Need suggestions to complete my tank

[ksshan]

Hi guys. Been about a month and half since my tank finished cycling, and since then I've added a fuzzy dwarf, a SFE, and a mandarin. Everything is going great. The mandarin is eating bloodworms, the SFE and dwarf fuzzy are fed frozen silversides, shrimp and squid twice a week, and I have a cleanup crew of hermits and camel shrimps (initially introduced to tempt the eel, but he ended up ignoring them)

Problem is, the SFE is eating any fish introduced after him. So far, he's eaten a tomato and 2 damsels. I'm confident once he gets used to the scent of the fish he wont eat them, like the camel shrimp. But I need something that can survive at least that long.

Hence, I'm looking for a mid sized fish that is active. Something along the lines of a dwarf angel or wrasse.

TIA for any advice

 

[LisaD]

I don't know if this will help, but I don't feed my eels any kind of fish (i.e., silversides) and I only feed them from a feeding stick - no live foods. That way they don't get used to being fed fish, and they don't see movement of live organisms as a cue to feed.

Did the eel kill the fish at night, when they were sleeping, or did it attack while feeding? If it's in the habit of preying on fish, rather than killing them during a feeding frenzy, it might be tough to change its behavior

Before you add any new fish, make sure the eel has fed to satiation that day. Wait a few hours, turn out the lights. Make sure any fish you add have been through QT and are not stressed. Dazed and stressed fish are sitting ducks for an established eel.

You didn't ask, but I'd try getting the mandarin to eat frozen mysis. Bloodworms won't be nutritionally complete. Is there any chance you can build up a population of pods in the display or a refugium?

What size is your tank? The size will dictate what fish you can add.

 

[JazzZero]

0_o how big is the eel if you're going to add a fish make sure its bigger then its mouth...how big is your tank anyway

 

[MrTuskfish]

1.) I agree completely with LisaD on the mandarin. Ideally, they shouldn't be introduced until you have a large amount of very mature LR. IMO, you've done a good job getting him to eat bloodworms, but getting a supply of pods is vital to long-term success. Mysiss is also a good food for now.
2.) IMO, eels, and other predators can't really be trained to ignore live fish. That is part of a fish's genetic make-up that (usually, there is always an exception) can't be changed.

 

[LisaD]

I'm wondering how big the eel and tank are. Snowflake eels aren't generally a big danger to healthy, larger sized fish, as they are normally crustacean eaters (they are "pebble tooth" eels). I know some eat fish. My zebra moray, another pebble tooth, which I've had many years, has never bothered even small fish. Once it clamped down on a trigger when they were going for the same piece of food.

 

[ksshan]

My tank is a 75 gallon.

For bio filtration, I have 40lbs of LR in DT and another 10lbs of crushed LR in the sump. I also have a 20 gallon RDSB/refugium with chaeto

The eel eats the fish in the night. I wake up to see a very smug looking eel.

The bloodworms are meant as a supplement to the mandarin, since I do have a refugium

The fish were added in this order mandarin > dwarf fuzzy > SFE > camel shrimps

Like I said, its weird he doesnt touch the shrimps.

Both the fuzzy and the SFE and fed from a feeding stick

 

[LisaD]

How big is the eel and how big were the fish it killed?

With one that is actively hunting fish, I think you are going to have to decide what is more important to you, fish or the eel. Even if you get larger, active fish, the eel is probably going to grow.

My Brazilian dragon moray is about two feet long, and it is a piscivorous eel. The four fish I have with it are all about 6-8 inches. These fish are in a 210. I don't think I could get fish big enough to avoid attack by the eel in a tank as small as a 75. So you will have a challenge, maintaining the eel and fish that won't be eaten in a tank as small as yours. Issues might be aggression, biological load, or both.

You could maybe get another fish or two in the tank if you choose carefully. I'm not sure what to recommend, I'll give it some thought tonight.

 

[ksshan]

what about a butterfly of some kind?

 

[LisaD]

tomato clowns and damsels are active, hardy fish. why would you think a butterfly would be safe? they need to sleep at night, too.

 

[ksshan]

Well...because a mid sized butterfly is like a small plate?

Thanks for the help so far. Ok lets say I add the fish as per your advice, and the SFE leaves them alone, can I add

1 algae blenny
1 firefish
1 coral beauty
1 azure damsel?

 

[LisaD]

I think a butterfly that large will be too big for the tank, and butterflies, IMO, are on the delicate side, in general.

You never mentioned how big the clown and damsels were. A large maroon or Clarkii clown could probably hold its own. If your eel ate a good sized tomato clown, the algae blenny, firefish and probably azure damsel would not have much chance.

 

[ksshan]

The tomato was really small, about an inch. So was the damsel.

 

[LisaD]

3-4 inch clown or dwarf angel should be safe. I would skip the firefish and the azure damsel. It it's large the blenny might make it.