fish042099
New member
Can anybody list some of the most aggressive eels? I want to know which ones to stay away from.
Most aggressive eels
- Thread starter fish042099
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mytosis_matth
New member
Most of the larger (30"+) Gymnothorax species (such as Green Moray, Tessalata, etc.) can be a nightmare to keep with almost any other animals. Gymnothorax species are sharp-toothed fish eaters and are not afraid to rip into anything they find, even if it is venomous or too large to swallow whole.
As a basic guideline, sharp-toothed eels primarily eat fish and pebble-toothed (blunt teeth) eels primarily eat crustaceans. Pebble-toothed eels include many morays of manageable size (24"-36"), such as the snowflake, chain-link, and skeletor eel.
There are always exceptions to the sharp-toothed vs. pebble-toothed guideline. Some fish-eating eels (such as Gymnothorax miliaris) stay fairly small and don't bother appropriately-sized, tough tankmates such as groupers, triggers, puffers, wrasses, angels, tangs, etc. On the other hand, sometimes the usually-peaceful snowflake eel will eat a fish it can catch and swallow.
One eel that I've found to be really unique, active (for an eel), small, and peaceful with most fish is the ghost moray/ghost ribbon eel (Pseudechidna brummeri). They are typically fairly inexpensive, hardy, and easy to wean onto frozen foods. They stay very thin-bodied....they get longer but don't seem to get much thicker once they get around 20".
You will save yourself a lot of future grief and expensive unintentional eel meals if you check out some articles on moray eels before you get one. Here are a couple links...the first one is written by frequent RC post-er and Ph.D. Frank Marini.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/fm/index.php
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/morays.htm
As a basic guideline, sharp-toothed eels primarily eat fish and pebble-toothed (blunt teeth) eels primarily eat crustaceans. Pebble-toothed eels include many morays of manageable size (24"-36"), such as the snowflake, chain-link, and skeletor eel.
There are always exceptions to the sharp-toothed vs. pebble-toothed guideline. Some fish-eating eels (such as Gymnothorax miliaris) stay fairly small and don't bother appropriately-sized, tough tankmates such as groupers, triggers, puffers, wrasses, angels, tangs, etc. On the other hand, sometimes the usually-peaceful snowflake eel will eat a fish it can catch and swallow.
One eel that I've found to be really unique, active (for an eel), small, and peaceful with most fish is the ghost moray/ghost ribbon eel (Pseudechidna brummeri). They are typically fairly inexpensive, hardy, and easy to wean onto frozen foods. They stay very thin-bodied....they get longer but don't seem to get much thicker once they get around 20".
You will save yourself a lot of future grief and expensive unintentional eel meals if you check out some articles on moray eels before you get one. Here are a couple links...the first one is written by frequent RC post-er and Ph.D. Frank Marini.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/fm/index.php
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/morays.htm
coralreefdoc
New member
Excellent post above, mytosis ... Im sure the OP will be grateful for such an in depth/well thought/informative response, I know I would :thumbsup:
Greatly depends on the individual specimen, however, as a general statement Gymnothorax funebris, hands down in my opinion/experience. One of my all-time favorite reef species !
Greatly depends on the individual specimen, however, as a general statement Gymnothorax funebris, hands down in my opinion/experience. One of my all-time favorite reef species !
fish042099
New member
Totally...if I had a400-500 gallon tank I would get a green moray and a ton of assorted damsels. Imagine how cool that would look.
fish042099
New member
Yikes! What's the minimum tank size for a green moray?
Woodchuck12
New member
I know that members of the gymnothorax genus can be b*****s, but I have found things showing that they can be trained to be docile.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H1ipbS3q6s
I'm not trying to disagree, I understand that they can be terrors. I guess its and individual thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H1ipbS3q6s
I'm not trying to disagree, I understand that they can be terrors. I guess its and individual thing.
fish042099
New member
Let me guess-the video is the diver petting the green moray
fish042099
New member
I was right
mytosis_matth
New member
The green moray is probably my favorite eel as well. I actually got one by chance a few years ago. A local LFS had ordered a small tesselata eel and the supplier sent them a baby green moray instead. It was only 10" and definitely the smallest one I have ever seen. The guy at the store, who had cut me a lot of great deals, offered it to me for practically nothing on the condition that I don't bring it back there when it got huge and out of control.
