New Ribbon Eels

[Icewing726]

Just got my black ribbon eels and acclimated them. Only problem is they are continuing to swim hours later. Even my wrasses get tired eventually. I've tried coaxing them into the rocks so they can settle in but they are still just swimming. Issue? Non Issue? For some reason this is one part of ribbon eel keeping I didn't anticipate. Tank is sealed, and they have plenty of tubing under the sand, just have to find it... which involves going into the rock work.

 

[Icewing726]

Never mind, theyve teamed up and started evicting the squatters from the caves. Now the fun part starts... Feeding attempts.

 

[guppie]

Follow along I am getting a ghost ribbon soon

 

[Icewing726]

I'll try to keep this updated then. They went back to swimming around the tank again. Did see one take a stab at biting a shell though.

 

[jmm]

I haven't had one in decades but when I did: Without an exception, whether it was one, two or three, they always "homed" in a Conch shell. They went in forwards, turned around inside and kept their head or heads out where you could see them. Mine would eat table shrimp pieces if dropped right in front of their lair. They would also eat baby black mollies.

 

[moondoggy4]

I used to have a black ribbon eel and a ghost ribbon eels back in the 80's, both ate.

 

[Icewing726]

So, here's my most recent update (interesting on the conch shell btw). So I starved the tank for the first day following them finding a home and resting their heads outside the rock. The reason being is I heard that one technique to get them on frozen was to create a feeding frenzy. Anyway, I created said frenzy and then offered them krill and they took it.

No live food transition, just plopped in and straight to frozen.

While I would love to say that I am a 1%er in being able to get these on frozen I think the ribbon eels difficulty has been exaggerated over the years.

Here's what I think helped:
1) I had an area where they could easily hide and burrow (very very fine grain sand), so they had no problem finding a home in the tank.

2) I bought a pair, maybe this wasn't necessary but they hang out constantly. On occasion they'll swim around alone but a majority of the time thus far they have their bodies side by side. So when food was offered I imagine they knew the other one might take it.

3) Aside from number 4 I think this was what really helped. Back in the day they used to sell feeder sticks made of acrylic. I bought a 6ft piece off of amazon and used a dremel to shape it into an invisible feeder stick. This tool has helped me feed multiple live only fish so far by spearing it and making the dead frozen look alive. Feel free to private message me for a parts list, photos, and a how too.

4) I think these guys were just healthy, they were clearly looking for food (eyeing my wrasses but backing off because they were too big) before I offered it. Maybe they just have bad harvesting tactics which lead to them not eating in the home aquaria. I mean my waters not pristine and I didn't have to camp out till midnight to get a chance to stick a shrimp in front of them. I got my two from FishyBusiness.com.

Anyway, I'm excited. They're eating and man are they beautiful. If Bob Fenner could see me now he'd be shaking his head disapprovingly .

 

[Icewing726]

So an update to the update, I didn't get them both eating. I only got one eating and he'll pull the food out of the groupers mouth if he can find it fast enough.

The smaller (1.5-2ft) one is still refusing though I've gotten him to poke around on some squid and krill. Just need him to bite. I'm using an acrylic (clear) feeding rod and pressing it hard against the rocks so it doesn't even have the potential to look like another eel. Any suggestions would be appreciated for him in the mean time. Thanks.

 

[Icewing726]

Hopefully this is the end of my introduction tale. So I just got the small one to eat frozen and figured I'd post the steps in case it helps someone else.

Time it took- Almost 1 month

1) I kept a constant watch on the tank, even going so far as to leave thawed food on the edge of the tank so I could be ready anytime it showed itself.
2) I tried garlic but it didn't result in it eating, your experience may differ
3) I've mentioned it before but I can't emphasize the credit I give to the feeder stick I made. It's a small clear acrylic rod (6-12 bucks on amazon for 6 feet). I cut it to the length with a dremel and whittled the end to be a spear. I also cut a notch so I could wedge food in but thats optional. This really helps because I've read that their bad eye sight can make it look like they are having to steal the food from another eel if you use tongs.
4) I broke off a very small piece of silverside and had a lucky accident. While trying to spear it the skin flayed a bit and it really made this piece of fish look like a small fish with fins. Not sure if thats what did it, but again, another suggestion.
5) So when I put this near him I did so by putting it into the sand away from him. I proceeded to dance it around and stir the sand up a little as it moved toward him. I pressed my rod against the rocks to make it even more invisible and used the spear point to wiggle the fish outside the cage. Tapping on the rocks seemed to help (not hard just little scratching).

After that he took the food in with him. This was the results of MANY attempts and I had to stand back from the tank and angle forward so as not to spook him. Maybe he just finally got hungry enough, maybe my journey isnt over. Either way, I'm happy .