Snowflake eel in 100 gal sps tank

[student1]

Hey everyone, so like the title says I'm thinking about stocking plans for 100 gal sps tank I'm setting up. I plan on running bare bottom, high flow, rocky tank. The tank is 5 feet by 2 feet, 18 inches shallow tank. The tank is still about 6 months from being set up and cycled.

So while researching livestock, I've grown quite fond at the idea of having a snowflake eel, some clean up snails, and maybe a yellow tang. I don't really care for the tang(I think all tangs are quite ugly, just my aesthetic opinion), but I'm trying to think of something that would add to the bioload of the tank that wouldn't be eaten outright by the eel.

So I have some questions about the eel, would a 100 gal tank with my dimensions be suitable for him? Liveaquria says 50 gallons, but that seems quite small for an adult. Are they reef safe? Again, la says "with caution" by doesn't elaborate. I plan on securing the rock work in place, so if the concern is them "rearranging" things it should be okay. My other research into their reef capability isn't shedding any definite answers on the subject. So has anyone successfully kept them in a sps tank? Any warnings/recommendations? Will flow/barebottom and/or lighting be a problem? Does my tank need more bioload?

Thanks!

 

[zab34]

Some more insight on this would be awesome. I'm looking to add one as well.

 

[golferbud101691]

one word: LID My LFS has to keep their snowflake tank covered because they are such curious creatures. I would recommend sand. Ive heard people say no sand can cause skin irritation. Dont know how true that is but I think it will be more realistic. Should be fine in an sps tank. I believe the only reason they aren't perfectly reef safe is their history with devouring shrimp. Your snails have protection though so you should be good.

 

[mav3rick478]

I had a Snowflake in a 55 gallon reef without any problems. He started out in a 10 gallon for a couple of months when I first got him because he was tiny, maybe the size and thickness of a pencil. Just make sure your rock work is solid so it doesn't fall. He never bothered any corals, my Coral Banded Shrimp, Cleaner Shrimps, Turbo snails or even my Carpet Anemone. Matter of fact, he only bit me once when he was tiny because I fed him and then I was playing with him afterwards by letting him wrap around my fingers. They probably smelled like squid because that was what I was feeding him at the time but he never bit me again. I use to hand feed him all the time. Very smart creatures, he learned when I was feeding him from the one corner hole of my tank, it was an acrylic. I usually fed mine once a week, shrimp or squid. Mine never jumped out but I had my lights sitting directly on top of my tank. I would err on the side of caution and make sure to have some sort of top or netting because by nature eels do like to explore and sometimes venture out of tanks. His name was Hoover and I don't know why we named him that.

 

[lmforbis]

I kept one in a 45 gal hex for a long time. He lived with a clarkii clown and a blue damsel. He was great. Ate from my hand and never bothered any of his tank mates. Got to be about 2 feet. started not much bigger than an earth worm. But even with a cover he managed to find the one place that wasn't covered and took a dive. Found him on the floor the next day.

 

[LefkoNJ]

Not likely to bother corals or most fish. Snow flakes do get big though and it will begin to knock things over unless everything is buttoned down. Be prepared to get it out of overflow and such.

 

[student1]

Hey, thanks everyone that's responded. I'm aware of their exploratory nature, and will design some ways to mitigate that. Did any of the above posters run their tanks bb? If you had a sand bed did you notice the snowflake moving through it? Or did they always hang out in the rock/water column? Was light intensity/flow a problem? I've heard they're clumsy swimmers.

 

[mav3rick478]

I had a sandy bottom, few inches deep. My flow was pretty decent, I made a spray bar for my return from my sump that sprayed straight across and about 45 degrees down. He mainly hung out in the rock work poking out of his cave.