Eel for a 55 gallon?

[McCrary]

I just picked up a 55 gallon with VHO lighting and no sump, so I decided that it might be fun to stick an eel in there or something. Any suggestions on a good eel for the tank? I was looking at the zebra moray, but as this will probably be the only thing in the tank I was thinking of having the eel be more aggressive (but not too aggressive, lol).

 

[reefman8471]

Eel in 55 gallon

Eel in 55 gallon

I would suggest maybe a Snowflake Moray or Chainlink Moray as both of these eels max out at around 24 inches.

James

 

[Sk8r]

Don't plan to have any other fish in there: there's nowhere to escape him. Also have a good waste disposal system. A large predator in a 55 has no leeway, and must have a good skimmer and a good filter: the rock alone probably can't handle his throughput.

 

[McCrary]

Thanks for the advice sk8r, it will probably be the only thing in the tank. I am a little concerned about the bioload as I don't have a sump to stick a skimmer into so it will probably be a hang-on. I have had a snowflake and a zebra in my 110 when it was a mixed reef and the waste it and the lionfish produced was a killer. Now that the 110 is an SPS tank I have to be very conscious of the water quality, so I have been very limited as to what has been able to go into the tank. If I can't find a suitable eel I am probably going to get rid of the tank as my house is starting to look more and more like an aquarium, lol.

 

[LukFox]

I have never owned one, but a chestnut eel (Enchelycore carychroa) shares the genus with Japanese/Hawaiian dragons and viper morays, so I would assume it is aggressive. It only gets 13-14", too.

 

[sixball]

My favorite smaller moray is the Goldentail. Great color, max out under 24", and are peaceful (for a moray).