skeletor moray in a reef

R

rgentry123

Member
posted this in the reef fish forum but thought it may actually be more appropriate here:

thinking about picking up one of these but not sure how it will fare in a reef setting along with fish. I hope it's similar to a zebra in its temperment but i have no experience with them. It would go into a 110 tall tank that currently has a CB butterfly, Kole tang, Occ. clownfish, 1 dispar anthia, melanurus wrasse and a mandarin. This would be my final addition to the tank and my main concerns are going to be with the mandarin since its not a fast moving fish. Any experiences would be appreciated. Thanks
 
I have a skeletor in with a lion and grouper. The eel and grouper are often in the same cave without issue. No expert just my experience, so far I have seen more aggression from a snowflake, however every single hermit in the tank has been eaten.
 
well, i pulled the trigger on one. Bought the one on DD that they had posted yesterday. Seems like he is a little guy right now at only 6 1/2" so i shouldnt have to much to worry about as far as him eating his tank mates :beer: he will be here on saturday so pics to come!!!
 
I haven't kept one yet, but they are pebble tooth morays, as are snowflake and zebra morays. IME snowflake eels are not completely trustworthy with fish, and are likely to escape. On the other hand, I kept a 3.5 ft zebra moray for over 12 years, and it never once bothered a fish (even fish as small as a royal gramma) or tried to escape (it was in a 210). I'd imagine a skeletor is somewhere between the two. From what I've read, it seems closer to a zebra eel in temperament and behavior. Enjoy your new eel. They are really beautiful.
 
yeah, im really excited to get him. i've wanted to try an eel for a while but just never really pulled the trigger on one before. at 6 1/2" would PE mysis be a good to feed him or should i go with somthing bigger? and do you think he would be able to push open a 1/8" plexi glass top at that size or should i weigh it down? Also i have another thread going regarding this same topic in the reef fish forum - i dont know if maybe one of them should be closed or not. Thanks.
 
What's your tank size?

I have a theory about escapes and snowflake morays. I Hawaii, I saw snowflake eels hunting in tide pools, they would go from pool to pool over moist sand. I think this behavior makes them more likely to escape from a tank. Maybe (and this is only my theory) deeper water eels won't feel so driven to move.

In my 210, I had plenty of cover and caves for the zebra moray, and no rock really close to the surface. As I mentioned before, in over 12 years, the zebra never even tried to escape. I had glass covers on the tank, but the backs were open, so the zebra could have walked any time. Hopefully, skeletors are similar.

BTW, I have kept two snowflake morays, both escaped, even when the tank was pretty well secured, and both ended up eventually dying on the floor.

I think I'd offer PE mysis, and also bigger chunks of raw shrimp, squid, clams. Maybe also offer pieces of Ocean Nutrition gel cubes for more nutritional variety.
 
ok, thanks a lot for the reply Lisa. The tank is a 110 tall but i do have 2 rock pillars that go nearly 3/4 of the way to the top of the tank. I didnt realize the skeletors were deeper water morays but hopefully your theory is right and escape attempts will be minimal but im going to cover with the plexi lid just to be on the safe side.
 
also with acclimating the moray would i handle it as i would any other fish? bag float for 15 and drip acclimate for an hour? no special rules or oddities i should be concerned with?
 
so i received the eel and acclimated him to the tank but he almost immediately disapeared into the rockwork and I havent seen him since. how long can i expect him to hide?
 
Yea mine was about the same size when i got it ive had mine for a couple months now and still hides until it smells food i have been feeding mine clams and silversides in small peices. I would guess they wont feel comfortable coming out until there bigger especially with other tank mates around
 
lol...this is skeletor eel day, i actually just registered today to help out another skeletor eel owner. I have an adult 2 ft skeletor eel in a mixed reef tank with expensive corals (LPS and softies) and all inverts. Mine is completely reef safe and allows cleaners in his mouth for cleaning. If you purchased this eel, i'll assume you researched them. They do not eat fish!! They do not have teeth...lol They eat shrimp, crabs, etc. They are nocturnal, if you provide the correct rock work, with caves and tunnels, you should not see him at all during the day. Wake up at 1am and look at my tank and sure enough he is swimming all over w/o disturbing corals and sleeping fish. Divers Den has been getting little babies in lately i have noticed. I cant comment on them as i bought mine from divers den at 21 inches already. Not going to lie, when i first released him in my tank, i held my breathe, hoping he wouldn't eat everything in one night. Turned out to be extremely DOCILE and harms nothing. Did take him a few months to truly acclimate to my tank. good luck all with yours.

Note: my tank is a 120 tall with a baby red Mandarine...hope that helps once again will not eat fish, wont even eat a silver side...guys try to feed a silver side, tell me if any of yours takes
 
man, i just read the whole thread, you must cover your tank immediately!! That is just wrong...you will lose that eel! I also just read that someone feeds theirs small pieces of silver side. Can you film that and post one feeding. I would be interested in seeing that. On youtube, search santoli and check my eel out...

My bad: u don't even have the eel yet...lol anyways secure the screen...
 
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and seal your overflows! I didn't and sure enough he got in one, how i got him out? Easy, i had to literally stick my hand and arm and physically grab him...no joke...got bitten three times too, with no harm. I'm big on manhattanreefs.com (NY site) I have tons of photos of my eel on that site...just search
 
go to home depot and buy door/window screen and lay it flat over the tank, then with packing tape you will literally seal the ENTIRE tank. If done neat you cant even tell its on and no LIGHT is lost. Glass tops are bad, where is the toxic gas escaping? and yes a healthy eel will topple your glass tops and find its way 30 yards from your tank. Interesting note: if ever you discover your eel on the floor, put it back into the tank regardless. Its proven an eel can survive up to 5 + hours out of water. Snowflake=25$ Skeletor eel=big $ for an adult
 
well your right about one thing, definitely cover your tank ESPECIALLY the overflows. My skeletor story ended badly, he went down my overflow into the pipework that led to my skimmer and got caught up in my pump. really stinks. loved that little guy. wont ever buy an eel that small again as they can get into almost anything. I ended up replacing him with a 2 ft. zebra but still miss my skeletor.
 
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