feeding eel

[Allmost]

Hello,
I have a snowflake eel, very tiny when I got it about 6 months ago, I have fed him like 3 times in the past 6 months ! silver side.

now he pokes his head out almost everynight, so I can feed him more, but want to know how often I should feed him ..

also what is the best food ? I give him silverside, but what is better ? krill maybe ?

 

[anaya]

Any fresh saltwater seafood avalible at your local grocery store will work. Typically a SFE is an invert eater. Scallops, schucked clams, table shrimp and real crab meat would be closest to its natural diet. Yours may also take fish fillets like salmon, catfish, haddock, and so on. Oh course it should all be cut to appropriat size for it to eat. The key is a wide variety of foods in hopes to supply all the needed nutrients you possibly can. Also you may want to concider adding in sm. crabs to supply the natural stimulant of hunting/stalking prey.

Antonio

 

[Allmost]

thanks he is in my reef tank, so I want him to act the LEAST natural as possible haha

I do not trust my grocery stores .. so gonna try krill...

 

[anaya]

Strictly krill, silverside diet has quite a detrimental effect on large predators. Look up the thread "feeding large predators", I do believe it explains some of the outcomes. Please do some research on the proper care for your SFE. A warning you should take heed is that SFE when mature will become unruly more often than not, eating tank-mates, killing to kill not just feed. The larger your eel gets the harder it will be to re-home. Just please take into consideration that the eel is a living creature and deserves to be feed/housed properly just like any other coral or fish in your tank. I see you care for seahorses and as I'm sure you know they need special care to keep alive and healthy, I'm assuming you do just that for them. The eel is the same, yes it may be a hardy species that can endure almost anything and some things we can't imagine (all the stories of people finding them dried on the floor looking lifeless, but when put into the tank they come back somehow), but it still deserves a proper diet and fair chance at life.

I'm not meaning to offend in any manner, so please do not take it that way. I'm just sharing my opinion as you asked.

Antonio

 

[Allmost]

No I completely understand what you mean, I got him really small, hoping he would grow with other fish and become part of the crew ...

I often eat salmon so I will add that to the list. Crab meat .... All I find are the ones that look processed ready for sushi, so not sure if that would be safe.

How often should I feed him now on though ?past couple of months, I fed him every time I saw him, which turned out to be like once every month or two ... Should I feed him weekly now ? I feed my lion fish in the fowlr once a week, and he seems to be doing fine for the last couple of years.

 

[Dragon moray ki]

I had a zebra and fed him every two to three days. I now have a new one and I'm going to feed him the same. Btw I feed mine freezer burned lobster shrimp and squid.

 

[anaya]

Well to be honest I was feeding my Fimby while he was a little guy every 2 days, (to clarify: lets say I fed on Monday, the next time I would feed would be Thurs, then on again on Sunday, then on wed. and so on) a lot of the time the eel would show no interest in the food on that schedule. The days he did not eat I still counted as if he did and would wait two days to try again. While most creatures are little they have a higher metabolism as a type of self preservation mode, they eat a lot so they can put on size so that they will have a better chance dealing with predation. Once they get a decent size the metabolism slows, so keep that in mind as the lil guy grows. Although I was given a pointer by another member on this board that moray's are gorge feeders and should be feed once a week due to issues with fatty build-up and that causing other health issues. I'm currently in the process of researching that point in my free time and will let you know what I learn and where from.

Antonio

 

[igadget56]

Strictly krill, silverside diet has quite a detrimental effect on large predators. Look up the thread "feeding large predators", I do believe it explains some of the outcomes. Please do some research on the proper care for your SFE. A warning you should take heed is that SFE when mature will become unruly more often than not, eating tank-mates, killing to kill not just feed. The larger your eel gets the harder it will be to re-home. Just please take into consideration that the eel is a living creature and deserves to be feed/housed properly just like any other coral or fish in your tank. I see you care for seahorses and as I'm sure you know they need special care to keep alive and healthy, I'm assuming you do just that for them. The eel is the same, yes it may be a hardy species that can endure almost anything and some things we can't imagine (all the stories of people finding them dried on the floor looking lifeless, but when put into the tank they come back somehow), but it still deserves a proper diet and fair chance at life.

I'm not meaning to offend in any manner, so please do not take it that way. I'm just sharing my opinion as you asked.

Antonio

Good reading

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/fm/index.php