Please give ideas on tank set-up for an Eel..

[t11t5]

I have a 37g tank. I would like some ideas on the tank set-up to house an Eel. (Skimmer, sump or fuge, substrate, water movement, lighting, how much LR, etc.) I know my choices are limited but suggestions on an Eel would be great also.

[jasalmanza]

If your talking about a species tank, you can get what ever you want, remember, the more you feed, the more they grow...

I would personally go with a snowflake. I've had nothing but good luck woth them so far. Theyy do have a tendancy to make a mess of your tank, they are diggers. Make sure your rock work is supported. Speaking of rock work, I would suggest lots. They will hunt when hungry. Within a month, mine had devoured every hitchhiker I had (no complaints, wanted to get rid of the crabs anyhow).

One thing I saw that I thought was cool, was PVC in the substrate and rockwork, like a tunnel system. Probably a detritus trap, but I thought it was a great idea. Could even detur him from digging....

Hope this helps!

Jason

[Shagsbeard]

I'll second the "secure your rocks" comment. You can drill holes in the rock and place acrylic rods in them to secure them together. If I wanted to showcase an eel, I'd carefully consider rock placement. If you do it wrong, you'll rarely see the guy. If you make it too hard for him to hide, he'll get all stressed. You want caves, but you want caves you can look into.

I'd go for a smaller taller tank rather than a wide one. Viewable from at least three sides, or maybe even a cylinder or half pipe. I'd keep the other critters in the tank to a minimum, but also keep a tank of live feeder fish seperately. Keeping a preditor is only fun if you can watch it predate.

[Remicade]

i just got my snowflake eel too. he loves to nip at everything that swims by, but the fish just stare at him. i dont think you need a whole lot to have just for an eel. i would say like3 lbs of rock would suffice. i ben you would just need the basic stuff for lights and a skimmer. i would make him enough holes and crevices in the rock for him to move around. mine likes to work the whole rock, i got 70lbs.
i have CC in my tank and he doesnt try to go under it at all. so if you were to go with CC then he would hang on the rock more than to stay hidden in the sand.
also, i would make sure the top of your tank is secure, i hear they like to jump out.