cant tell if peacock eel is eating

[hairy]

I got a peacock eel about a week ago and I can tell if he is eating. I tried tubix cubes, earth worms, and blood worms. Does anyone have one. Mine is only about 5 inches long.

[reefrunner69]

to AquariumAdvice.com!!

I'm not into FW, so I'll just move your post out of the lounge and into the FW forums, someone should be along that can help you out though

[William]

I had one, but he never ate and died of starvation.

I believe he was ill when I bought him from the LFS.


I believe peacocks eat just about anything that fits in their mouth. Feeders, Ghost Shrimp, ect ect.

[madasafish]

VERY tough to know if an eel is eating... I remember William's posting and I remember numerous others on the same subject. Some ended happily; some did not.

As most eels are nocturnal, it's impossible to tell whether how much they're eating, and, indeed, if they are at all. I agree emphatically with William's ghost shrimp idea. Live food avoids the problem of food rotting in the tank and going uneaten. Try to get the smaller shrimp. I'm alsmost certain you'll have no shrimp left in a few days.

*However* be very careful with shrimp. They, as much as any fish, can carry diseases into your tank. I'd advise quarantining the inverts in another tank for 2 weeks before feeding. This requires thinking ahead and stocking!!

Hope this helps!

[hairy]

Thanks, I went and got some shrimp today.

[screaminbuckeye]

I had the exact same problem. My little peacock is 3 inches long and was terribly shy when I first got him.

Took me a few days but here is what I do:
1. Get some frozen blood worms
2. Mine come in cubes so I chop up the cube into pieces about the size of a bb.
3. Find a nice pair of tweezers and rinse them off (no soap).
4. Grab one of the bb sized pieces of blood worm with the tweezers and put your arm into the tank (with tweezers).
5. Hold your arm in there and just wait for the eel to come out. In the beginning this might take a bit but the eel should get used to you pretty quick.

I've had my eel for almost a month now and it was pretty stressfull at first trying to get it to eat but eventually it all worked out. Now Mr. Magoo eats right out of my hand. Hope this helps. Eels are bottom dwellers so that is why using the tweezers works so well.

[hairy]

Is frozen blood worms the only thing that it would eat like that. How big is your eel now.

[ostrichkiller]

had one never could find him because he spent most of his time burrowing in the gravel till i went to bed and the lights went out. i knew he wasn't eating during the day so i would put some food in just as the lights went out and hoped for the best. didn't really work i guess. found him "resting" on the bottom about a month later. i really would like to get another but i'm waiting till i know what i am doing a loittle more. the blood worms are a good idea though. how long did you have to do that for b4 he started to eat for himself? thanks buckeye

[screaminbuckeye]

Well my eel is a bit picky. Frozen blood worms is all it will eat but I have convinced it to eat on my schedule (usually mid afternnoon). He's gotten less nocternal. He's about 4 inches long now and I still do the tweezer feedings. The worms float at the top so the tweezers are the best way to keep them on the bottom. He's not too shy now though, he comes about half way up the tank and I can feed him by hand now.

[iczed]

My roomate just got an American eel (I think, was not with him when he got it but it looks like one ;| ) and I too am going to buy some shrimp. How exactly would you quarantine a shrimp? Is it much different than fish? Forgive my ignorance, and any help is appreciated. I want to get this thing shrimp asap (he ate my little migdet frog, punk) so he must be hungry I guess.

[screaminbuckeye]

I don't know about quarenteen for shrimp. All the shrimp I have ever fed my animals were either sinking pellets or freeze dried krill (naughty treat for my cichlids). So far the only thing that seems to work for my eel are those blood worm cubes.