in light of reefrunners eel named teeth...

[saltyfishboy]

I was wondering if eels really grow teeth? Mine doesn't have any yet. I think I remember the ones at sea world in San Diego having them but i am not sure.

[reefrunner69]

I am not trying to be flippant when I say some do and some don't. Teeth are a product of evolution, if the eels evolved in a niche where teeth were unnecessary they would not waste the energy in growing them. The snowflake moray does have teeth, they are just very small, I have a blurry pic where they are barely visible, if you don't believe your eel has any, let him bite you

How about this one......

[fishfreek]

Not to change the subject but how are eels to keep?

Easy/Hard

Dont they risk eating fish and other inverts?

[reefrunner69]

IMO, eels ar a hardy easy to keep fish. Just make sure you have a secure lid, covering most of the tank. Next to octopi they are the best escape artists out there. They are predators and have a tendency to eat small fish or crustaceans, I, however, have never lost anything but a feeder fish to them. The eel I have now was purchased at the size that it is. I didn't buy it, I inherited it and the tank it was in from the person that did buy it. My pooint was it would eat nothing for about 3 weeks, then I offered it a crawfish. It would only eat crawfish for a very long time, then we moved up here and we have access to live S/W shrimp and he loves them. I feed him about once per month or every 6 weeks. I buy 50 of the live shrimp and put them in the tank (do not put decorative shrimp in their tank :P ) and when they are all gone I do it again. I buy 50, but since the people at the store can't count I end up with 75-150, depending on who caught them for me.

[saltyfishboy]

Thats a great pic! is that your eel? ... I think I will pass on dangling my finger near his face for now. Anyways...thanks for th info...btw... I stopped feed my eel goldfish and started on some squid...I cant get live shrimp but the dude at my LFS said that squid would be fine for him...what do you think?

[reefrunner69]

Hope you read this after I edit, hehe. The eel pictured in this thread is not my eel, it was one I found on a google images search, to demonstrate some have teeth. Squid will do just fine for your eel. Octopus and squid are one of an eels favorite dinners.

[Bang Guy]

Originally Posted by reefrunner69

They are predators and have a tendency to eat small fish or crustaceans, I, however, have never lost anything but a feeder fish to them.

Time for another boring story from Guy

about 15 years ago in a Tucson, AZ LFS the owner was showing me a beautiful new Lionfish he had just added to his predator tank. We went over to the tank, he pointed at the Lionfish (gorgeous!!), the Lionfish was spooked by the gesture and darted toward the rocks. His Green Moray came flying out of the rocks, clamped onto the Lionfish, and retreated back into his hole to finish swallowing the "gift"....

IMO, anything that can eat a 6" poisonous pincushion should be left in a species only tank...

[fishfreek]

Thats GREAT story.

I am sure the owner was a little pissed off at that point.

[saltyfishboy]

Wow....My eel once tried to bite my yellow tank...but he.she missed and the tang swam away. The eel did eat the dead snails in my tank though.

Reefrunner: I gave my eel some squid and he was all over it. Thanks for the help.

[reefrunner69]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy

Time for another boring story from Guy

LOL, anything but boring.

His Green Moray came flying out of the rocks, clamped onto the Lionfish, and retreated back into his hole to finish swallowing the "gift"....

Green Morays aren't they also referred to as Giant Morays? I have read that they will sometimes sneak up on lionfish and eat them while they are sleeping. If the spines are not erected they can not deliver poison, so the eel eats them head first.

IMO, anything that can eat a 6" poisonous pincushion should be left in a species only tank...

True enough.