Eels and Reef aquatica..

[Musbtr1pin]

I have heard before that you can house, successfully, eels and reef specimens in the same tank.

I have a 180 gal tank in the process of building a stand for atm.. I want to house an eel and want the idea as to what would be the best species to house?

I'm giving up a lot of various other species going with these I know, so I want the best possible outcome.. I am doing my research as well, but just want some thoughts and ideas to bounce off of.. Thanks!

 

[Mr. Winters]

i kept a snowflake eel in a 30 gallon reef that had damsels in it and he left most of them alone.

 

[Mr. Winters]

i also had a blue ribbon eel but those are harder to take care of and usually only eat live fish (like damsels) not very tame

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Tessalata eel

Tessalata eel

Anyone know anything about these eels that I should be aware of? The Tessalata Eel?

Thinking about housing one of these guys in my 180..? thoughts?

 

[Cahooligan]

im not an expert by any means, but from what ive heard, tessalatas are one of the more aggressive species, and also one of the larger ones.

 

[Mr. Winters]

the tessalata eel gets to be around 6' long

needs a constant supply of feeder fish

hes one of those eels that is reef safe with caution. ur gunna wanna keep mostly large fish and a constant supply of cheap damsels

these guys will move your aquascape if the rock isnt firmly adhered in place which is probly the main concern for your corals. just keep everything epoxied down and u should be good to go. also i think 180 is ok but not ideal for this eel. just sayin

 

[olemiss reb]

A tessy will eventually outgrow a 180. When it does, selling large aggressive eels is not easy. They require very large species tanks and there is just not that large of a market the adults. They are also a pain to catch- they will bite.

Tessies are very aggressive and will attack larger fish. Damsels are the best tankmates. A smaller tessy will eat them but they will be ignored by a larger eel.

 

[dave.m]

I haven't kept eels, but I understand many of them are escape artists (hunters are successful by being naturally curious), so you have to keep a tight lid on it and to have any pipe openings blocked. Eels are mostly nocturnal, and normally prey on crabs, shrimp and fish. I would think you'd want to restrict your search to something that doesn't get much bigger than 2-3 foot long as an adult for a tank as small as a 180 gal. They are messy eaters and produce a lot of slime, so keeping the water quality up is going to be very important.

Dave.M

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Setup

Setup

Ok, so the tessalata might not be the best choice. I will be using a 100 gallon sump... haven't decided on the skimmer.. But I have about 110 lbs of LR to use in the sump..

Are there any better choices as far as eels?

Give me your input!

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Whats the best way to build rock formations? Making them secure is a must.. Can you tell me what best method to use to create these formations to put in my tank before I fill it with water?

Few questions:

1. How do you prefer to make your rock formations?

2. What kind of rock do you use?

3. Where do you purchase it from?

I really appreciate the help!:beer:

 

[Eric the half-bee]

IME, I've had great success with a zebra moray & ribbon. Both have been in my tank with numerous fish for around 2 years and have been model citizens. In fact, I didn't keep the top covered until a month ago. I'm probably the exception on uncovered tanks w/eels.

 

[slief]

If I were ever to do eels in a my reeftank, it would have to be a small hawaiian dragon eel. They are one of the most beautiful eels of them all IMO. They like most other eels get agressive though. Your best bet would be a snowflake in my opinion or a ribbon. I have had plenty of eels in the past. Large trained morrays, Tessalata's snowflakes etc. And I did say trained.
Below is a picture of Gorby. Named after the old russian president with the birthmark on his head. Gorby had a matching mark on his head.
Gorby was around 5' and loved to be pet and handled. He especially loved to have his chin rubbed and head scratched.

He would let me take him out of the tank too.

I even swam with him one drunken birthday.

I had him for years. I ended up finding him a new home when he ripped one of my large leopard sharks in half and shook the entire hose when he did it. Eels eat alot. Between the food and their waste, its not a great animal for reef tank. That and they will knock stuff over. Eels are best off in a dedicated tank with other eels and or sharks and need to be well fed otherwise their preditory instincts will kick in.

