Garden Eels.

[Western_reefer]

Well, I'm thinking about getting a few Garden Eels. The tank is going to be a 28 gallon high Marine PLANTED tank(diff kinds of algae and such), dimensions are: 24 inches long, 20 inches high, and 12.5 inches wide. The sand bed is going to be 6-7 inches deep. I know that they need very good water quality, but that wont be a problem at all because the tank is going to be full of diff algae and such. What are your thoughts? Got any info?

-Thanks!

 

[btb72]

well just from scuba diving i know they need a deep sand bed, but that is all I know... sorry

 

[Elysia]

Well, I've read that the substrate needs to be at least 6" deep. That, in a tank that is only 20" tall, means that they would only have 14" above the sand for them to extend out of their burrows. Since about 3/4 of the eel is out of the burrow as it feeds... IMO 20" will most likely not be tall enough. And that footprint is pretty small -- as timid creatures, you'll want more than one in the hopes of seeing it more frequently. But adult population densities are reported to be approx. 1 per 1 square foot. Scott Michael recommends a minimum tank size of 45-55 gallons. Some members here have kept them, and perhaps still have them. Keep in mind that they can be copepod eating machines (stomach content analysis showed upwards of 600 copepods at any one time) and they require a current across the bottom of the tank to get the usual feeding response.