I have a 10" long snowflake eel in my tank with a 3" Hawian tang and a 3" rusty pygmy angel and several Mollies that have been in the tank since it was given to me. My angel has come up missing I dismantled the tank looking for a carcass and found nothing. Is it possible that the eel could have consumed the fish in 1 day even with the help of a couple of hermit crabs. From what I have read about them they don't normally eat fish but may accidently bite a fish during feeding. All I have ever seen him do is push other the other fish away while he is feeding. So tell me what you guys think.
Fish eating Snowflake Eel?
- Thread starter Natclanwy
- Start date
I agree w/ marrone, in that most likely the angel died and the hermits chowed down.
HOWEVER, be aware at SFE have been noted for occasionaly grabbing a fishy meal.
If you stick feed your eel in the rockwork and use shrimp, crab etc. the eel will most likely never grab a fish, but if your feeding it open in the tank w/ fish flesh, then all bets are off.
HOWEVER, be aware at SFE have been noted for occasionaly grabbing a fishy meal.
If you stick feed your eel in the rockwork and use shrimp, crab etc. the eel will most likely never grab a fish, but if your feeding it open in the tank w/ fish flesh, then all bets are off.
I was admiring a snowflake at the LFS once, and the LFS guy was busy moving around fish into dif. tanks to make room for a new shipment, no sooner did he put a nice size 5-6" fish (forgot what it was) the snowflake grabbed it! The guy 'rescued' it in time, and then threw in some 'feeder' fish for the Snowflake.
alancolinet
New member
Snowflake eels are not natural piscivorites, if they are fed fish on occasion they may get a hankering for some fish....their teeth are designed to eat crustaceans and such, not fish. If they are fed what they normally prey on then they shouldn't attack other fish. There are of course occasions where even such eels do eat a fish if it is small enough for it to fit into their mouth. Such is the natural way of things.....
still a little skeptical that my 10" eel ate my 3" angel but he is the most likely canidate since I only have 4 hermits and 3 of them are smaller than a dime and the other about quarter size and I just can't see them devouring a 3" fish completely in one day. I have seen them work on a shrimp pellet for hours my conch usually takes it away from them long before they finish. I may be short on a couple of mollies too difficult to tell since they rarely come out into the open especially all at the same time. I stick feed my eel so far just krill and I have never seen the eel act aggressivley towards any of the fish save some open mouth pushing when they get to close to the feeding stick most of the time he is laying under his rock minding his own business.
Serioussnaps
New member
I doubt he ate your fish dude. The snowflake eel is likely an easy excuse for the death of the angel. Screw it even if he did. Sf
are way cooler than coral beauties and are actually reef safe unlike the pygmys IMO.
are way cooler than coral beauties and are actually reef safe unlike the pygmys IMO.
®eefer
New member
Interestingly enough I was given two pepermints and a CB shrimp. I threw them in the tank thinking that my SF would eat them. Guess what? My SF doesnt eat the shrimp and the shrimp dont eat the aptasia. Shrimp have been in there for about a month, and the SF seems to ignore them. Although the shrimp only come out at night. So there are exceptions to every rule, thats for sure. I'm mostly bummed that the shrimp wont east the little aptasia I have.
Dollarbill
New member
I use to feed mine goldfish.
zemuron114
In Memoriam
no way a 10" snowflake ate a 3" fish. You would see a HUGE lump in the SFE stomach. I had a 30" snowflake that would sleep with 2 blue damsels.
He died, and then the cleanup crew ate him up.
He died, and then the cleanup crew ate him up.
He is the largest inhabitant of my tank and I am with you I would think I would see a lump or something if he ate the angel, but on the other hand I don't have enough hermits to dispose of entire carcass in one day either only have 4 and they are very small. The only other thing I can think of is the eel pulled the angel under some of my rock work I did not move the larger pile of rock in my tank but I haven't seen a spike in my nitrites or nitrates either so I don't really know what happened to the fish just flat disapeared
