I think you've gotten the answer right here at fishforums.


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## parrthed (Nov 17, 2006)

Thanks man of the sea. I am currently having a custom aquarium built in the basement of my new home. 12'x4'x3'. Which is about 1000G. You know it really isnt all that big but I figure this should be a good home. Mainly made of reinforced fiberglass and acrylic front. Ill post some pics soon because they have just started construction on it. The eyes are getting better. I figure it was the liverock because I do weekly water changes. Thanks again everyone.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

We had a big green where I used to work that was part of the show. The divers would play with it several times per day, and after several years of this it was tame as a kitten, which is good since it was about 9.5 feet long. Anyway, it's eyes were pretty much always cloudy from all this roughhousing, but it never seemed to be especially bothered by it. 
Come to think of it, I've rarely seen any greens which didn't have cloudy eyes, wild or captive. They must live a hard life.

Nice pets, as eels go, once you've tamed them. Of course, you have to be careful with that, and indeed really shouldn't even try. You've probably already noticed that they aren't really green, yes? They are grey, covered with green slime. That slime comes off if the fish are mishandled, leaving the eel exposed to various problems unneccessarily. All in all, though, I wouldn't really recommend them to anyone for many reasons.

If anyone cares, my own personal favorite is the Moringa moray. Lovely black, brown & white mottled pattern and great personality, and they too take on a nice green sheen. They will eat from your fingers, spawn every month, and they only get half the size of a Green.


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## mr.dark-saint (Aug 16, 2005)

I'm wondering if it's the "white" or the "irridecent" haze?


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## OldManOfTheSea (Sep 17, 2006)

I have trouble in siging in, so I tried using Internet Explorer:
And being that I cannot sign in the normal way, I no idea that if i will get any email that one had post a response:

Sorry I not been around to check back and I not had any email auto response to any responses made here. Anyway, not have your tank lights on for so many hours on end, like not more then seven and you are that is using just regular fluorescent bulbs, are you not? Also just one white bulb in case you are using the double strip and in the other have a blue. 

The waste of an eel is something to be believed and your there a larger species and I would be even more concern to your tanks nitrate levels for becoming too high can also leave some ill effect to your eel and mostly it will upset the eels diet. 

If you are in the progress of this 1000 gal tank, best as right now look to were it is that you can get huge LR boulders and where as well that you might get large stainless steel bolts with threads on both ends so that you might secure the LR in place for the normal LR you will get from your LFS will not do well for this and just setting up LR as you normally see, this eel will be knocking the LR around as if playing ping pong with it.

You only need enough to make it a large lair leaving most of the tank open water. I do however have one question in this 1000 gal tank, you will need it to be 36" deep and to allow it the most swimming space, it needs to be long and not just a square tank. So if I might be so bold to suggest or better yet hope that the measurements are as;

Tank Length = 132 inches (11')
Tank Width = 48 inches (4')
Tank Height = 36 inches (3')

Of course, those measurements are slightly under a 1000 gals by about 20 gals, As well, you would be needing some huge sumps on both ends and lots of LR in the sumps as well, this is because that you are honestly limited to how much LR you can have in the main tank itself due too that this species is required to have as much open space for movement and in this tank, you will be needing much water currents.

Just know that, this is my advise to you and you can either go by it or follow someone else's or just go on your own. And one other things if your an ear for it, You best to see to how you might get lashes and will need to be stainless steel or heavy duty plastic and ever few feet across the top the tank locking the glass covers.

The thing with eels as any other animal what if it be sea or on land, no one can predict how they will react at all times and something as this should never be attempted by one who has little to no understandings into what to look for as better yet, understand the eels body language. You know, its like a dog who seems to smile and wags it tail, lets you pet it to were many dogs you would never attempt to pet them.

But in home aquariums, I would never suggest attempting to hand feed this animal for you be far more in control of knowing its a good idea or not while in the water with the eel and as well, if something ever goes wrong, you have a 10th of a second if that to get your hands out for I know of no fish eaters who moves so slow.

Besides, I always remember a story which was told to me by two brothers or by the older brother. They went diving one day and the younger had a fresh fish in his hand and moving they seen this large green moray just ahead stick out from his lair. The younger brother wasn't even holding out the fish to offer it and before they knew anything, the eel swim out and snatched the fish from his hand and was back into its lair all in a matter of a few seconds. The older brother told me that his kid brother piss in his pants.

I do an average 30-32 gals of water change weekly on a eel twin tank system, a 70 and 130 gals tanks. Now im very busy but I will be able to check back later just to see what some one has to say, not so much as the story I told, but of the tank for this Tess moray.

Buddy


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