In need of a eel expert.

[Scuba Dan]

I have a 150gal tank with only a 2.5-3' long Snowflake eel. (Echidna nebulosa) My question is, can I also keep a Honeycomb eel (Gymnothorax favagineus) in my tank? The Honeycomb eel is about 2-2.5' long. I get mixed feelings about keeping the 2 eels together from the LFS. I have about 600+lbs of rock, so there is PLENTY of hiding places for the 2 eels.
Thanks.....

[syndrome]

short answer is no. the tesselata eel gets 6 ft long.
do you have any pics of your tank? i want to see what 600 lbs looks like

[Scuba Dan]

Thanks for the reply. I really have 560 lbs of rock in the tank. 95% is dry base rock. I would post a pic, but not sure how to on this site. I'll see what I can do, if anything I'll post a pic in my gallery when I get the chance. Again, thanks for the reply....

[DragonMorayEels]

seeing that your the sfe, why not look into getting yourself a Zebra moray?

[Scuba Dan]

DragonMorayEels, Would a Zebra moray be safe to put with my Snowflake eel?

[DragonMorayEels]

In this question there be many who could tell you the same as myself that you couldn't be any safer

[hrdneglcry]

What can be kept with a Honeycomb Eel? All kinds of stuff has been said about these. Some of the things said were that this Eel gets too big for the home aquarium. Other things said were that this Eel could be housed in a 180 gallon tank.
After reading some posts on this eel it seems to me that the only fish that I currently own that I could keep with the Honeycomb eel would my my 10" Grouper.
I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but I am interested in learning as much as I can from you guys.

[DragonMorayEels]

hrdneglcry, I think that you readied me saying so many times that the Tesselata moray is not the true honeycomb moray that the species which is, is the Muraena melanotis species.

As well, you know well enough that there be a number of people with the Tess Moray in a 180 or less for a good long while now at another site, one has a tess in a 90 with no plans of a larger tank.
Just as I said, A Tess and green moray in the same tank, will never work for too long for all of what I know of these animals, they should be left in the oceans if one cannot give these creatures the life style in captivity as they so deserve for they surly require a huge tank with a strong well built lair with lots of open space to move around, "LOTS"

Just to keep one of these creatures in a tank and say that person understands this animal is a mistake for if you really understood of this creature, you done something much different.

As for tank mates with the Tess moray and I guess your talking about in a 180, the tank inhabitants with this eel is, Zero. But I'm sure however that you will still do what you want for your an idea to do this and nothing else would please you more now then to hear somebody here too agree with you on that you can do this.

That agreement however will never be from myself for let me ask you something if you not mind I do? Have you ever went diving and came face to face with an adult Tess moray?

You would however then understood much of what I'm saying if you had

It is why I tell you this that people with small tanks in the long term of this eels life will not work and this eel not just live 10 or 20 years, and all I can surly tell you on that is that the tess moray will live longer then 50 years and if that be 60 or 80, I couldn't tell you that.

And as well, they take years to grow to their normal maximum growth size, not just 5 or even necessarily more then ten years. So you can however manage a long time in a 180, but still it is a species that needs huge open space to roam around and not be cage up in too small a box.

Understand, I'm not angry or anything here, I'm just sharing with you some facts for as well, not too long ago I viewed a video of some guys swimming and they had on diving mask and when they seen this large eel which I'm not sure if it was a tess or not, but for the most part, they were seriously afraid of the eel for in the microphone sounds, they were panicking to get away to were as if I was there, I would had dived down to introduce myself to the eel.

In my diving years, I came across all three of these moray eels, the Giant, Green and the Tess moray and it was the tess moray that I enjoyed the most contact with.

I just cannot express it enough of the joy its giving me

Buddy ><{{{{">

[FMarini]

I agree w/ Buddy-
unless you have 1000s of gallons, tankmates for Tessys are zero. Eventually every aggressive fish will become food. Its not that the eels will swallow a 10" grouper, its that the grouper will die from wounds infected by an eel attack. I've seen too many big fish taken down and mamed by green morays and tessys.
AS for keeping another ell w/ you SFE, Zebras are a great choice. You can read about keeping fish safe eels here
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/fm/index.php

[DragonMorayEels]

FMarini, I couldn't said it better, but in all honesty, if I were to want to house a Tess moray, it be not smaller then a 2500 gal system and larger yet be far better. The people today housing this eel have no true understanding on this species other then it fits in there tanks and nothing more then that, for one I see feeds his tess tilapia and the only tilapia the stores get in are all farm raised I not even believe he would buy the eel a $20 fresh fish, it only goes that many will buy whatever is cheap for them.

I said this many times, I only buy my foods for my eels fresh from a fresh fish market and freeze them myself as well I never buy farm raised. And not misunderstand me that even in buying the fresh shrimp that comes in that same day, that I still have waste out of it that I refuse to give to my eels for if I'm not happy with it myself, the eels not will see it.

One other thing I left out which I mentioned from time to time is that a Tess moray has the ability to bite in half any fish that it can if it so wanted too as long that its jaws could manage/allow. It as well not mean that it cannot still take a huge bite out of the fish. I saw too many things happening in this as well were told of other people stories.

