reef safe eels?
- Thread starter TANK0789
- Start date
Moonstream
New member
I have to aggree with lukfox. the flip side of it trying to eat tankmates because it thinks that they are food would be it not eating food because it was too peaceful (probably likely if you get a small one, not so likely if you get a large one).
sean48183
New member
I have a 2 ft snowflake that is just plain bad a$$. Never messes with fish and does dig tunnels under all my rocks(GRRRR!) but when people come over and its feeding time they get a real kick out of him. Never has messed withed a fish and I have some relatively small ones. He would be fine in a 55g just put in a pvc pipe buried in the sand to give him a place to chill so he won't dig under the rocks so much(gRRRR!)
snommisbor
Premium Member
Mine did that too. But luckily I had my rock on the glass with the sand around it. Whenever you look under the tank where the sump is you can see what he has done. It is kind of cool.
LukFox
Active member
A snowflake is too big for a 55g already... You don't want anything bigger. A chestnut moray looks mean, having wicked looking teeth and a hooked jaw, but only gets 13-14". It would be perfect... Just need to find one. Looks like a viper moray, but it has white dots along the edges of its mouth.
LukFox
Active member
Oh well that's no problem then 
. Mmmm something meaner looking... You could try a stout moray. They are still smaller, getting 24", but they are thick bodied so they'll still look big. They have slightly curved jaws with always visible teeth. There's also miliaris eels that also only get 24", but they are thick bodied, and also have sharp teeth. The miliaris also generally very good mannered and peaceful.
Or if you want something that's actually mean that's about the same size, the fimbriated moray is beautiful. Gets about 3 feet, has large teeth, and that classic moray shape. You'd have to pick tank mates very carefully, though.
. Mmmm something meaner looking... You could try a stout moray. They are still smaller, getting 24", but they are thick bodied so they'll still look big. They have slightly curved jaws with always visible teeth. There's also miliaris eels that also only get 24", but they are thick bodied, and also have sharp teeth. The miliaris also generally very good mannered and peaceful.Or if you want something that's actually mean that's about the same size, the fimbriated moray is beautiful. Gets about 3 feet, has large teeth, and that classic moray shape. You'd have to pick tank mates very carefully, though.
Sabre38
Member
Ok just wondering; Do you guys seriously think that a blue ribbon eel wouldnt eat tank mates, especialy something so easy to catch such as a clown or coral banded shrimp?
Im only asking because I actually kept a BR eel for about 3 1/2 yrs. I wouldnt have dared keep it in my reef only because I didnt want to risk him eating my shrimp and smaller "reef" fish. (If you wanna hear how I got it to eat frozen foods out of my hand Ill start another thread) But, we all know how surprisingly large a meal an eel can eat. And for the most part what it eats. So I was wondering do you think I or TANK0789 realy could keep BR eel in our reefs and be ok?
Im only asking because I actually kept a BR eel for about 3 1/2 yrs. I wouldnt have dared keep it in my reef only because I didnt want to risk him eating my shrimp and smaller "reef" fish. (If you wanna hear how I got it to eat frozen foods out of my hand Ill start another thread) But, we all know how surprisingly large a meal an eel can eat. And for the most part what it eats. So I was wondering do you think I or TANK0789 realy could keep BR eel in our reefs and be ok?
LukFox
Active member
I only skimmed the thread... I know of people who trained their ribbons to eat by feeding fire fish first. They'll eat the small fish.
And Tank, if you want to keep your clowns in the display tank, stay away from the stout and fimbriated. You might have luck with the miliaris, but your best bet is a dwarf or zebra eel. For what it's worth, I kept a pair of perculas with a dwarf and miliaris for two years without issue. One day I didn't feed the miliaris to satiation and my male clown disappeared. Don't know if it was definitely the eel as there are other suspects, but it's something to be aware of. The miliaris ate fairy wrasses, though, I know that. You said earlier you intended to keep only a few larger fish with the eel, but if you want to keep smaller clowns, I'd recommend the dwarf or zebra. The zebra gets large, so it'll limit your other stocking options.
