Snowflake Eel in My Reef!

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Big Tex

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jun 1, 2013
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Mcallen, Tx
so yesterday i went down to my lrs to browse the new fish in stock mainly for my diamond goby and midas blenny and of course it was backordered so i browsed around some more and spotted this juvenile snowflake eel, and i just watched him for a while and i liked his style, he just looked like an active cool fish with a cool attitude, i got to feed him some krill and half a silverside and that was it, i had to thave him!

so when i got home, i let him float for 30min and drip acclimated him for about another 30min on a medium drip, let him slip in the tank and hes so active! in and out of all the rocks exploring and poking his head out of every nook and cranny he could, now that hes in, did i make a good choice in getting en eel for a reef?

the smallest fish i have is my six-line which is almost an adult size and my caramel clowns, but other than that i plan to have bigger fish like tangs and angels in my tank so im not to worried about the others.

what do you guys think? :fish2:
 
Keep it well fed and you should be ok. They're more crustacivores than piscivores. Any inverts you have will be snacks but fish should do fine
 
dam that sucks, i have 2 skunk cleaners, 2 pepermints, and 2 coral banded shirmp in my tank!
 
Lol yeah eventually they may become lunch unless the eel learns that they will clean him.
 
Think it varies from eel to eel, they will eat crustaceans no doubt but usually ok with fish. If it does eat one fish though be ware as I've heard of them getting a taste for it and demolishing everything in a tank. Hope if all goes well for you though very cool fish
 
Think it varies from eel to eel, they will eat crustaceans no doubt but usually ok with fish. If it does eat one fish though be ware as I've heard of them getting a taste for it and demolishing everything in a tank. Hope if all goes well for you though very cool fish

should i keep it fed with clams and raw shrimp then? i was planning on keeping it from tasting fish completely,
 
I've had a snowflake eel before and he never ate one of my fish. But every eel is different. It did feed him very well. That being said eels are almost blind and he mistook my fish several times for a snack while feeding him. He bit them regularly but they always recovered. They do have some battle scars. A friend of mine has a yellow head eel but that's a different story. He actually hunts the fish.
 
I should also mention my eel dug allot of holes and the strength of his body while slithering thru the rocks caused many rocks to tumble or collapse. Forget a permanent aqua scape with these guy in your tank.
 
thats exactly what he did, dug a deep hole under my main rock and it slipped a few inches.
 
I think he will be ok with anyone that will not fit in his mouth. His mouth will get big pretty quick.

I would feed him with a stick to try to prevent a frenzy . I had a snowflake and puffer that would battle when eating. Eel wrapping around the puffer and puffer puffing up. "Nice " fish would be in trouble with an agitated hungry eel

It would be awesome if the cleaners cleaned him when he is big.

Every opening must be covered and locked or weighted or he will get out

I want one for my tank too but I know I'm asking for trouble post pics and keep us updated
 
I think he will be ok with anyone that will not fit in his mouth. His mouth will get big pretty quick.

I would feed him with a stick to try to prevent a frenzy . I had a snowflake and puffer that would battle when eating. Eel wrapping around the puffer and puffer puffing up. "Nice " fish would be in trouble with an agitated hungry eel

It would be awesome if the cleaners cleaned him when he is big.

Every opening must be covered and locked or weighted or he will get out

I want one for my tank too but I know I'm asking for trouble post pics and keep us updated

Ill be building a completely enclosed canopy this weekend so he cant get out, and I just bought one of those eheim grabber tools because I just read quite a few write-ups on their nasty bite, not fun. I plan to keep him on fresh muscles from the seafood deli and jumbo gulf shrimp as well as freeze dried frozen krill.
 
Ill be building a completely enclosed canopy this weekend so he cant get out, and I just bought one of those eheim grabber tools because I just read quite a few write-ups on their nasty bite, not fun. I plan to keep him on fresh muscles from the seafood deli and jumbo gulf shrimp as well as freeze dried frozen krill.

Come on if your gonna own an eel I feel like you have to get bit by it once lol :p
 
Sounds like a good plan if he will take mussels

Post photos when you can
 
As he gets bigger, he will eat your fish, and they grow fast. Your cuc will be just an appetizer. They are also hard to keep in the tank. They can get out thru a pencil size hole. Good luck with it, they are beautiful.
 
I was looking at some eels in reef on YouTube. Common theme larger fish larger snails and larger hermits.

There were a couple with cleaner shrimp in the video and even one with a coral banded shrimp

I've been planning an eel for a long time and have most of my rock drilled and on a PVC frame. I was thinking about running PVC tunnels under the rock as a premade home to maybe cut down on the digging
 
As he gets bigger, he will eat your fish, and they grow fast. Your cuc will be just an appetizer. They are also hard to keep in the tank. They can get out thru a pencil size hole. Good luck with it, they are beautiful.

Hopefully not, im gonna keep him well fed and on days when I dont feed my fish, which is mon, wed, fri, so maybe tues, and sat, im not sure yet im still trying to gauge when he's ready to eat.

Sounds like a good plan if he will take mussels

Post photos when you can

I will, I heard muscles are a great food for em, strong scent and meaty. I sure will post pics bud.

Come on if your gonna own an eel I feel like you have to get bit by it once lol :p

I never plan to but I do wanna get nipped so I know what to expect lol I was rearranging some rocks around his burrow yesterday and I was scared for my finger tips lol

I was looking at some eels in reef on YouTube. Common theme larger fish larger snails and larger hermits.

There were a couple with cleaner shrimp in the video and even one with a coral banded shrimp

I've been planning an eel for a long time and have most of my rock drilled and on a PVC frame. I was thinking about running PVC tunnels under the rock as a premade home to maybe cut down on the digging

Sounds like a better plan then mine, I should've put in some pipes but this was a spur of the moment thing so oh well, he's stopped the digging already, and I plan to keep a larger fish trend as well.
 
Post photos when you have a chance

I haven't been able to get good pics he's too fast but I did feed him feeder guppies, oh god he went crazy for them, I tried to get the smallest ones I could maybe 1/2" at the most and at 15/$1 I couldn't beat the value. I know I want to never let him taste fish but I was at my lrs today and asked what they fed and they said he would spit out krill but loved silver sides but I didn't want him getting used to taking down a 2"-3" fish so feeders is what they started him on and that's what im gonna keep him on.

I almost had to brush it against his nose to get him to bite but once he knew that the flickering silver of a tail snagged guppy meant food he ate all 4 I fed him. Hes been in his caves he dug since the day I got him but today he was cruising around the tank so I figured he was comfortable in the tank and was getting hungry. I wont feed him again until I see him cruising around again and sense his digestive trend.

Overall im very happy with my choice guys he's a great addition to my reef and would recommend one to anyone thats thinking about getting one. Hes still a juvenile and thats what I recommend, a less then 12" to start em on a food and get him to only eat what I feed him and nothing else in the tank.
 
I'd be cautious feeding him guppys I don't know if it's the same with eels but freshwater feeder fish aren't good for lions because of low nutrition and can damage the liver
 
I would be more concerned with keeping his hunting instinct locked up inside. If he eats live fish all live fish will be food.

That said it is fun to watch the behavior

I would try cutting up the silversides for him
 
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