ARGH!!! I think my SNE ate my Purple Firefish.

[kjmst29]

So two days ago I bought three fish, one of which was a purple firefish. Today I cannot find him, and checked all around the tank. I don't think he jumped. My SNE is about 14 inches long. I had just fed him three large helpings of squid the day I bought the fish. He generally eats only once per week. All signs point to a steak dinner for "Mr. Slimy" as my wife and son call him. What are the chances my eel DIDN'T eat him?

 

[sean48183]

Pretty good! I don't think your eel could catch a firefish. they are the fastest fish I have ever seen. I am sure that he was really freaked out with an eel in the tank and probably will never come out again. Super shy fish.

 

[andynyc]

Well I know SFE's eat silversides every now and then... and a Purple Firefish kind of resembles a silverside...

Seriously, I was under the assumption that SFE's would only chase crabs and invert's moreso than fish. I don't know about the Purple Firefish being particularly fast (the normal Firefish Goby is pretty quick though). I had both and I can say hands down that the Purple Firefish is by far more calmer than the regular Firefish.

I'm getting side tracked here... anything is possible with eels. However it is rather unlikely that a SFE would eat a firefish to begin with. And you said you fed him three large helpings of squid? I doubt he'd be hungry after that (especially since he only eats once a week anyway).

Keep checking I'm sure the firefish is still in there. Be positive though; the other day I found a fish I thought died three months ago in my tank still alive and kicking! But unfortunately I found him being eaten by my emerald crab a couple mornings later.

 

[Patchy]

firefish is a thin torpedo type fish. this kind of fish are the worst to try and keep with SFE. they arent typically fish eaters but they will if the chance arrives.
at night the firefish has no chance, anyway have you seen how fast a eel can move when it wants? especially in a confined space it can only run so far

 

[kjmst29]

Thanks. I'll keep a look out. I'm just afraid if I don't see him at feeding time, he'll starve to death even if he is alive and hiding. My eel is fast with the scent of squid in the tank. Otherwise he rarely leaves his home (the inside of a roman column structure). When he does come out at night, he swims around (slowly) but never seems to bother the fish. He lets the cleaner shrimp clean the inside of his mouth even. Plus he is as blind as a bat!!!! I'll keep a look out for the fish. I hope the eel didn't eat better than me though. I got spaghetti, he may have had a $30 steak dinner.

 

[pisces77]

If your eel did eat the firefish, it was probably dead BEFORE he ate it. SFE are way too slow to catch a firefish in most cases, but if it died, the eel might have found it. Firefish also tend to hind alot (usually under rockwork) so mine going missing for a day is usually no big deal. If your top is not perfectly sealed he may have jumped (do you have a cat?)

 

[kjmst29]

No cat. I have checked and double checked the surrounding area and have not found the fish. I have a pretty tight lid, and egg crate/screen in the areas that are open in the back. The only place it is completly open is where the skimmer is, but that is between two screened off areas.

Maybe tonight I'll move some things around and see if he shows himself.....

 

[Bret61081]

i have a ghost eel and have tried firefish 3 times...and they usually only last a few days. tehre at night...gone in the AM...I love firefish but my eel more! so no more firefish for me!

 

[00nothing]

wow cant believe how many of your are saying that snowflakes are slow i ahve seen mine hit shrimp with blinding speed i own pythons and the speed of my snowflake was easily close to that of one of my snakes

 

[mitzel]

While I don't doubt the speed of SFE's neither ofmine has ever taken down a live fish . in fact My scissor tail goby sleeps in the same den as my larger SFE.

:wildone:

 

[willy21]

If a snowflake eel is hungry it will eat anything, trust me from experience. I fed mine on 4 day intervals and he didn't like it, he ate about 3 live fish and one dead.

 

[aquaman67]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6521246#post6521246 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 00nothing
wow cant believe how many of your are saying that snowflakes are slow i ahve seen mine hit shrimp with blinding speed i own pythons and the speed of my snowflake was easily close to that of one of my snakes

I watched a LFS feed mollies to a SFE. They had to pinch the tail fins off and drop the fish right in front of the eel because the SFE couldn't catch the mollies otherwise. The mollies that weren't mamed stayed alive for weeks.

SFEs have TERRIBLE eyesight. They hunt by smell with those yellow things sticking out of it's nose.

I agree with pisces77. You firefish was probably dead or dying and got policed up...

 

[mitzel]

I feed my fish smaller meals more often. this helps to keep aggressivness down.

 

[kjmst29]

The firefish looked to be in perfect health the last time I saw him, which was only a few hours before he went missing, so I don't think he died. I've seen fish dying for a few days before the kick it. My eel also has VERY poor eye sight, so I don't think he's the culprit. I looked around tonight though and no sign of the fish......

I'll keep checking....

 

[Petstorejunkie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6519231#post6519231 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Patchy
firefish is a thin torpedo type fish. this kind of fish are the worst to try and keep with SFE. they arent typically fish eaters but they will if the chance arrives.
at night the firefish has no chance, anyway have you seen how fast a eel can move when it wants? especially in a confined space it can only run so far

this is so true and i dont understand why eel owners constantly ignore this fact on this forum. eels will eat what ever can fit in their mouth that they can catch, and if the fish is torpedo shaped, then all the easier to go down.

 

[kjmst29]

I'm not doubting the fish is the right size to fit in an eels mouth. Nor am I doubting their speed. Whenever I feed mine it is a frenzy. My eels just does not seem interested in the fish when he has just been fed.

Also, why do some think an eel has an advantage at night? Are they nocturnal? Their eye sight sucks, so how could darkness help them?

 

[Petstorejunkie]

it is not that the eel is at an advantage, but that all the other fish are at a disadvantage when it is dark. he is used to not being able to see but theother fish are not adapted to that, plus the fire fish can be pretty dumb to those type of things, they usually look to high numbers for protection rather than brains.

 

[pitt_prodigy]

i have never owned a SFE.... but my girlfriends brother had one and warned me whenever i got into salt that it ate every fish in his tank! I dont know what kind of fish they were, nor do i know how often he fed the eel. I hear a lot of good things here about SFEs but every once and a while someone posts with a horror story. I would have to agree with psj that being a nocturnal predator... it probably found the fish sleeping in some crevice and stumbled onto a good meal. Im not saying that SFE's are the most efficient of appex preds.... but under the right circumstances "sometimes even a blind squirrel finds a nut!"

 

[stevebydac]

I kept all sorts of fish with snowflakes. I kept them for 12 years total - not one fish was eaten.

It can happen - every individual is different - but the odds are against it if you keep your snowflake well fed.