Moray Eel Tank Sealing Question

[offshored]

We are going to add a Golden Dwarf Moray Eel to our tank this month, and were wondering what is the best method of sealing the tank so the eel can't escape.

Basically there are holes where the filter and skimmer sit on the tank. I was sort of thinking to use some fine mesh between the lids and the filter/skimmer... not really sure what to fix it on to each with though.

Would love to hear/see what everyone else has done :bounce2:

 

[DoubleM 10]

well what i did on my tank that had no sump is i took the sponges that are usually for the baffles in the sump and cut it up to fill the gaps between all the holes.

also i have glass top that does not go all the way back to the back of the tank. i thought a good idea would be to cut a grove in the sponce and slide the end of the glass in the grove and make sure the sponge reaches all the way back.

also if you give the eel a good home to reside in they do not generally try to escape.

i had a ghost ribbon make it down to my sump. after that i made him a nice house to stay in he never made it out again.

i read and have made the homes out of pvc(one of the best ways IMO)

i also recently mad one out of a one gallon glass vace. used aquarium silicon to coat the outside and them appy crushed coral to the outside and let it dry. looks natural if you can get alot of crushed coral to it.

IMO sponge will work great in small crevices to seal those. you might have to come up with more inventive ways to seal things, cause the eel will come up with inventive ways to escape lol

O and zip ties are a must in this hobby lol. they are gret for holding things and securing stuff. like i said you might have to get a little inventive with this securing them to
HTH

 

[offshored]

Yeah thinking I'll need to just try some stuff

 

[Moray keeper]

Is it a standard glass tank or one of the cubes, etc? I have 7 tanks up and running with morays in each but I used different methods to secure the tanks depending on the tank style. For the standard glass tanks I used the glass tops but I went with the larger size for the tank it was designed for and then had it cut in the back just enough to allow filter, tubes, etc so that they are pretty secure for eels. I have 4 GDM's right now and they are pretty good as far as not trying to escape.

 

[offshored]

Thanks for the reply... it's a standard glass 55g with two plastic lids housing LEDs. The backs have cut outs for the filter/skimmer. I'd say there is about a 1/2 inch gap around the full width of the skimmer and filter.

So basically I'm trying to cover up the gaps between the lid and filter/skimmer.

Have a clown, blue tang, dwarf flame angel, skunk shrimp, 2 hermits and bubble tip anemone... the golden dwarf will be the showpiece of the tank, so just wanted everything running right

P.S. I know the tang will far outgrow the tank... my wife picked it... since it's a baby right now, we plan on getting a much larger 250-300 gallon tank up next year, probably use the 55 for new fish and quarantine....

Since you have so many morays... what would you suggest for a tank around those sizes? I really don't want a snowflake, chainlink or zebra. Which moray would be ok with other fish in that size tank? I love the dragon, but I think it would just wipe the tank out... remember we'll be keeping fish like the blue tang in there.

Thanks!

 

[Moray keeper]

If you could swing it I would invest in getting the glass top and just cutting it back. If your using the plastic/glass version I'm thinking of many of the morays will push the lid up if you were to go with anything that has some size to it. Morays are very strong for their size.
As far as eel types with those fish you listed that's a bit of a gamble. GDW's stay small, usually under 1' and generally will not bother fish/ invertebrates even though they are primarily fish eaters. Probably your best bet if you want to keep the fish you have listed I have 4 of them and to date have not had any problems with them eating any of my fish nor have I heard of anyone else having any issues. Could they, absolutely. It's always a bit of a gamble imo when it comes to morays. Generally speaking, the gymnothorax and muranae species are primarily fish eaters while the echidna species are either invertebrate or fish/invertebrate feeders. Snowflakes are generally considered model citizens as are the chainlinks for example, however I have seen more snowflakes and chainlinks eat the fish they swim with then what would be considered some of the more aggressive morays.

Zebras are a decent choice if you can get a small one. Usually very mild mannered and usually will not bother fish. I have 3 right now. I feed them shrimp and squid with the occasional crab treat. I have some smaller fish in my zebra tanks including hawkfish, tangs, various damsels, etc.

I would stay away from dragons unless you put them with larger fish, especially fish with some type of protection like lions and scorpions.