 

[olemiss reb]

Bulk reef supply, marco rocks and tampa bay saltwater all have great LR. Some use acrylic rods to hold it together, mine is just pieced together.

The two commonly available eels I would stay away from are Gymnothorax funebris(green) and Gymnothorax favagineus(tessy). Ribbon eels can be tricky to wean onto frozen.

Are you planning to order one from an online site or have a diver catch you one?

Go through the "show me your eels" thread on the aggressive forum. There is a good range of eels on there-from common snowflake to the insanely rare E anatina. Lukfox, helicoprion, and kynigos all know what they are talking about when it comes to eels.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

The LFS who specializes in SW alone, and has been in business for over 15 years has a Zebra Moray that is about 24 inches I believe... He has another eel as well.. Some gorgeous reef sharks that are about 4 feet long...

I'm basically building my new tank, around my new eel... When in facts I decide to purchase him..

 

[Eric the half-bee]

If I were ever to do eels in a my reeftank, it would have to be a small hawaiian dragon eel. They are one of the most beautiful eels of them all IMO. They like most other eels get agressive though. Your best bet would be a snowflake in my opinion or a ribbon. I have had plenty of eels in the past. Large trained morrays, Tessalata's snowflakes etc. And I did say trained.
Below is a picture of Gorby. Named after the old russian president with the birthmark on his head. Gorby had a matching mark on his head.
Gorby was around 5' and loved to be pet and handled. He especially loved to have his chin rubbed and head scratched.

He would let me take him out of the tank too.

I even swam with him one drunken birthday.

.

That is funny. My zebra sticks his head out of the water at feed time but I haven't dared to pet him.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

If I were ever to do eels in a my reeftank, it would have to be a small hawaiian dragon eel. They are one of the most beautiful eels of them all IMO. They like most other eels get agressive though. Your best bet would be a snowflake in my opinion or a ribbon. I have had plenty of eels in the past. Large trained morrays, Tessalata's snowflakes etc. And I did say trained.
Below is a picture of Gorby. Named after the old russian president with the birthmark on his head. Gorby had a matching mark on his head.
Gorby was around 5' and loved to be pet and handled. He especially loved to have his chin rubbed and head scratched.

He would let me take him out of the tank too.

I even swam with him one drunken birthday.

I had him for years. I ended up finding him a new home when he ripped one of my large leopard sharks in half and shook the entire hose when he did it. Eels eat alot. Between the food and their waste, its not a great animal for reef tank. That and they will knock stuff over. Eels are best off in a dedicated tank with other eels and or sharks and need to be well fed otherwise their preditory instincts will kick in.

WOW is all I can say.... and the fact that I was laughing my a** off during your swim session... absolutely incredible

 

[Cracken]

how do you train an eel?

 

[Mangodude]

Hi, thought I'd chime in with my experience,

I've succesfully kept a 12" green wolf eel (aka: carpet eel blenny) in a 120g reef tank for several months. Was doing great and showed itself fine only reason for getting rid of it was that it was eating my strawberry basslets/royal gramma's and damsels.

If you wanted to keep only larger reef fish you could (tangs, anthias, angels, etc.) and this fish would be fine with them.

JME

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Awesome, thanks for the input... What do you guys think about the box fish... They look soo cool

 

[slief]

Hi, thought I'd chime in with my experience,

I've succesfully kept a 12" green wolf eel (aka: carpet eel blenny) in a 120g reef tank for several months. Was doing great and showed itself fine only reason for getting rid of it was that it was eating my strawberry basslets/royal gramma's and damsels.

If you wanted to keep only larger reef fish you could (tangs, anthias, angels, etc.) and this fish would be fine with them.

JME

Wolf eels are probably one of the better choices in a reef tank as they are usually pretty mellow compared to other eels and much less predacious. They do get large and will likely knock things over in a reef tank.