Snowflake in a Smaller Tank

[Daecrist]

Hi all. I'm in the process of redoing a 29g reef tank after a move. The tank has been established for about three years now but it's been sitting fishless since a move last June. It's just been coral but i'm thinking of adding some fish again.

The question is would a snowflake under any circumstances work? The minimum recommended seems to be 55g, but when I kept one in at 120g tank at my dad's house years ago it mostly spent all of its time hiding behind the rockwork in one part of the tank, so stretching its fins isn't the issue.

The tank is 29 gallons, as I said, with a 5 gallon refugium attached that I converted from a Wet/Dry for added filtration. If anything the tank is overfiltered for its size with the rock work in the tank and in the fuge.

If the eel just generates too much waste for smaller tanks then I'll look for something more friendly to smaller tanks, but I figured I'd ask everyone's opinion first since I really liked our old eel before he was lost in a nasty two-week power outage in the dead of winter back in '05.

 

[Jerry W]

Having kept a couple of them, I'd advise against it. A small one (under 8 inches) might be okay, but they grow fast and can be active swimmers, particularly at night. The last one I had was close to 22 inches and thick! He'd do laps in the 55 that was his home.
In a small tank where the eel feels cramped, he may be more apt to try escaping.

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12309184#post12309184 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerry W
Having kept a couple of them, I'd advise against it. A small one (under 8 inches) might be okay, but they grow fast and can be active swimmers, particularly at night. The last one I had was close to 22 inches and thick! He'd do laps in the 55 that was his home.
In a small tank where the eel feels cramped, he may be more apt to try escaping.

I agree. I have my 14" Snowflake in my 75g right now and he is so active when the lights go off. He's constantly hunting for food, and occasionally will nip at my shark thinking she's food.

But back on subject, like Jerry said, the smaller the tank, the more convinced an eel will be to try and escape.

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

And just to support the fact that they grow pretty fast, I bought mine almost a year ago at around 5-6" long, and now, he's a 14" fatty.

 

[JustinReef]

I had to give up my snowflake because he seemed to big for the 90G I had at the time. He got huge in about a year and a half and needed at least a 120G really. He was very active even during the day. They get really really thick, not just long. Aggressive too!

 

[Daecrist]

I figured that was the answer. I'll just have to wait until I have the money to redo the 120g. Thanks!