Buddy

[hrdneglcry]

Why do you think that I have ??readied?? so many of your posts about Eels in particular Tesselata Eels, or true Honeycomb Eels? I have not, and I want that made clear, and it should be apparent by the following questions? How can Tesselata eel be distiguished from the True Honeycomb eel? Are True Honeycomb Eels fit for the home aquarium?
I also take exception to you telling me that I am going to do what I want as if I do not care for my fish.
I will tell you now that if your statement of "You're going to do what you want." were ture I would already own a Nurse Shark, and I would not be asking for help, and tips about it.
Obviously I do not know the specifics of the Tesselate Eel. Obviuosly I am trying to learn the proper facts for the animal.
And I declare this now. I have already begun searching for a 700 gallon tank, so if your "you are going to do what you want anway." applies to me buying a 700 gallon tank for the Eel then you would have made a true statement.
I do thank you for you tips. You are well informed. I did not know the things that you said here in this post to me, and now I do know them. Thank you again for your advice. Please do not hesitate to jump in on any of my posts that you feel free to help in.
It's been said that some divers had reported hand feeding Tesselate Eels, but that it is not recomended.
Thanks again, but wouldn't I have to be stupid to put a Tess Eel in with any other fish after what was just said in this post?
Yes.

[hrdneglcry]

It's been said that releasing captive marine fish into the wild is unsucessful. It was said that they cannot handle the marine water from the home aquarium. Why is that?

[DragonMorayEels]

Sorry, it took me a while to type this

hrdneglcry, there is a huge difference from the tess to the true honeycomb moray for as the average max size of the Tess be at 9' and I heard of uncomfirm reports of 10' and being that those are unconfirmed, I wouldnt tell you it will grow to 10'

Also note that if you do are the best for any eel species, it will however grow to its maxium growth size and when i said that you readied much before on what I said of this eel, it applies for any eel for if your a person who be interested in eels, you will read up what others have to say. For as the true honeycomb moray grows just under 3.5'

In you saying "I also take exception to you telling me that I am going to do what I wantas if I do not care for my fish", it not applies to you for if you readied what I was saying that most people think that their doing all the best in which I cannot say all are, only from what those had posted in what their feeding this eel for the person feeding his tess the farm raised fish in not as far as I know here in RC.

When I said of the thing when saying that you will do what you want is because many or most who I tell that the plan they in mind wouldnt work and that most only wanted to hear that it would, so please do not take that personal, OK

I like too think im well enough inform with the many eel species, for through more then some 50 plus years in keeping a number of different eel species at any one time, seven being the largest number of eels I kept at any period and I not know if you seen what I said before that I had kept a number of eels at any one time being some seven at the most and that depending on the species to what if I kept it few years or as long as seven years for the thought in that was if I could manage owning every eel species in my life time.

But also do note that even I can be wrong about something Even of the Tess I speak of

If you any specific questions and that you not mind what I've too say on it, I would be happy to whatever it is I can share with you and if I cannot, I would tell you it.

As far as hand feeding the Tess out in the wild, is one thing, I wouldn't do this in a home aquarium, not unless you own a huge city aquarium tank system and that you are in the tank as well.

Buddy

[hrdneglcry]

Thanks. How can the True Honeycomb be told apart from the Tess Eel? In other words what are the distinguishable color, and markings between the two?
Also, it's been said to feed some of the captive Eel's only a few times per week. After successfully keeping Cichlids for 15 years I know that feeding less is better.
My Snowflake Eel comes out at every feeding (I feed the Triggers, his tankmates, 3x per day), and I try to get get some food down to him. It's been said that Snowflake Eels grow extremely slow, so that is another reason why I feed him so much.
All of the food gets eaten by the fish, Eel, or Huge, and little Hermit Crabs.
I know that more food means more waste production which is taxing on the biological filtration system.
But my 18" Eel I feed at least 3X per day. I love to watch him eat!
I may need to stop doing this for reasons of water polution, and I do not need this Eel to grow fast.
But I'd like to know what kind of eel I really have, so I'd like to know the difference betwen the Honeycomb, and Tess Eel. I need a more notable difference than adult size because that will be a long time from now.

[DragonMorayEels]

As I told you in a PM in return of the one you sent me, you can tell the difference from the two for as feeding, when you have fish mix in with your eel(s) it be difficult to feed less at times but just the same, in all my years I never witnessed any eel feeding when its not hungry, you know, like a lionfish.

As you must know by this time, my eels are by themselves in their tanks and is why I can control the over feeding part much better then you can when mixing with other fish.

For yes, adding more and more food into your tank means more waste production and there you have to do the water changes as I do that I really not have too do a weekly water change, but I do anyway.

You feed the eel for now twice a week and until it refuses any further feedings and not look to feed again until the third or fourth day, but not everyday and three square meals a day at that. If you want to give someone three square meals a day, I would move into your house

Buddy

[hrdneglcry]

Move into my own house? I too do once a week water changes.