Fire eel question?

[zao]

Hey People!
I bought this fire eel about a month ago. He is the coolest thing in the word! But he will only eat live ghost shrimp. I can't get him to eat other things. Cause where I live, there is times where the only two pet stores in town wont get ghost shrimp in for like two to three days. Yes I know I live in a small town. The guy at the pet store he could love frozen blood worms and brian shrimp. So far I could not get him to eat any of those, when he is out of ghost shrimp. So if I could get someones help that would be great!

Thanks

 

[Hypostomus]

Are you using a turkey baster or a set of tongs to get the blood worms and shrimp right in front of the eel? Sometimes it needs to be wiggling around a bit to get their attention. You should also try minced earthworm.

 

[BrianNY]

Hiya zao. Very often fish like yours have to be tempted to eat. Truth is they've got very small brains and don't always recognize food. You can try some boiled shrimp or shrimp pellets. No harm in letting the fire eel go hungry for a few days. By then it should eat most anything you offer.

 

[madasafish]

These are the best routes to follow in that you won't need to go to the store to feed the eel. So, definitely this is the way to go.

But... have you thought about starting a 5 gallon tank with some java moss and a few ghost shrimp? They don't fit into the 1" per gallon rule, and can be stocked quite densely, so I imagine you could get 15 or 20 in there comfortably (if you put in some gravel and filter media from the other tank to cycle it). I have about 30 in a 10 gallon with tons of java moss. This'd be an easy way to stockpile the shrimp and have a back-up food source for the eel.

 

[zao]

Yes I did think about that. setting up a smaller tank, and breeding the ghost shrip. But I really didn't know what to do. I just readed that you stick alot of plant life in there, and they just start breeding. I didn't see anything about the java moss. I don't even know where I could get that. I tried that turkey baster thing, with blood worms, and just all he did was take off like a bat out of hell, from under in cave. I have not tried the earthworms yet. I know the guy at the pet store feeds his tiretrack eel them. He just sticks like 3 or 4 in the gravel. maybe I should try that. But on the ghost shrimp and breeding them. is there anything special you have to do?

 

[Blazeherd2306]

I fed mine shrimp pellets and live ghost shrimp.

 

[patryuji]

The java moss is good for breeding because its mass usually is great at harboring all types of "little" life.

My java moss has grown enough such that if you like I could send you a baseball size mass of mine for shipping costs (priority usps would probably be about $5 or less).

 

[zao]

Well, I am all out of ideas!! He will not eat anything, I try and give him. Cut up earthworms, frozen brine shrimp.....He kind of ate an earthworm. just like nibbled on it, then left it alone. Once again they are all out of ghost shrimp at the store..He has not eatten anything in like three days now. So I hope that they got some ghost shrimp in tomarrow. But I will keep trying..maybe he will get hungry enough to eat something.