Since these toxins are related to glands in the skin of the eel, they are also called crinotoxins. Another toxin found in the mucous coat of moray eel was shown to be haemolytic, meaning the toxin destroys red blood cells. This is a glycoprotein that causes red blood cells to clump. One of these substances is hemagglutinin. And truly, the mucous of moray eels was analyzed, and not just one, but several toxic substances were found. It was suggested that bleeding and pain are related to a toxin in the slime coat of the skin and the mucous of the mouth. In addition to the pain, wounds from moray bites usually bleed heavily. Such infections can likely occur if wounds are not treated properly, but will need several hours to spread. Secondary infections also fail to explain strong pain immediately after a moray bite. This hardly can be explained by a “pulling back effect,” which means that one automatically pulls back a bitten limb and thus increases the wound by driving the moray eel’s teeth through the flesh forcefully. Studies as well as personal reports confirm that the bite of a moray eel can be much more painful than the bite of other predatory fishes of similar size. Comparing these statements to scientific literature, both have to be considered inaccurate. One of them is the Mediterranean moray Muraena helena.” English sources often state that moray eels are not poisonous. Among all moray eels five species even can give a deadly bite. Searching German books and online sources, one often stumbles upon the following statements, translated here. Most interestingly there is also a divergence with regard to the language these books were written in. There is quite a divergence in published books for hobbyists with regard to the toxicity of moray eels. Accordingly, after the “wound” was treated, I searched literature for information on moray toxins and bites and, aside from my own little experience, I came across several reports of hobbyists, as well as scientific and toxicological studies on substances from morays. Well, things have changed since then, and I had an unfortunate meeting with the teeth of one of my morays. In the last moray-related article I wrote I could not give any information based on personal experience with regards to moray bites. Not only will they grab our attention, but sometimes if given the possibility they will also grab our fingers, hands, and arms! Most specimens usually hide their long bodies in narrow gaps and holes all day, but when they leave their hiding spots for food or explorative purposes they are definitely eye-catchers. Without a doubt moray eels are among the fish you’d call oddballs if they were from fresh water. Moray eels have been known to snap at their keepers, so learning about the prevention and treatment of their bites is essential for those who want to safely house these creatures in the home aquarium.
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