I bought the eel and kept it for about a year. It grew even faster than I had expected and it went as far as to eat my very venomous sea goblin! That eel initially ate from a feeding stick, but it eventually would try to come out of the tank as soon as I opened the lid...it was like it could smell the food outside of the tank! I found another eel enthusiast with a 300+ gallon tank with no other fish in it and gave it to him...it even bit the guy when he was netting it out of the transport bucket, but he still took the eel! He has the eel alone in an even larger tank where it has plenty of room, even at such a massive size.
I know for sure that the LFS didn't irresponsibly order and sell the eel on purpose...in fact they actually have a policy against ordering in monsters like the green moray. Fortunately I was able to plan ahead a bit and find the eel a real home with someone equipped to care for it long-term. I knew when I bought it that I was just going to be a "foster parent."
Someday I'd love to have the money, time, and space to set up a massive system for another monster eel, but my *official* opinion is that 99.999% of hobbyists have no business getting an eel like the green moray, and fish like that shouldn't even be in the general fish trade. It's nice to see that, compared to 10-15 years ago, fewer of such fish are being sold in stores.
So, fish042099, do you have any specific eels you're considering yet? It's such a tough decision!
I bought the eel and kept it for about a year. It grew even faster than I had expected and it went as far as to eat my very venomous sea goblin! That eel initially ate from a feeding stick, but it eventually would try to come out of the tank as soon as I opened the lid...it was like it could smell the food outside of the tank! I found another eel enthusiast with a 300+ gallon tank with no other fish in it and gave it to him...it even bit the guy when he was netting it out of the transport bucket, but he still took the eel! He has the eel alone in an even larger tank where it has plenty of room, even at such a massive size.
I know for sure that the LFS didn't irresponsibly order and sell the eel on purpose...in fact they actually have a policy against ordering in monsters like the green moray. Fortunately I was able to plan ahead a bit and find the eel a real home with someone equipped to care for it long-term. I knew when I bought it that I was just going to be a "foster parent."
Someday I'd love to have the money, time, and space to set up a massive system for another monster eel, but my *official* opinion is that 99.999% of hobbyists have no business getting an eel like the green moray, and fish like that shouldn't even be in the general fish trade. It's nice to see that, compared to 10-15 years ago, fewer of such fish are being sold in stores.
So, fish042099, do you have any specific eels you're considering yet? It's such a tough decision!
coralreefdoc
New member
Once had a 12-14" juvenile G. funebris, in a 240G Caribbean biotope, along with an adult Holacanthus ciliaris and juvenile Balistes vetula. Awesome system ...
My unique story regarding this species is as follows:
One night I was woken by the sound of a cat banging into the stand and screeching as if it were in a fight ... The juvenile green moray somehow escaped through the canopy and onto the floor, at which point the cat must have gone over and tried to lick the G. funebris ... The eel took half its tongue clear off in one bite !
Luckily, the bite was at such an angle the cat was still able to utilize the other half of the tip of the tongue or else it likely would have perished due to not being able to slurp water, etc.
Im confident thats one of the best, captive Green Moray stories out there. 100% true. Cats still alive to prove it
My unique story regarding this species is as follows:
One night I was woken by the sound of a cat banging into the stand and screeching as if it were in a fight ... The juvenile green moray somehow escaped through the canopy and onto the floor, at which point the cat must have gone over and tried to lick the G. funebris ... The eel took half its tongue clear off in one bite !
Luckily, the bite was at such an angle the cat was still able to utilize the other half of the tip of the tongue or else it likely would have perished due to not being able to slurp water, etc.
Im confident thats one of the best, captive Green Moray stories out there. 100% true. Cats still alive to prove it
fish042099
New member
I was thinking a black cheek, they have character!
fish042099
New member
Or maybe a Mediterranean
olemiss reb
Molon Labe
I had a pair of G. moringas- calling them aggressive is an understatement. Fast and skilled predators.
humaguy
Premium Member
my Pacific Green was a nasty, nasty creature... once found him with a large grouper in his mouth...Lee, the eel, was swimming into the corner of the tank and using the glass to force the grouper down his throat...it was truly insane...Lee went to the lfs the following day...
fish042099
New member
I had a pair of G. moringas- calling them aggressive is an understatement. Fast and skilled predators.
Moringas are just ravenous, vouracious, bloodthirsty killers I hear. It doesn't matter the size of the prey, if it moves, it dies.
fish042099
New member
one ripped the gill cover of a smooth hound shark!
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