Eel question

[Ghettopunch187]

I just bought a snowflake eel today, he is about 10" long, looks extremly healthy, and meaner than anything ive ever seen (bit the guy tryin to catch him at the store twice). Well the guy at the pet store said to feed him brine shrimp. However this does not seem likely to me. Should i start trying to feed him other things, or should i just see about the brine shrimp?

 

[reefrunner69]

First,

to AquariumAdvice.com!!

Well the guy at the pet store said to feed him brine shrimp.

Brine shrimp is way to small to interest the eel, brine shrimp is also not very nutritious for your fish

I would start with, squid, scallops and/or krill. Larger meatier foods that the eel is accustomed too

 

[Hara]

i will also point out that that is not the normal temperament for a snowflake eel. Maybe he was mishandled or just frightened from being caught. Hopefully he will settle down some.

 

[Ghettopunch187]

ok, when i got up this morning he was swimming from the bottom of the tank to the top, so i figured this might be his sign for feed me. I defrosted some of the brine shrimp i bought and put it into the tank. It looks like he might be grabbing up some pieces off of the floor. Should i turn off my powerheads when i feed him brine shrimp though? I hear they have horrible vision and i dont want my eel to starve just because he cant get to the food on time.

 

[steve-s]

ok, when i got up this morning he was swimming from the bottom of the tank to the top, so i figured this might be his sign for feed me. I defrosted some of the brine shrimp i bought and put it into the tank. It looks like he might be grabbing up some pieces off of the floor. Should i turn off my powerheads when i feed him brine shrimp though? I hear they have horrible vision and i dont want my eel to starve just because he cant get to the food on time.

You should not feed the eel brine shrimp. As reefrunner pointed out they will ignore it as the brine is to small to be of interest. If you keep attempting to feed with the brine it will just polute the tank.

Raw seafoods like squid, shrimp, scallops and other shell removed larger meaty items are best. Cut to a similar size as the eels mouth. You will need to puchase a feeding stick so the food can be placed effectively in front of the eel. It will not have a very good chance at finding it free floating.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Ghettopunch187]

eel

i bought some of the little shrimp that you use in salads and he at half of one, but wont eat anymore. Is he full, doesnt like them etc? And what is the best way about feeding him. Do i put it right in front of him or what?

 

[Hara]

my thoughts are that even a half of a little shrimp is more than what he is used to getting from the LFS. I would say a half a shrimp is probably equal to at least 30
brine. They do not have very good eyesight. We put it right in front of the nose.

Make sure you take out any uneaten foods.

 

[steve-s]

Re: eel

i bought some of the little shrimp that you use in salads and he at half of one, but wont eat anymore.

Is this cooked shrimp or raw?

The eel should only be fed raw seafoods, never cooked foods. It will not be able to properly digest them, not too mention being robbed of proper nitrition.

Cheers
Steve

 

[ZoozFishMaster]

i used to have a snowflake eel...he would readily accept peeled raw shrimp as well as smelt and crayfish....would also accept feeder goldfish but i would not recommend feeding the eel feeder goldfish.

 

[Ghettopunch187]

Well he readily accepts the shrimp now, and i am only going to feed him every other day. He has calmed down quite a bit and made himself a nice little cave under the one piece of LR i have (i have other rock in there, he just likes that piece of LR). While the eel is a very interesting fish, i want to get another fish to add to the tank. I currently have one of those black and white striped damsels (who just hides behind the power head) and of course my eel. What would be a nice, colorful addition to the tank? I would like a fish who does not spend all of his time hiding or only comes out when its feeding time. I also want him to be hardy and easy to feed. My girlfriend wants to get a valenti pufferfish? Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Hara]

a valentini sounds like a good choice, they are a very social fish and enjoy watching people.

 

[steve-s]

How big is the tank and what is the general set up?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Ghettopunch187]

Tank is 120 gal, 2 HOB filters, protein skimmer, 2 power heads, bottom is about 3" of cc.

 

[gooyferret]

Wow nice size tank bet it looks great! I wonder about the CC collecting alot of debris and excess food...Do you have a good clean up crew at all? Hermits, snails, crabs etc?

 

[Ghettopunch187]

no clean up crew, eel would eat um lol. I havnt had much of a problem with debris though. I try to remove any left over pieces of the shrimp i feed my eel, but the damsel in there usually gets to um first. The eel also roams the tank at night for food. The eel has associated lifting the lighting hoods with feeding time, he also comes out when he sees the skewer (sometimes i trick him to show friends). I will be adding a valenti saddleback puffer to the tank next wednesday. Could someone advise me to what these eat?

 

[steve-s]

no clean up crew, eel would eat um lol.

For the most part if you where to get smaller snails (nassarius, cerith, nerite) and possibley hermits, the eel would ignore them, too small. The only ones I ever had a problem with where large turbo snails and that was if I wasn't quick enough on the feedings.

I will be adding a valenti saddleback puffer to the tank next wednesday. Could someone advise me to what these eat?

These guys are basically carnivors much like the eel. They will benefit from a much more diversified and fortified diet however.

You might wish to try blender mush...

Cheers
Steve

 

[AggieMarine]

You don't have to peel the shrimp. You only have to do that with Muraena, Gymnothorax, and Enchelycore and a few others with long teeth. Gymnomuraena and Echidna eat crustaceans as their primary diet in the wild and have charply recurved nearly flat teeth as well as some teeth that resemble molars. I feed my Echidna rhodochilus live shrimp. That doesn't mean they won't eat fish, it just means they can handle the shell. When that E. nebulosa gets bigger, he'll eat your damsel too. I also hand feed my eels (not with my hand, with tongs, but you get the idea).

I'm new to this particular website, but I know quite a bit about the entire family Muraenidae. I'm actually a FishBase collaborator for the family.

 

[gymnothorax]

I feed my eels, freeze dried krill, they love. Its healthy for them and doesn't pollute the water like brine shrimp. Not to mention most fish love it. My 5 inch snowflake tears it up.