Are Garden Eels reef safe?

[WayneL333]

The guys:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?ddid=10892&siteid=20

It would be cool to have a half a dozen in my tank.

 

[Ryanqk]

Require a very deep sandbed, not sure if they are reefsafe tho.

 

[SDguy]

Do a search of the threads in, I believe, this forum. A couple people have them (one in his sump). Evidentally they don't necessarily burrom straight down, so a 12" sand bed, for example, isn't necessary.

 

[emerald chondro]

id worry about them toppling rock structure though (just my guess i havent done any research or anything)

 

[FMarini]

They are reef safe, and eat floating plankton in the water- actually you have to feed by getting plankton like PE mysis into the water column. A deep sand bed is useful, but as mentioned not totally required, however you have to have some sand, not crushed coral. I had a few of them in a 4" deep sand bed, they burrow horizontally then. These eels are too thin to topple corals and they stay in their sand burrows 24/7, so they won't harm the reef- they prefer open regions instead

I will say they don't compete well for food, so you really have to get the food to them. Otherwise they're cool fish

 

[garvondavis14]

best bet is a species tank i'd say

 

[frantzml1982]

I'd say species tank as well. I would be worried about them eating small inverts and fish. As well as knocking over rock, if it's not properly placed.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Definitely for the species tank - they are shy and as mentioned before need the food to come to them - and likely via current as getting these timid fish used to something like a turkey baster might take time - You could have one or more in your main tank, but you'd have to still provide the special conditions & be careful of tankmates. Sufficient food must flow past them that doesn't get eaten first by tankmates.

They goes nuts over the smaller plankton like cyclopeeze and live artemia hatchlings

 

[garvondavis14]

plus it would just look cooler to have a tank full of just them

 

[SDguy]

I'm not sure people that are mentioning them eating fish and knocking over rocks really know what a garden eel is....

Check out these video clips.

http://www.oceanfootage.com/stockfo...CKIE=487b104197c11e386509e5cff56ef791183d4425

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8256057#post8256057 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SDguy
I'm not sure people that are mentioning them eating fish and knocking over rocks really know what a garden eel is....

Check out these video clips.

http://www.oceanfootage.com/stockfo...CKIE=487b104197c11e386509e5cff56ef791183d4425

Eating fish - no way
As far as their burrowing goes, it is not tunneling like jawfish or pistol shrimp.... I don't think it would be a threat to topple your rock structure.

If you provide them the proper environment they'll burrow away from the rocks anyway.

I bought one stupidly believing the wrong info given to me about them by the LFS - but he adapted to my tank the best he could and did fairly well until one night while he was probably looking for a more suitable home he got caught in the overflow which was packed full of aiptasia.... poor little guy.

BTW my tank has a 4-6 in sand bed which made adapting a little easier.

 

[WayneL333]

Thanks for all the info. Although I think it would look really cool in my tank, aftering reading everything, I'm going to hold off. I agree that a species tank would be the best captive environment for them.

 

[Angel*Fish]

As for sandbed depth - even though they will burrow horizontally to adjust to a shallower sandbed, this may be a bad idea for them. I read somewhere that when living in these conditions they are prone to scraping a part of their tail over and over, rubbing it raw and leading to infection.

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

Wayne,

good decission. I had 5 Gorgasia preclara in a species tank and even there they where so shy and difficult eaters that I lost hem all within a few month.