Moray Eel Suggestions

[offshore]

Good morning everyone...

Yesterday we set up our first Salt Water tank. It's a 55 gallon glass tank with a penguin 350 filter and LED lighting.

Right now we have about 60 pounds of sand, 30lb of live rock, and about 50 lbs of other rock in the aquarium.

We are going to let the tank run for a few weeks to make sure everything is nice and good before adding any fish. We might add a few pieces of coral and some crabs/shrimp before getting into fish.

I would really like to put a Moray in the tank, of course I'll make sure all the escape routes are closed off

Main question is what Moray's am I limited to with a 55 gallon tank? I would love a green, but know they get WAY too huge.

I've seen conflicting reports on Zebras, saying they will work in a 55 gallon tank, and others saying they are way too big, needing 150+.

Do they stall pretty small in captivity, or will it just become a mammoth at the bottom of the tank?

I've really only seen the other choice as being a snowflake... I'm not really super excited about the snowflake, and was wondering if the Zebra would not work, what other options we have?

Future plans will probably include adding a few pieces of coral, a few clown fish, maybe a fire angel, etc...

I'd love to hear your suggestions and thoughts

P.S. Could anyone recommend a good protein skimmer and heater? I'm not crazy about the 200watt Marineland heater I got, and think we'll really need a protein skimmer down the line.

Thanks

 

[MikeyD]

Check liveaquaria.com. They have a few different species of eels. They ship to your door with a 14 day guarantee. Being a beginner I wouldn't start off with an eel for a few months get it established get sone fish, do your research and then think about an eel. By the way alot of eels are not reef compatible so u may want to think about that too.

 

[ilostnemo]

i would also look into upgrading your filtration if you want a eel

 

[offshore]

mikeyd - yeah really trying to look into it, but seems like most sites list a max of 8 eels... just seeing if I'm missing something

ilostnemo - What type of filtration should I look into?

 

[MikeyD]

I would recommend a canister filter. Fluval is what I have. I have a 40 gallon fowlr tank and have a fluval 305 running it. Its for a 70 gallon tank. Keeps my tank nice and clear. I have only lost one fish in the 3 months it's been running. I dissected the fish and found out that it choked on a pellet. But I would say a canister filter or a sump filter system

 

[ilostnemo]

id recccomend sump or even a refuge.

 

[crister13]

Sorry to say but I had a snowflake and I wouldnt put one in a 55. I would say min75. Zebras need 125+tanks.