Garden Eels by dingusplease

[dingusplease]

So I picked up a 120 long with stand, return pump, 20g sump, plumbing, and sand a few weeks ago for $100. After about a month of thinking and researching, I finally decided that this tank will be for...

Garden Eels!

I'll be updating this thread a ton today, and I'll have the current supply list along with explanations here by the end of the day.

I am aware of the extreme difficulty of caring for them, and am preparing for it in lots of ways. Im also consulting a professional diver/collector, the Shedd aquarium in Chicago, and a marine biologist in the Bahamas.


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[ImACoolguy]

This tank will be so cool if you go through with this!


Caleb

 

[dingusplease]

Thanks I'm pretty serious about it at this point found out about lots of the obstacles, but I'm already talking to the public aquarium about a captive breeding program I might be able to source some juvenile eels from.


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[BigRedsReefs10]

Good luck dingus, this should be a nice challenge. I'll be following


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[mr_X]

How deep of a sand bed were you thinking? What size grains?

 

[dingusplease]

Good luck dingus, this should be a nice challenge. I'll be following


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Thanks red, looking to create one of the first "success stories" with this species lol


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[dingusplease]

How deep of a sand bed were you thinking? What size grains?

Twelve inches. 0.2-0.25mm silica sand, top two inches 0.5-0.8mm aragonite. Based on the endemic H. hassi range in the indo- pacific. Appreciate any input, X


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[dingusplease]

I already have the three grains of sand I'll be using, and all of it I'll need. If it turns out I need more, I won't hesitate, and will definitely assess the sand dispersal once mixed in the tank, with water and flow.


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[dingusplease]

To add on to the sand question, I'll be designing a custom "flow plan" for the tank, to circulate the various foods I'll be feeding the eels. I basically want to create a stable flow pattern, that changes slightly throughout the day, and will consistently bring suspended particles past the eel bed.


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[mr_X]

So, there's only going to be about 12 inches left after the sand. Will you have any other fish besides the eels?

 

[dingusplease]

Yep, it'd be 14 inches (tank is 60*18*26). What's your opinion on 10" at the front, and 12-13" at the back? I did some research on how to do it, with larger stones at the back.

And keeping only a matted filefish with them. It's currently an inch long, so should get along with the eels as they acclimate.


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[54seaweed]

I'd have nightmares thinking if they get out ,

 

[mr_X]

My opinion is that it's not much swimming room, but a file should be fine. Will you sit the rocks on the bottom and then add the sand? Might be a good idea since they will burrow deeply and there will be a risk of settling.
Since it's so shallow you'll probably take to hand feeding them if they let you. It will probably be more rewarding and cleaner for the tank than broadcast feeding in the flow.

 

[dingusplease]

I'd have nightmares thinking if they get out ,

Same here lol. I'll be building a tight fitting screen lid based on this:
http://reefbuilders.com/2015/05/07/aquarium-screen-top-diy/


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[dingusplease]

My opinion is that it's not much swimming room, but a file should be fine. Will you sit the rocks on the bottom and then add the sand? Might be a good idea since they will burrow deeply and there will be a risk of settling.
Since it's so shallow you'll probably take to hand feeding them if they let you. It will probably be more rewarding and cleaner for the tank than broadcast feeding in the flow.

Yeah, all the rock on the bottom, in the back. Most of the rock will be in the sump anyway.
Everything I've read says broadcast feeding is the way to go since they're so shy, but maybe they'll get used to me and let me handfeed . Good point about water quality - my thinking is to use an auto feeder with tiny amounts of food 8 times a day, with one frozen feeding daily. Maybe that'll help with pollution?
Also thinking about doing three or four mangrove shoots in the back, to deter the eels from trying to burrow into rocks, and to mimic the sand denitrification effect of mangroves. I thought it would be cool because mangroves might help with DSB toxicity.


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[mr_X]

I have never imported these for anyone and have no hands on experience with them, but I imagine them to be like snowflakes or even jawfish in that they will get used to you over time. What kind of food will you be able to put in an auto feeder? Dry, pellet or flake? I would be more worried about them accepting prepared foods than not getting used to who or what is feeding them.

 

[dingusplease]

I have never imported these for anyone and have no hands on experience with them, but I imagine them to be like snowflakes or even jawfish in that they will get used to you over time. What kind of food will you be able to put in an auto feeder? Dry, pellet or flake? I would be more worried about them accepting prepared foods than not getting used to who or what is feeding them.

Im contacting some people at the shedd (they have a bunch of these guys), and I'll ask about hand feeding.
The big thing is their natural feeding pattern of not leaving their burrow for food means that hand feeding them close enough to the burrows (8 times a day) would be nearly impossible. They literally need the food to go by them in the current, and even large piece of food will scare them back into the holes. Maybe they'd acclimate to me, I'm not sure.
Dry food, spectrum pellets probably. They can take a while to start eating, but after a while will pretty much eat anything lol.


H. hassi

 

[dingusplease]

I finished reinforcing the stand today, since it needed some crossbars on the ends. I'm sanding and painting it this weekend, and I'll post some pics of the tank .

 

[dingusplease]

Sorry haven't posted any pics; photobucket account is locked out for some reason. I'll post them when that's worked out.

Otherwise, things are moving forward lol. I ordered a 3200gph powerhead from ebay - we'll see how it works.
ALSO, this is officially also a breeding project. I've been researching anguilliform (eel) reproduction, and it seems eel breeding is a pretty hot topic. From talking with the aquarium, a garden eel breeding project would be very well received. I found out some very interesting info about the topic - a professional aquarist I spoke with said that hobbyists apparently make more breakthroughs in animal husbandry than public organizations. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. And eel breeding is already coming along, so I shouldn't have any shortage of resources. I'll be talking with these guys some more, but what the more pressing thing for me is getting your guys' opinion on all of this. Anyone have any ideas about a breeding project?
If anyone has experience with DIY spawn collectors, I'm looking for info on that.
And thanks to seaweed for linking me to a great live food source. It's coming along guys

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Sorry haven't posted any pics; photobucket account is locked out for some reason. I'll post them when that's worked out.

Otherwise, things are moving forward lol. I ordered a 3200gph powerhead from ebay - we'll see how it works.
ALSO, this is officially also a breeding project. I've been researching anguilliform (eel) reproduction, and it seems eel breeding is a pretty hot topic. From talking with the aquarium, a garden eel breeding project would be very well received. I found out some very interesting info about the topic - a professional aquarist I spoke with said that hobbyists apparently make more breakthroughs in animal husbandry than public organizations. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. And eel breeding is already coming along, so I shouldn't have any shortage of resources. I'll be talking with these guys some more, but what the more pressing thing for me is getting your guys' opinion on all of this. Anyone have any ideas about a breeding project?
If anyone has experience with DIY spawn collectors, I'm looking for info on that.
And thanks to seaweed for linking me to a great live food source. It's coming along guys

Excited to see this coming along. Always happy to see a conservation minded aquarist!