eel compatibility

[demons]

I have a 55g tank with dwarf lion, banana wrasse, firefish, coral goby( they tell it has a protective slime that stops it being eaten), 1 cleaner shrimp........so far the shrimp attacks the lion...

i relise i may loose some of these to the lion over time...

i was wondering can you put an eel in this tank.....????
if so what type????
if so does an eel increase the bio lodge significantly???

sorry to ask so many questions........


thanks

[pitt_prodigy]

You could go with a snowflake or golden tail..... with a 55 you really have to stick to specied that stay around the 2' mark. Most eels create a good bit of waste as they are messy eaters... but with a good skimmer and filtration this shouldnt be a real problem. LR helps with the filtration as well if you have it.

There are also dwarf eel species that would work but your talking A LOT more money than for the cheaper more common SF eel. A dwarf banana eel could run as much as $299.

[demons]

thanks,

i have live rock and a skimmer..

will a snowflake eat the other fish???
and are they hard to keep???

[pitt_prodigy]

Snowflake eels are not supposed to eat fish... they prey on crabs, clams, mussels, grass shrimp, ghost shrimp etc. HOWEVER... every once and a great while you hear of someone on here saying that their snowflake ate one of their smaller fish.... so it has happened, but is very rare. The general rule with any moray is that "if i can fit in their mouth, it may one day be on the menu!"... but as i said before this is very rare. SF eels are not piscivours (fish eaters) by nature. But sometimes during feeding times they get a little nippy and can go after other fish if they get too close to their food. As far as actually getting eaten... the fish would have to be injured or close to death in order for the SF to catch it as they dont have the greatest eyesight.

As far as care, you would be very hard pressed to find a better eel as far as hardiness, especially if this is your first moray. They readily feed and are not very hard to train to eat from a feeding stick. They eat just about anything you feed them and often make the transition to frozen foods easily. AND they are very affordable due to their abundance in the trade. Usually can be picked up for around $20 depending on their size.

My advice is try to get one around the 8-10" mark (smaller than that can be difficult to feed). Get one that is feeding well at the store. Make sure you have holes and crevices in your LR that the eel can hide itself in completely (Like most morays they often prefer to hide their body in tight spaces with only their head poking out). Purchase a cheap wooden dowel rod at the hardware store for like $.30 and sharpen the end in a pencil sharpener.... then blunt the tip so its NOT sharp but more blunt.... you've just made yourself the worlds cheapest feeding stick! Train you moray to feed off it and you will not have problems with it showing agression toward your fish.... eventually it will be condition to know that the stick = food! My zebra picked up on this within a week. Other than that.... enjoy... their great specimens. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions. Good luck.
-pitt

[redboxer13]

Just tagging along, Thanks for the information pitt!!!

[kraze3]

Eels have horrible eyesight so of a smaller fish is swimming by and he thinks its dinner time then bye bye fishy. Ive had a snowflake for a lil over a year now, he did eat a smaller fish i had but hasnt bothered anything else
Heres a link for you to check out
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/fm/index.php

[pitt_prodigy]

redboxer13... demons.... no prob guys. Hope it helped... enjoy your eels.