Eels for 75 gallon tank

Pat5

New member
I just got a new 75 gallon tank and I would love to put some eels in it. I would like to have at least two eels in the tank (if possible) and I do not want them to be too aggressive. Does anyone have any ideas?
 
I was considering getting a snowflake moray eel for my 75g tank, but decided it would be too messy... more mess = more work.
 
I got a 90 for that purpose and it really boils down to two species. The golden dwarf and the chesnut eel (not to be mistaken for a viper eel which get larger and are very aggressive). Those guys would be perfectly happy in a tank that size for their entire life. Maybe a ribbon eel, but that's an extremely big maybe. Any of those would need to be a mated pair. Best bet is to settle on the gdm and just one. (really not that rare, just ask the lfs to order you one, might take a month or two).

Anything approaching 2ft is too large, it really is. I know people list things like snowflakes and goldentail (or more commonly known is the bananna color variant) but once you set the tank up, you'll realize that even though eels don't swim much, that tank is way too small. Once I had my rockwork set up with hiding spaces and everything, I realized the same thing.

As for eels in a reef, its perfectly fine, however certain species and individuals will eat shrimp, snails, crabs, and other cuc, so that can sometimes make maintaining a reef difficult. That, and eels can be very messy for their size, which most are enormous in terms of fish to tank ratio. That being said, you can try it. A gdm would be perfect in a 75 reef, barring any cuc attacks, which will really depends on the individual. Chesnuts are fairly uncommon and can sometimes be misidentified as baby viper morays, which makes them a gamble. They are typically a little more aggressive I've read, and they do get slightly larger than the gdm (or maybe slightly smaller, I'm a little unsure now that I think about it). They both stay around 12".

I'm turning my dragon tank into a macro tank. You could always start to think about that.

If you want to get a larger tank, the options really start to open up in terms of combing eels, but nothing is a sure bet and eels, although easy to keep, need a setup specialized to their needs.


edit: The article that was linked is great, I remember reading it when I started out, however, the idead that a snwoflake can be housed as an adult in anything less than a 6ft tank, let alone a 40g is just cruel. Do the math, the full eel would be almost longer than the whole aquarium.
 
Black ribbon eel with other fish. It's a juvenile so will change to blue or yellow. Gorgeous all three colors. Needs attention to feeding and an escape proof home. and no worries about all but quite small fish.
 
I heard ribbon eels require expert care. Is the black ribbon eel like the white ribbon (ghost) eel which is easier to take care of?
 
Ribbon eels in general are hard to keep because they're hard to get eating. Don't buy one that isn't eating, cause its fairly common for them to starve themselves. If it is eating, then it really isn't that hard to care for. More delicate than morays are usually, but most morays are tanks. They don't really have that 'eel factor' though, but they are cool
 
My experience with a ribbon eel was one individual. I needed to present food. I did this by gluing a blunted pin into the end of some rigid airline tubing so I could put scallop or squid etc on the end and get the food right in front of it. After some time it learned the drill and would come farther out of its hidey hole more often. Very interesting and lovely fish but you do need to commit to feed it.
 
So is that the same for garden eels or do they just require expert care? Also is it true that most of the time they hide under the sand?
 
I've never kept garden eels. I read a thread here at RC about them so someone keeps them. I've seen them diving in an area of wide sand flats with scattered coral mounds. Very very shy. You might check with Snorvich on their care too. My recollection is that they are better in a VERY peaceful tank or as a species tank, need a quite deep sand bed. No idea on how difficult it is to get them feeding. Personally if successful a nice group of these in a tank would be a fantastic display.
 
can a white mouth eel, yellow canary eel or fire coral eel go in a 75 gallon tank or is that to small? Also are these eels very aggressive or are the semi-aggressive?
 
Yellow canary eel is another name for the goldentail, possibly the banana variant, but they're all the same species. And yes, it gets a little over 2ft. Most places will list it at around 75g minimum, but thats really just cruel. At minimum for me 6' tank. Otherwise, they're one of the more docile eel around. And pretty common (not the banana variant though, they're crazy expensive and hard to come by). That was the eel I was looking to get for my 90, and its just too small. A fire coral eel is the same thing, just the normal color variant which I like more.
White mouth eels get 4ft long, seriously?
 
Sure thing. Like I said, the gdm and chesnut are the only adequate options for a tank that size, unless you get a juvenile and upgrade when it grows larger. The problem is eels grow fairly quickly, so you wouldn't have much time
 
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