eel growth rate

[yakfishin]

I have a golden variant of the yellowtailed moray currently in a quarantine tank. He's been in there for about 10 days now. I'm just curious as to the growth rate of morays, or in particular this species if they differ at all. Are they slow or fast growers?

 

[D659600]

I have a Brazilan Golden Moray that was 8" long and 1 1/2" thick when I got him in Jan/Feb 2005. Now he is 21" long and is @3" thick. Mine is solid yellow with 4 black dots.

 

[yakfishin]

Ahh.. thanks- I was under the impression that morays were slow growers, but yours seems to have taken off like a weed! I have the same moray that you currently have, I would say he is probably about 11-12 inches currently, he's solid yellow with about a dozen black spots randomly spaced on his body. I like him now, but I have to admit, I think he'll be much cooler looking with some added size. He'll be added to a 215G aquarium, so I was never concerned about having room for him- just was curious as to what kind of growth rate I could expect him to have. By the way, any chance you have pictures of your eel, would love to see them. You don't see many pictures of this type of eel in an aquarium setting.

 

[D659600]

I am having all sorts of problems with my camera and downloading . I have out looking for a new one. I will post and pm if you would like when I can get them online. How much did you pay for yours? I paid 350. The nice thing about these eels is you can keep with fish and other "friendly" eels. The Brazilan is best buds with a 3 ft zebra.

 

[yakfishin]

I paid $350 as well, I purchased it online from the marine center. I currently have a 4" maroon clown and a 5" foxface in my display tank now. I'll be adding a radia lion sometime later and that will probably be my last fish. As I said the eel is currently in quarantine and has eaten twice in the 10 days I've had him. Does your brazilian move around in the open very much? I knew that in getting an eel that I will mostly be just viewing his head, but since adding him to the quarantine tank I have yet to see him out and about. Once he settles into the captive life I'm hoping he will start showing himself more, at least a bit.

 

[D659600]

Mine will swim around during the night and early morning. When the lights are on he sits about halfway out. It took about 6 months for mine to start to swim around the tank. You can teach yours to eat out your hand. Mine will come up and get his food most of time. Do you have lots of LR with caves?

 

[yakfishin]

Yes, I have plenty of caves and hiding places. Because I made sort of tight fitting- dark, caves with my live rock, I guess I have stacked them in a way that is closer than the loosely fitted live rock that is usually recommended. But the live rock is stacked in such a way that the middle of the structures are open. I have approximately 200lbs of live rock in the display and another 15lbs in the sump. I plan on adding just a few more pieces in the display and can probably add another 20lbs or so to the sump. I really like the look of open space in aquascaping. So I made a mound on each side of my tank with one being a bit taller than the other and kept the middle fairly open. $350 was a bit steep to pay for a fish, but I really like the looks of the golden moray and they're reputation for not being too aggressive with other tankmates.....and the keeper! Plus I figure if I keep up with my husbandry the eel could quite possibly see my young daughter off to college. I added a few peppermint shrimp to the tank to get rid of a few aiptasia's I had, and they seem to have gotten rid of them all. Now I wonder if the golden will eat them when I add him to the display tank, if he does that's ok...they served there purpose, but I would like to think perhaps I'll get lucky enough to have them coexist. If they do, I might rethink about adding the radiata lion, as I'm sure he'll enjoy a shrimp cocktail.

 

[D659600]

The enjoyment of owning this eel is worth every dime and the some. I even added the tank in my home owners insurance. I am in the middle of designing a 700 or more tank for my tangs. The shrimp have a good chance of being a cocktail, but you never know. Anything is possible in this hobby. I have 10 tangs in 1 tank and it is said that is not possible, but it is. On your live rock make sure that is is stable cause he might try to push his way through a crack and it could squish him. Trust me from experience it is not a sight you would ever forget. Congrats on you new friend.

 

[yakfishin]

Thanks, I poked and prodded every piece of rock to make sure it wouldn't move, but even with that I'm still a bit nervous. I think I built a really stable structure, so I shouldn't have any real worries. 700 gallons!!! Man 'o' man, I think water changes on my 215G are a chore, mainly from just collecting enough RO water to mix my saltwater. Should be one awesome tank! I never thought I would look at my 215 and think I would like for it to be bigger, but I have to admit I wish I could add just a few more fish to my stocking list all the time. If I started to do one larger however, I believe my wife would kill me and dispose of my body in it!

 

[Pete]

Eels generally grow the most during the first 1-2 years of life, after that expect maybe 2-3 inches a year. Every eel I've had as a juvenile: 3 dragon morays, 1 fimbriated, 2 white-mouth morays, and a jeweled moray have all followed this pattern of growth. Once they got to about 20-24" their growth dramatically slowed down with only a few more inches being added every year,

 

[yakfishin]

Thanks Pete, maybe that is why I was under the impression that they grew slowly. Perhaps they reach adult hood status pretty quickly but slow down dramatically after that. Right now my moray looks like a small swimming banana, can't wait till he looks a bit more menacing!