Golden Dwarf Moral Eel Questions?

[brannock_16]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to add a pair of Golden Dwarf Moral Eels to my current 120 gallon mixed reef tank. Before I take the plunge I want to make sure that everything will work out as peaceful as possible and not have any dire consequences down the road.

First of all, the eels were caught together as a pair so they are relatively established. Now currently I have the following fish:

1 x 4 inch Hippo tang
2 x Oscellaris clowns (3 inch and 2 inch respectively)
1 x Diamond Goby (3 inches)
1 x Target Mandarin (1.5 inches)

The GDM's in question are 5-7 inches, so still relatively small. In my 120 I have roughly 90-100 lbs of live rock with nice caves and holes for them to hide, and it has a 40 breeder sump filled with live rock rubble and chaeto. They are made into two sturdy islands with the middle of the tank open. I have a mesh screen top on the top of the tank that I will weigh down to ensure no eels jump out of the tank.

For flow I have a Mag 24 return, 2 Vortech MP40 W ES and 1 Vortech MP10 W ES. I have a Tek 6 bulb T5 lighting system (heavy on the blues), and run a Vertex 170 alpha skimmer. I also am able to run Carbon in a TLF media reactor if it is suggested.

My questions are as follows:

I am able to get a great deal for both eels, would they be a viable fit in my tank?
They are relatively newly caught (less than 3 days out of the ocean), is this an issue?
If I purchase them, should I QT them? If so, with what?
Since they are small, what should I offer to feed?
Do I need more than 1-2 inches of sand for them in my DT?
Are they reef safe in terms of corals? I have a ton of LPS and some SPS. There are some scolys and welsos on the sand bed.

If anyone has any first hand experience with them please chime in! I would like to place my order for these soon if they are a viable fit...I have been looking for a nice GDM for over 4 months and now have the opportunity to get 2!

Thanks in advance,

Robert

 

[DrSalty]

I am a proud owner of a GDM and will try to help answer some of your questions. Just for reference, I have him in a 29gallon reef tank.

Since they are small, what should I offer to feed?
-I feed mine krill, silversides, PE mysis every other day - you can also feed him other types of meaty seafood as well

Do I need more than 1-2 inches of sand for them in my DT?
-No. My sand bed is in the 1-2" range and I haven't had any problems with it. He tends to hide out in caves formed by my live rock

Are they reef safe in terms of corals? I have a ton of LPS and some SPS. There are some scolys and welsos on the sand bed.
-Yes. My GDM is reef safe. Doesn't even think about hurting corals - though he'll occasionally brush up against one, but has never caused any damage.

Keep in mind - GDMs tend to be pretty reclusive and they spend a lot of time hiding. I would imagine it would be more difficult to get to enjoy them in a 120 gallon as opposed to my 29 gallon. That being said, they have lots of personality and I love mine, even if he isn't always out. When it's feeding time, I can always count on him to come out. Let me know if there are any other questions I can help answer

 

[reefsafe]

love my guy:

 

[brannock_16]

love my guy:

Haha...I thought you were showing me a pic of your clowns and nem! :spin1: I was thinking to myself "that's cool...maybe this guy just missed the point of this thread."

Then I saw that little head poking out underneath them! Very nice. How long have you had your GDM? What does it eat? How much rock do you have in your tank? Do you see it on a fairly regular basis in such a large tank?

Thanks in advance.

 

[brannock_16]

I am a proud owner of a GDM and will try to help answer some of your questions. Just for reference, I have him in a 29gallon reef tank.

Since they are small, what should I offer to feed?
-I feed mine krill, silversides, PE mysis every other day - you can also feed him other types of meaty seafood as well

Do I need more than 1-2 inches of sand for them in my DT?
-No. My sand bed is in the 1-2" range and I haven't had any problems with it. He tends to hide out in caves formed by my live rock

Are they reef safe in terms of corals? I have a ton of LPS and some SPS. There are some scolys and welsos on the sand bed.
-Yes. My GDM is reef safe. Doesn't even think about hurting corals - though he'll occasionally brush up against one, but has never caused any damage.

Keep in mind - GDMs tend to be pretty reclusive and they spend a lot of time hiding. I would imagine it would be more difficult to get to enjoy them in a 120 gallon as opposed to my 29 gallon. That being said, they have lots of personality and I love mine, even if he isn't always out. When it's feeding time, I can always count on him to come out. Let me know if there are any other questions I can help answer

Thank you VERY much for your response! It was just the kind of info I was looking for.

I do have a few more questions. I have eggcrate underneath my sand to help with the pressure of the rock on the glass. With this agitate the eels if they burrow in a cave and move the sand all the way down to the eggcrate?

I am a bit on the minimalist side of rock work...I have two islands that go upward and the middle of the tank is quite open. Will this provide enough natural cover for the eels?

My rock work is pretty open and doesn't have a ton of small nooks and crannies. Instead I have a couple large sized caves near the base of the rocks and in the middle. Will this be sufficient?

Do the eels benefit from feeding live ghost shrimp? If so, where do I get some?

