Eels....

[ctmedman]

This may seem like a stupid question but do you quarantine eels?

Thanks

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

I wouldn't worry about eels as they aren't susceptable to most parasitic infections as they are scaleless.

 

[nycfatcow]

wath kinda eel you getting

 

[ctmedman]

Dragon Moray....just kidding and I wish. :x I'm thinking about getting the snowflak eel. Any other ideas?

 

[melissfish]

i have a snowflake eel he is great, spends most of the day in his hole (make sure he has plenty of hiding places) and comes out and does a few laps every night before we feed him. He is very placid and isnt interested in my fish i have had him since last christmas and i have not lost a fish so i believe he doesnt like them. My blue tang actually teases him she plays dead in front of him when he comes out, lol. I like the zebra moray also, good luck.

 

[ctmedman]

Good to hear about your snowflake. Hopefully, you won't mind if I ask you some questions about him.

1. How often do you feed him?
2. What do you feed him?
3. How do you feed him (on a stick or by hand)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[StripesTheEel]

Howdy,

So you've decided to take the plunge.

Eels make an exciting tankmate to reef or FO tanks. I have both zebras and snowflakes and have kept these for many years.

1. How often do you feed him?
Eels can be fed 2-3 times a week. I feed mine every 2-3 days.
2. What do you feed him?
Raw shrimp, scallops, you can also feed silversides but not as regularly as these contain alot of fatty oils.
3. How do you feed him (on a stick or by hand)? I feed mine by hand but its a personal preference or depends on the personality of the eel also.

Before you take the dive..

1 What size tank do you have? Gallons and length
2 How much LR?
3 Do you have a skimmer?

These couple will help determine the species of eel you can house

The snowflake is a great eel to start with.

You dont need to quarantine as far as ailments such as ich etc are concerned due to their thick mucus membrane coating their body, but I'd still consider QTing for a week or 2 to monitor eating habitats and physical abnormalities if any. PVC pipe will ensure they feel safe during the QT period. Under no circumstance use copper.

Matt

 

[nycfatcow]

i got a snowflake too, i feed hime about 4 times a week, mostly on krill and raw shrimp. He comes out on his own and eats so i dont really use a stick anymore. Using the stick in the beggining mite help him get used to the enviroment and enitce him to eat. Look at other eels before you get a snowflake. I got my snowflake and now want a blue ribbon eel. It is so nice for people who know what it is. Bright blue body with 2 bright yellow stripes!!

 

[ctmedman]

Thanks for the help so far. It's great to have someone with experience giving the advice.

So I have a 72gal bowfront aquarium. It's 48 inches wide and has about 70lbs of live rock (30 in the sump and 40 in the tank). I've got an AquaC Urchin Pro skimmer (similar to the Remora Pro) and it's rated for tanks >90gallons.

What do you think are the possibilities for a tank this size? I've read that the eels can grow quite rapidly and can make a mess when it comes to excrement.

Cheers,
ctmedman

 

[Konrade]

That is plenty big imo. Don't flame me or anything but I have a sfe in my 29 with a cb and 2 damsels and my water is great. Everythign is healthy, even though he poops A LOT. Seriously they(poop) are like twice the size of rat turds. Make sure you have lots of lr. He has great personality and ate from my hand the third day that I got him. He awesome, but it will eat your inverts. MIne did.

 

[StripesTheEel]

ctmedman
What do you think are the possibilities for a tank this size? I've read that the eels can grow quite rapidly and can make a mess when it comes to excrement.

snowflakes would be a good choice to start with. they can grow quite fast, within a year my sfe grew from 11inches to 18inches. the skimmer will take care of the mess, and maybe 10-20lbs more of LR in the main wouldnt do any harm. SFE are known to be diggers so you will need to secure that rock pretty well. As far as inverts are concerned its a hit and miss. My eels have not touched one invert as far as snails, shrimp and hermits go, but others have had them all eaten.

Melissfish
I got my snowflake and now want a blue ribbon eel

Blue ribbon eels have poor survival rate in the aquarium. Im continually seeing specimens in LFS with fin rot and due their size are hard to feed, i'd stick away from them. IMO

Konrade
Don't flame me or anything but I have a sfe in my 29 with a cb and 2 damsels and my water is great

Not flaming you Konrade but when he grows you will need a min 50gal long.

When I started raising eels I was taught that you should provide the eel with a tank of the full adult grown length of the eel, even though they may spend 3/4 of the day curled up, you'd be surprised how active they are when your asleep.

HTH

 

[melissfish]

mine eats every night,i just drop the food in the tank and he comes out to get it, he went without food for 6 weeks a while back which had me pretty stressed, but he came good again after a full water change on the tank

 

[Jasonanatal]

I love my Snowflake Eel. I'm going to attempt to feed him by hand tonight but in my tank that is tricky since I have a Volitan Lionfish that I don't want to get stung by.

 

[Jasonanatal]

Well I fed him by hand. It was funny because he was hesitant at first but then poked his head from the rock and slowly came and took the food from my fingers. Just one question since mine is only about 4 inches when it gets bigger and needs to be qt'd if sick How do I get him out? Just grab him? Also how bad are their bites if they do bite?

 

[Hara]

try a net. you will never be able to hold on to an eel.

 

[Jasonanatal]

Sorry for my ignorance just had one of those I can catch a bass with my bare hand survival moments