New zebra Moray Eel not eating

[91mini]

I bought a Zebra Moray Eel from a local club member and he has not eaten yet. Picked him up Sunday and it is not Thursday with no eating. The person I got it from said that he fed him silversides 2-3 times a week so I bought silversides from the same shop that he got them in order to give him something he is familiar with. I've since contacted him to see if he was feeding/doing anything different than I was and I am doing the same schedule/regiment that he was.

I am using a grabber to attempt to feed and he'll come up to the piece of food like he is going to eat but them slinks back between the rocks after about 2 minutes of looking at/smelling it.

Any tips that anyone can give or signs to look for.

His breathing is normal, color is normal, not noticing any inverts missing from the tank. He stays in hiding but almost always has his head through one of the cracks in the rockwork looking around.

Tank parameters (salinity, temp, PH, and DKH) are exact from what Live Aquaria suggests is the ideal enviroment for him. He's in a 125 Gallon setup with a Reef Octopus NW-150 Skimmer to handle the bioload. I do bi-monthly 20% water changes. I plan to check Phosphates tonight but before he was put in I never had any issues there.

Other inhabitants are (2) chormis (3) clowns (1) Wantanabee Angel (1) Swallowtail Angel (1) Lyretail Anthias (1) Royal Gramma.

 

[o2manyfish]

I used to have several Zebras for a very long time. They are not the most intelligent creatures out there.

I used to feed mine raw shrimp from the market with the shell off.

But sometimes the zebras would go weeks without eating when they first went into the tank.

When I had a big collection of eels the Zebras had to be hand fed, they just wouldn't/couldn't compete with the other eels and fish for food. So they had to be hand fed the shrimp.

Dave B

 

[91mini]

Is there anything you'd look for specifically when picking up market shrimp? Just get fresh shrimp?

 

[Reef264]

I had one for a little over 5 years that only would eat Raw Shrimp.Tried feeding everything under the sun, He wanted Shrimp though, Raw shrimp to be specific.Give him a little while to acclimate, I don't remember how long it took mine to eat but it was not right away.Mine never are any inverts, or fish.Mine would occasionally go on fasts, wouldn't eat for several months.Always ended up eating whenever he felt ready.


Hope this helps,
-Ray

 

[Reef264]

I had one for a little over 5 years that only would eat Raw Shrimp.Tried feeding everything under the sun, He wanted Shrimp though, Raw shrimp to be specific.Give him a little while to acclimate, I don't remember how long it took mine to eat but it was not right away.Mine never are any inverts, or fish.Mine would occasionally go on fasts, wouldn't eat for several months.Always ended up eating whenever he felt ready.


Hope this helps,
-Ray

 

[ilikefish34]

I worked at a LFS years ago and we had one that didn't eat for the first 3-4 months until we tried some live crawfish that came in with our feeder fish. Those were eaten with gusto as were hitchhiking crabs... well, the latter were eaten when he could find and catch them. As o2manyfish alluded to, they are not the most intelligent, and everything we put in there was either eaten instantly or took forever. The thoughts on this were that once the scent permeated the entire tank, the eel would struggle to pinpoint the meal. Eventually, we were successful in weaning the Zebra on raw shrimp (frozen food section of K-Mart... with the shell on) and I took him home to keep in a 125 with two lions. He did great with them and was fed the raw shrimp on a stick and treated with live crawfish for several years before selling the set up.

 

[91mini]

Got home and tried a fresh shelled shrimp and he attacked and ate before I could even get it close to his favorite cave.

Some fish are just so finicky. Thanks for everyone advice.

Should I feed him until he stops eating or just once a day right now until he stops?

 

[Reef264]

When mine was a pup I fed him 1 whole Large shrimp every day and he still wanted more, he was 4' before he decided to see what the outside world was like.He ate 4 or 5 shrimp, once every 3 days.

You got me wanting to get another one now, I miss mine.Coolest creature ever to be in my tank, sure he knocked things over but he was cool as heck.Enjoy yours buddy, keep a screen of some sort over the tank, he will try to get out.Took mine 5 years to succeed at escaping.

-Ray

 

[ilikefish34]

You'll have to figure out the exact amount of shrimp per serving on your own based on the size of your eel and the size of the shrimp. If he's bulging out the sides after a feeding, then it was a bit too much and if the eel appears to be loosing weight over time, then add more. Also, there will be behavioral cues as Zebras tend to stay behind the rock work and tend to only venture out when looking for food (most common time for an established eel to jump out). Look for this at times when the rest of the fish are not being fed since the smell of their food could bring lure it out. I fed my 3 1/2 footer 3 large shrimp every 2 to 3 days. To add to Ray's advice, definitely have a PERFECT top on there or it WILL find its way out one day.

I wish you the best of luck!
Mike