snowflake moray eel : help with tank ?

[new_world_disor]

well my mate is donating me a teeny snowflake eel. ive read about them on the net for the last few months. im going to be using my old 21g tank for now. the eel is only around 3-5" long at the mo. theres a few things i wanted to ask. that my mate wasnt to sure about ( he has a 6' eel tank ) do i HAVE to have a sand bed ? or can i go BB and have tubing and rocks around the place ? how fast will it grow. as i intend on upgrading to a bigger tank in the next few months. and is it easy to handle ? or will it take a finger off ??

thanx

adam

 

[ledford1]

I don't think sand is necessary but having a place to hide is, so using tubing or PVC would be great.

Handling can be tricky. When I bought my SFE, the guy at the LFS dropped him on the floor twice. I wasn't happy about that, but SFEs are tough/hardy.

It was never aggressive towards me, but I was always respectful of him and kept an eye on him while working in the tank.

You'll also need a secure lid over the tank - no holes in the top where the SFE can slip out. They are great at escaping. If it does happen to get out, they can live for some time out of water. So finding it on the carpet doesn't necessarily mean it's dead. Throwing it back in the tank may be all it needs to revive itself.

 

[shootist]

They a lot of fun to keep. I kept one for almost 3 years before I had to tear his home down and give him to LFS. Very hearty,mine never tried to escape and I never had lids,but if hes hungry or unhappy Im sure one would leave the tank first chance. They are the least aggressive of any eels Ive encountered,but I still wouldnt get your fingers around its mouth,though smaller ones arent likely to come after you. I used to feed mine a lot of shrimp and I think he would eat clams as well,used a fondue fork and he would always come right out to eat when he saw the fork. If you keep it fed you can keep most fish with it,but if you are gone for a couple of days or forget to feed him all bets are off.

 

[KDodds]

Eels can make sand bottomed tanks a bit messy, especially when the tank is on the smaller side. If you go with rocks, make sure they can not be toppled. You never want to "handle" an eel, they can and do bite, and it can be painful, and can also lead to infections. There is some debate about whether "envenomation" occurs, which would probably more properly be described as something more aking to being bit by a monitor lizard, microbes in the mouth can cause and infection, increased pain, etc. Net and a bucket, with a lid.

 

[deahtop]

what livestock do you have in your current tank?

 

[new_world_disor]

the tank will just be for the eel. i recently upgraded to a 120. and the old tank is empty ( other than water ) ive got about 20lb of LR now. and a pile of 3" tubing. gna go pick the eel up tmoz i think the only thing im a little worried about is, how fast do they grow. as its under 4" at the mo ( probs bout 2.5 ) and i cnt upgrade for about 4 months.

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[KDodds]

4 months should be fine, it will likely have only grown a couple of inches in that time.

 

[new_world_disor]

how big is it likley to get over a year or so ?