Zebra Eel Red Lump

Moray26 · Sep 3, 2023

Need some help. Today I noticed my Zebra Eel has two red lumps on his face as seen in the photo. Both are located on the face a few cm above the eye. The one side is smaller than the other. Not sure what it is or what I can do. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

fishguy242 · Sep 3, 2023

@lion king @Slocke

vetteguy53081 · Sep 3, 2023

This looks like injury or bacterial issue (pic a little fuzzy). Often it starts with poor water quality in particular nitrate elevation and also Vitamin B deficiency. If its due to an injury- find the source in the tank and remove it.
Skimming helps with water quality but if it is what I see, treat with either General Cure or Maracyn 2 in a separate quarantine tank

Jay Hemdal · Sep 3, 2023

Moray26 said:
Need some help. Today I noticed my Zebra Eel has two red lumps on his face as seen in the photo. Both are located on the face a few cm above the eye. The one side is smaller than the other. Not sure what it is or what I can do. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Can you get clearer pictures?
How long have you had the eel?
What other fish is it being kept with?

Jay

lion king · Sep 3, 2023

As @vetteguy53081 mentioned possible injury which in turn could turn bacterial. Water quality is primary concern. Could be a bite or sting from a coral. Any stinging corals by his den hang out, or pinching inverts like a crab or lobster, as well as a fish biting at his face. While possible could be an injury from a sharp edge rock, but doesn't look like that. If it's a new addition could be something that was pre existing. If your water quality is suffering, 1st thing is to remedy that, and finding the source of injury, sting, or bite. If it was pre existing it could be something I am not familiar with, like any kind of tumor type growth. if it progresses then removal and treatment with antibiotics may be called for.

Oh how big is he and how long have you noticed it, and how quickly has it progressed.

Moray26 · Sep 3, 2023

Thanks for the replies so far! I got him in December of 2022. Only noticed it yesterday, however this was the first time in about a week where I was able to see him as he moved dens. Typically he’s in a cave where I can’t see him. He is 18 inches approximately.

Stock list are:
Clownfish x2, Yellow tang, Whitetail tang, Blonde naso tang, Desjardini tang, Royal gramma, Melanurus wrasse, Hippo Tang, Red Sea Regal Angel, Blue spot goby, Blue spotted puffer, Borbonius anthias, cleaner shrimp.

Corals I only have torch’s and hammers that would be my stinging corals. Nothing has been added to the tank since April.

Tough for me to get another photo as he’s back in his usual den where I can’t see him. Haven’t seen any aggression from fish.

lion king · Sep 3, 2023

If it's some kind of tumorous growth unless someone has specific experience seeing it, it could be anyone's guess, and likely nothing you can do. What can happen is whats been mentioned earlier. Eels do get stung around the face and eyes, this area seems to be sensitive. A tang could whip him in the face with their scalpel. You may not see it happen as it may not be continuous. Eels can also injure themselves on rocks, so any sharp edges should be ground down, this happens alot in smaller tanks when the eel doesn't have much room to maneuver. Not to bang it to death, but water quality is paramount, as poor water quality will encourage a bacterial infection.

Moray26 · Sep 3, 2023

Okay thanks! It’s a 220 gallon. So I hope space isn’t the issue. Doing some water changes now and will focus on water quality for the time being and see if there is improvement. All my corals seem happy with the water quality but we will see! If not then I can attempt to remove him and treat with general cure.

lion king · Sep 3, 2023

Moray26 said:
Okay thanks! It’s a 220 gallon. So I hope space isn’t the issue. Doing some water changes now and will focus on water quality for the time being and see if there is improvement. All my corals seem happy with the water quality but we will see! If not then I can attempt to remove him and treat with general cure.

If it's a wound, general cure will not be the right choice. If it is a wound and progresses or becomes inflamed, a broad spectrum antibiotic would be the choice, something like kanaplex.

Better pics and other may chime in, if it is parasitic then your choices would be different.

Jay Hemdal · Sep 3, 2023

Moray26 said:
Thanks for the replies so far! I got him in December of 2022. Only noticed it yesterday, however this was the first time in about a week where I was able to see him as he moved dens. Typically he’s in a cave where I can’t see him. He is 18 inches approximately.

Stock list are:
Clownfish x2, Yellow tang, Whitetail tang, Blonde naso tang, Desjardini tang, Royal gramma, Melanurus wrasse, Hippo Tang, Red Sea Regal Angel, Blue spot goby, Blue spotted puffer, Borbonius anthias, cleaner shrimp.

Corals I only have torch’s and hammers that would be my stinging corals. Nothing has been added to the tank since April.

Tough for me to get another photo as he’s back in his usual den where I can’t see him. Haven’t seen any aggression from fish.

From your fish list, the Regal would be the most "picky" followed by the toby puffer. I wouldn't expect any issues from the other fish. I'm thinking fish bites since the lesions are on the part of the eel facing out into the tank, plus they developed suddenly (as opposed to tumors that grow over time).

Jay