garden eels
- Thread starter prickles
- Start date
eatbreakfast
New member
I would not keep them with tangs. I have had them in the past and any time a larger fish got within a foot of them they retreated back into their burrow.
andrewkw
Active member
I think you can keep them with tangs, but you must keep the eels for probably 6 months or longer first. They need a lot of time to get comfortable eating a proper diet.
How deep is your sandbed? If its not at least 8" its not going to be deep enough.
I highly recommend you keep them in a species specific tank.
How deep is your sandbed? If its not at least 8" its not going to be deep enough.
I highly recommend you keep them in a species specific tank.
Dmorty217
Saltwater Addict
+1 they do much better in a docile peaceful tank much like sea horses need, minus the sand bed. I have seen people add bowls with sand in them for the eels before, but it is a pretty sad existence. They never leave the safety of the sand bowl and will starve to death if having to compete for food with more aggressive eaters. They make a nice conversation piece but that's about it
andrewkw
Active member
This is a horrible picture, but my garden eel tank when it was new
Deepest part of the sand is around 10-11 now its more like 8 as the slope is not as pronounced.
I have 3 firefish and 4 chromis with them. I overfeed and the fish clean up the food. I don't keep corals because I don't want to go crazy about water quality issues and I use a single par 38 to light the 90 (36x24x24). The fish don't effect them however I kept them for a long time without any fish. They are trained to eat PE mysis, but this took many months and had to be fed 3 times a day for a long time because they don't eat every single time. Now once a day is fine, but I have had them over 2 years. Unfortunately I will be moving in a few months (see thread in advanced topics) but when I do I will probably have even more sand and hopefully a few more eels too.
I love these guys even if they are terrified of me. I am 100% convinced all public aquariums use 2 way glass for them. At shedd where I went to observe them prior to setting up this tank, they denied it but even trying to scare them they wouldn't move so they obviously couldn't see me. They have had them on display there for many years and have quite a variety of fish with them.
Deepest part of the sand is around 10-11 now its more like 8 as the slope is not as pronounced.
I have 3 firefish and 4 chromis with them. I overfeed and the fish clean up the food. I don't keep corals because I don't want to go crazy about water quality issues and I use a single par 38 to light the 90 (36x24x24). The fish don't effect them however I kept them for a long time without any fish. They are trained to eat PE mysis, but this took many months and had to be fed 3 times a day for a long time because they don't eat every single time. Now once a day is fine, but I have had them over 2 years. Unfortunately I will be moving in a few months (see thread in advanced topics) but when I do I will probably have even more sand and hopefully a few more eels too.
I love these guys even if they are terrified of me. I am 100% convinced all public aquariums use 2 way glass for them. At shedd where I went to observe them prior to setting up this tank, they denied it but even trying to scare them they wouldn't move so they obviously couldn't see me. They have had them on display there for many years and have quite a variety of fish with them.
