Splendid garden eel (gorgasia preclara)

[craiglanda]

I was wonder about the gorgasia preclara i have 100 gal reef with with very limited fish (1percula clown, 1 rusty angel, 1 six line wrasse, and a green madarin) lots of inverts and a sand bed that is 4-6 inches deep. mainly a lps/sps tank but have some soft corals that were there from when i started in the hobby and have been fragging out for trades and such. I recently added one of these eels and its been like 2 weeks and i have not seen him anywhere. was wondering if anyone knew any tricks to get him to come out. Im begining to wonder if its even stil in the tank. checked the closet and virtually the entire apartment because its driving me nuts wondering if i am gonna find him in my shoes or worse my girlfriends shoes haha. i feed regularly the rest of the inhabitants of the tank DT's cyclops brine and the occasional fresh fine chopped fish/scallops from the market. mainly for the carpet anemone. I have never had any issues with any fish thus far until this little guy. Any help would be greatly appreciated for there isnt much info out there on these eels.

 

[Terryz_]

Kept one before... Everyday, i see it trying to jump out of the tank... dun even dig when i have a 4 inch sandbed... Died eventually due to starvation...

 

[sedgro]

I have 6 Gorgasia preclara and 6 Heteroconger hassi in my plenum-sump with a 6 inch sandbed. I will have had them all for 2 years in January. They eat pretty much anything that floats by, but seem to prefer mysis. Hard to get pictures of, but here are two:

 

[Terryz_]

Mind to share how you get them to start feeding.. I have tried every food i have but they just won't start eating... And what grade sand are you having...

TIA...

 

[megaspoot]

Awesome looking eels sedgro, please do share how you feed them. I may soon get a few but if feeding is going to be a problem then I'm not sure it would be a wise decision.

 

[sedgro]

I got them from a LFS who transhipped them from Bali. Meaning they did not spend any time in sandless tanks in Los Angeles stressing out. Most took anywhere from 1-3 weeks to start feeding. This was mostly overcoming their initial shyness and actually coming out to feed. I never have fed them anything more special than enriched mysis or brine. My sand bed is medium grade/coarse sand ~ 6 inches deep. The Gorgasia preclara are definitely the LEAST hard of the 2 species. I lost about 50% of the specimens I got, mostly because they were so reluctant to come out of their burrows. I have not lost any of the Heteroconger hassi. Interestingly, the Gorgasia eels seem to stay put while the Hass's eels move their burrows frequently. Very interesting fish, but should be reserved for a tank with few other fish present.

JOhn

 

[Terryz_]

I am wondering if they will do fine in a 3 inch sandbed? Hoping to give them a try when i see them..

 

[toonces]

Wow, that is a cool setup with the eels sedgro.

 

[iamwhatiam52]

Sedgro,
Anything else you can tell us about your eel tank would be appreciated.
How large/deep is the tank? Is the light like a normal reef tank, or similar to what the eels might have in a natural setting in deep water?

 

[craiglanda]

mine has either been hiding or escaped. Do they ever completely bury themselves in the sand for days at a time where i wont see them? im starting to wonder if its in the tank still. its been almost 3 weeks now and no sign of him should i start to dig around for it?

 

[theresearcher]

Why are they so difficult to take care of?

 

[SushiGirl]

This thread is from 2007.
If you google "garden eel care" you will find a lot of first-hand experience on other forums.