Small eel
- Thread starter nateqt
- Start date
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
Based on my experiences with the SFE, I think just about any moray might eat a waspfish. That eel took out several tankmates (some too large for it to eat outright) and finally had to be kept on its own (had it 15 years).
That being said, there are some GORGEOUS snake eels (family Ophichtyidae) from HI, but I've never kept one.
That being said, there are some GORGEOUS snake eels (family Ophichtyidae) from HI, but I've never kept one.
Moray keeper
New member
Not much for small eels that wont bother your fish. GDM would be your best bet but that is still a gamble to a degree though I have not had any issues with them bothering smaller fish and I do have quite a few GDM's in my tanks with small waspfish, leaf scorps, anglers, etc.
How much did you have in mind to spend?
DoubleM 10
Active member
ghost ribbon eel?
i had ine and hus mouth was so small. trained to eat frozen in 3 weeks
i had ine and hus mouth was so small. trained to eat frozen in 3 weeks
nateqt
New member
ghost ribbon eel was on my list too, I would like to spend under $60 but can prolly go up to $100, starving college student budget + expensive hobby = 
right now ghost ribbon would be my #1 and then a Moringa microchir spaghetti eel followed by any of the snake eels, preferably a spotted snake eel
would any of these touch small fish?
right now ghost ribbon would be my #1 and then a Moringa microchir spaghetti eel followed by any of the snake eels, preferably a spotted snake eel
would any of these touch small fish?
Moray keeper
New member
ghost ribbon eel was on my list too, I would like to spend under $60 but can prolly go up to $100, starving college student budget + expensive hobby =
right now ghost ribbon would be my #1 and then a Moringa microchir spaghetti eel followed by any of the snake eels, preferably a spotted snake eel
would any of these touch small fish?
Yes, they all will to a degree. I have a couple snake morays including spotted and unicolor and they both go after small fish and invertebrates. Also the ribbon eels can be difficult to keep.
Moray keeper
New member
Small gobies and clowns mostly but also any smaller sized shrimp. All of the ribbons are somewhat difficult to keep, live shrimp usually works somewhat but that can be tough as well.
helicoprion
New member
I'd go with a snowflake eel. They stay relatively small and aren't pure piscivores.
helicoprion
New member
That's not my experience.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
IME, I dunno if I'd trust one with in a waspfish tank...SFE's are a dime a dozen and EZ to find, wasps aren't.
The aggression isn't limited to fish either...
Those scars are about 12 years old, there used to be a third one. The second time I was bitten (not shown), the eel raised itself a good 6" out of the water to bite me while I was swapping out a PC tube.
I'm not trying to be "mr. negative', and I honestly think eels are cool, but as with scorps, one needs to consider tankmates carefully. I CAN say the SFE never bothered my volitans...
The aggression isn't limited to fish either...
Those scars are about 12 years old, there used to be a third one. The second time I was bitten (not shown), the eel raised itself a good 6" out of the water to bite me while I was swapping out a PC tube.
I'm not trying to be "mr. negative', and I honestly think eels are cool, but as with scorps, one needs to consider tankmates carefully. I CAN say the SFE never bothered my volitans...
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Moray keeper
New member
I agree with Greg on this. I really wouldn't chance a sfe in with the waspfish. Snowflakes eat fish much more then people think.
mytosis_matth
New member
I would recommend a ghost moray (Pseudechidna brummeri). I have had one (named Jaleel White, hahaha) thriving in my 40B tank for a few months now. It was stubborn about eating anything besides ghost shrimp for about a week, then it started eating Rod's Food Predator Blend (a mix of clams, octopus, krill, squid, etc) very greedily and has been a model inhabitant ever since.
The other mobile stock in my tank includes:
1 Talbot's damsel (2")
1 Emerald crab (huge)
1 Atlantic black sea cucumber
1 Fighting Conch
12-15 snails (nerite, nassarius, astrea, margarita)
4-5 blue leg hermits
Even at 20"+, my ghost moray never messes with any tankmates, though I know that snails or crabs could eventually be victims.
Ghost morays are very DISsimilar to the blue/yellow/black,purple ribbon morays (Rhinomuraena quaesita). They are much more adaptable to captivity and do not have a super-specialized diet. Any I have seen were relatively easily weaned onto a healthy frozen/dead food diet. They do grow to upwards of 40", but always retain that slender, ribbon-like girth. A 40" ghost moray isn't even half the thickness of a 20" specimen of pretty much any other eel species, especially morays. I bet it would leave your waspfish alone as long as it's not super-tiny.
Another option might be the White-Cheek Moray (Echidna rhodochilus), which usually tops-off at less than 15". The downside to these is that they venture into freshwater and are usually collected and shipped in that state, so they have to be slowly acclimated to brackish or marine water, which they require for long-term health.
Good luck!
The other mobile stock in my tank includes:
1 Talbot's damsel (2")
1 Emerald crab (huge)
1 Atlantic black sea cucumber
1 Fighting Conch
12-15 snails (nerite, nassarius, astrea, margarita)
4-5 blue leg hermits
Even at 20"+, my ghost moray never messes with any tankmates, though I know that snails or crabs could eventually be victims.
Ghost morays are very DISsimilar to the blue/yellow/black,purple ribbon morays (Rhinomuraena quaesita). They are much more adaptable to captivity and do not have a super-specialized diet. Any I have seen were relatively easily weaned onto a healthy frozen/dead food diet. They do grow to upwards of 40", but always retain that slender, ribbon-like girth. A 40" ghost moray isn't even half the thickness of a 20" specimen of pretty much any other eel species, especially morays. I bet it would leave your waspfish alone as long as it's not super-tiny.
Another option might be the White-Cheek Moray (Echidna rhodochilus), which usually tops-off at less than 15". The downside to these is that they venture into freshwater and are usually collected and shipped in that state, so they have to be slowly acclimated to brackish or marine water, which they require for long-term health.
Good luck!