And Tank, if you want to keep your clowns in the display tank, stay away from the stout and fimbriated. You might have luck with the miliaris, but your best bet is a dwarf or zebra eel. For what it's worth, I kept a pair of perculas with a dwarf and miliaris for two years without issue. One day I didn't feed the miliaris to satiation and my male clown disappeared. Don't know if it was definitely the eel as there are other suspects, but it's something to be aware of. The miliaris ate fairy wrasses, though, I know that. You said earlier you intended to keep only a few larger fish with the eel, but if you want to keep smaller clowns, I'd recommend the dwarf or zebra. The zebra gets large, so it'll limit your other stocking options.
Those of you who have kept eels in reefs (or I guess, in FOWLR tanks too, for that matter), what have you done in terms of lids/canopies? I read everywhere that eels are escape artists, you need a tight-fitting lid, etc. Is that universally true of every eel (including golden dwarfs), or are some more prone to trying to escape than others? Anybody ever successfully keep one with just eggcrate on top - or is that just asking for trouble?
LukFox
Active member
Eggcrate that's weighed down or even locked down would be fine with larger eels (the dwarf would slip through). I just use glass lids since my corals don't need a ton of light (and my light fixture sits on the glass which helps keep it down if anyone tries to escape). A tight fitting canopy would work, too.
All eels are prone to escaping. Zebras might be the least prone, though. They seem to be the most laid back. Still not a risk I'd advise taking. With eels, they don't always escape because they're spooked or the tank conditions are bad. Sometimes they just explore and look for new caves...and end up on the floor.
All eels are prone to escaping. Zebras might be the least prone, though. They seem to be the most laid back. Still not a risk I'd advise taking. With eels, they don't always escape because they're spooked or the tank conditions are bad. Sometimes they just explore and look for new caves...and end up on the floor.
Sabre38
Member
I was all paranoid especially since I had a blue ribbon everybody kept telling me they wer the best at escaping so I got a piece of plexiglass cut perfectly to fit inside the trim of my tank. I then drilled holes for all the plumbing. The holes wer just big enough to fit the tubes and cords. I then took some fine mesh like the kind all those green nets are made of and covered not just the intake tubes but the returns as well. I basicaly covered the opening with the mesh and used rubberbands to keep it in place (rubberbands did need replacing every six months or so). The only thing I didnt think of...feeding him. So, I took the top of and cut it into 3 peices removing the middle piece when I needed to feed.
Since the plexi glass was cut perfectly to rest on the trim while fitting in it as well they actually kinda snapped into place making it impossible for the eel to push it up. And actually kinda a pain for me to open as well untill I installed a handle. My luck...the eel never even imagined escaping the tank. but prevention is always best.
Since the plexi glass was cut perfectly to rest on the trim while fitting in it as well they actually kinda snapped into place making it impossible for the eel to push it up. And actually kinda a pain for me to open as well untill I installed a handle. My luck...the eel never even imagined escaping the tank. but prevention is always best.
lloydkeller
New member
have had luck with garden eels but would love a dwarf moray
flfireman1
Wrasse aficionado
After reading this thread, I purchased a small snowflake (about 9 inches long) Added him to my 92 corner display. After about 1 week 1 of my cleaners turned up missing, an arrowhead crab, couldnt hear the pistol shrimp that were always snapping inside the tank, and 2 peppermint shrimp ended up missing as well. All fo the inhabitants had been in the tank for about 4 months with no problems.
So although it didnt bother any of my fish I had to return this little guy for fear of him wipeing out my other cleaners and fire shrimp.
Like everything else in this hobby every individual is different.
So although it didnt bother any of my fish I had to return this little guy for fear of him wipeing out my other cleaners and fire shrimp.
Like everything else in this hobby every individual is different.
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