Since the two I am looking at were caught in Hawaii as a pair will I see any aggression or issues due to this? What should I be on the lookout for?

Thanks in advance,

Robert

 

[Dragon moray ki]

You will be fine I had one in my 70 and it was a model citizen and it was my favorite fish

 

[DrSalty]

I do have a few more questions. I have eggcrate underneath my sand to help with the pressure of the rock on the glass. With this agitate the eels if they burrow in a cave and move the sand all the way down to the eggcrate?
-No. Should be fine. I don't find that my GDM does much burrowing or digging in the sand.

I am a bit on the minimalist side of rock work...I have two islands that go upward and the middle of the tank is quite open. Will this provide enough natural cover for the eels?
My rock work is pretty open and doesn't have a ton of small nooks and crannies. Instead I have a couple large sized caves near the base of the rocks and in the middle. Will this be sufficient?
-I can't say for sure without seeing the rock work, but from what I can picture from your description, I think it will be fine. These guys can fit into the smallest holes/spots, so it won't take much to make them happy. Just make sure they have a spot where they can go to disappear for a little while and I'm sure that will work well. Also, I've been told that these guys are great escape artists, so make sure that you have a cover to your tank (otherwise, you're take a risk)

Do the eels benefit from feeding live ghost shrimp? If so, where do I get some?
-I have never had to feed live food to them. I was lucky and my LFS already had him eating frozen food. The only time I would consider live food would be if it was not accepting frozen food (I have heard of GDMs going on a hunger strike, though mine never has). If possible, I would ask if the ones you are getting have been eating frozen food (preferable).

Since the two I am looking at were caught in Hawaii as a pair will I see any aggression or issues due to this? What should I be on the lookout for?
-GDMs classically aren't very aggressive. I have some small fish in my tank (six-line wrasse, small clown) and he has never showed any real aggression to them (will open his mouth at them when they steal his food, but they just ignore him). I'd say he gets bullied by the other fish more than he does the bullying. Just beware if you see that they start going after your smaller fish (only one that I would be worried about is the mandarin, but I think that's unlikely). I've never kept two together, so I can't comment on two of them getting along.

Hope this helps!

 

[Dragon moray ki]

Mine came out all the time and I had a ton of rock

 

[brannock_16]

Big day is tomorrow! Both eels will be arriving via UPS morning delivery. I will post pics once they arrive.

On a related note, I already have a mesh top (used to have a bunch of wrasses) that easily pulls off. What should I do to weight it down to prevent jumping and possibly them knocking it out of the tank frame? It's only made of screen door framing and mesh.

Thanks,

Robert

 

[brannock_16]

Double post.

 

[reefsafe]

i see mine all the time. Lots of rockwork. I had him in my last tank, frag holding tank and now my 360. I feed him frozen krill weekly.

 

[brannock_16]

The day has arrived! The GDM's arrived this morning around 10 o'clock. I was in class (of course) so my roommate had to bring them in. She placed them inside near a heater to help them warm up a bit.

I made it home by 11:40 and started to unpack the box (which was expertly packed). I floated them for about 45 minutes in my dark sump and then drip acclimated them for 1.5-2 hours. Once acclimation was complete, I put them into a dark DT and let them find a spot. I kept the DT dark for a couple more hours and turned the lights on an hour or so ago.

Anyways, on to the fun part...pics!

 

[brannock_16]

Since they are roughly 3-4 inches in length they quickly disappeared in my reef tank! I have seen them skirting about the bottom of the rocks probing for hiding spots every now and then, but they have been mostly unseen.

I figure they will remain reclusive and hidden for a couple of days, but should come out as I start to feed the rest of the tank. I bought some fresh scallops and shrimp today to feed them either tomorrow or Thursday.

Well, I am going to stare at my tank now...I will update with more pics as they become more comfortable.

 

[brannock_16]

What I assume to be the male (due to darker coloration)

What I assume to be the female (due to lighter coloration)

Both (note they are in a 5 gallon bucket for size reference)

And of course I had a helper

 

[brannock_16]

Since they are roughly 3-4 inches in length they quickly disappeared in my reef tank! I have seen them skirting about the bottom of the rocks probing for hiding spots every now and then, but they have been mostly unseen.

I figure they will remain reclusive and hidden for a couple of days, but should come out as I start to feed the rest of the tank. I bought some fresh scallops and shrimp today to feed them either tomorrow or Thursday.

Well, I am going to stare at my tank now...I will update with more pics as they become more comfortable.

 

[spotfin]

Nice!

 

[brannock_16]

Nice!

Thanks.

 

[dvmsn]

What about jumping?

 

[brannock_16]

What about jumping?

What about it? From what I have read eels are notorious bottom dwellers and like to hug the rockwork. They are seldom seen swimming in the open.

But just for peace of mind, I do have a mesh screen that is now securely velcroed to my tank. I hope I am covered from any potential jumpers.

 

[SDguy]

Basically, I see you got what you wanted to hear in this thread. A local friend had one that ate fish...quite large fish (ie male maroon clownfish). If this happens, be prepared to be without the fish, or be prepared to remove the eel. Just sayin'