Stupid Eel just ate my Niger Trigger

ReefGirlSara

ReefGirlSara

Member
I got this tank last Sunday. I was mainly buying it for the tank, which I want to convert to a reef tank, but it had all these fish in it so I thought I'd just go with a FOWLR for a while. The fish are way too big for the tank, so I am in the process of finding homes for the big ones. 90 Gallon with Banded Cat Shark, Snowflake eel, Viper Eel, Panther Grouper, plus a weird star fish, and some massive hermits and no more trigger...

The one fish I really liked was the Niger Trigger, he was about 4 inches, maybe 5 inches long. My least favorite is this giant eel, I was told he is a Viper Eel, but I'm not sure. He is beautiful, unlike any pictures I can find, but he is pretty fiesty. The guy that sold me the tank said he just ate a clown and a flasher wrasse out of the tank last week, but everything else in there when I bought it seemed like it would be ok.

I went in this morning before I went to work, and the stupid giant eel (oh yeah, he's like 26-28 inches long) had just eaten my beautiful niger trigger. The poor trigger was just barely swallowed, and he was still jumping around trying to get out. I was so mad at this retarded eel. It is pretty, but I can definitely do without him. My LFS offered to do consignment for him, so if I can catch him I may do that. Anyone know a good way to sell such a big eel?
 
My brother may be interested. He has a 265 almost ready to go. He has been cycleing for about 3-4 weeks now. Not sure on his status yet, but he wants to do a large eel. I had a Viper a long time ago and have been looking for one. Do you have a picture you put up? PM me with any info.

Oh yeah, sorry to hear about your Niger dude.
 
I have pics and I'll post them tonight. He is really beautiful, I might keep him if I had a bigger tank. I have him listed on Craigslist for $100, I have no idea how much they are worth. The guy I bought the tank from said he was worth like $300, but he also said the banded cat shark was worth $150...

Would your brother be interested in both of them? I'll PM you later when I post the pics.
 
I understand your frustration but its really not the eels "fault" and I highly doubt he is indeed "retarded". He just has instincts that get stronger and stronger as he ages. He is getting pretty big and those instincts are apparently kicking in. I hear this all the time with both puffers and eels..."Well he was fine for the first year I had him and then he just snapped! Stupid mean fish..blah, blah, retarded fish, blah, blah, blah..." When young, eels are much more docile but theres a reason in the wild the ones who do reach bigger sizes, do. They take advantage of any situation to get food. And this is not as apparent in captivity but instincts do not go away.

I had a situation where one of my morays ate a puffer. The dogface puffer was quite small. They had both eaten and the puffer lay down on the bottom. The eel came up behind him and struck! That was right after feeding!

Then again, maybe that eel is just "retarded"! ;)
 
Yeah, definitely retarded. ;)

I will find him a bigger and better home, and maybe that will help aleviate some of his retardeness...In the mean time, can anyone ID him? Is he really a "viper" eel? I can't find any pics on google of a viper eel that look like him.

EelPhoto2.jpg


EelClose-up.jpg


EelPhoto1.jpg
 
It's a very nice looking Gymnothorax undulatus. Not a viper moray, but quite an aggressive fish (in that it will eat smaller tankmates) regardless.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11020677#post11020677 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Absint Reefer
sulfur head moray very aggressive (watch your hands)
Click to expand...

Not a sulfur head for sure it is a Gymnothorax undulatus. I have one he is the only fish in the tank I tried a larger Clown trigger and that did not even work. He kills just to kill even if he can not eat it.

Here is a picture of mine he is now 3+ feet long and will get near 6 foot

DSC00089Small.jpg
 
Hi, so let me get this straight... you bought this tank from someone who had all this stuffed into the 90 gallon??

HOLY ####. That's soooo wrong. This is the part where I make lots of friends... hehe. Whomever created this scenario in the first place... we should cover their hand in cod oil and stick it in the tank for 5minutes... let them see how well stocked the tank is... hehe.

A 90 gallon tank isn't suited for a single specimen listed (except arguably the Snowflake). I appreciate your efforts at trying to save these critters and find them a new home.

I wanted a shark... but figure a 300gallon tank that is low and wide is a minimum for any of these to be kept beyond a few years.

Sigh....
 
You will probably be best off selling the eel on consignment at your LFS if they will house it. That way, it will be out of your tank and you won't have to deal with trying to ship a large eel. You may have to practically give away the eel, but it will be gone and hopefully in the proper environment.

According to fishbase, they get 5 feet long, and are aggressive and prone to bite. This is not an eel I would want in my tank any longer than it had to be...

fishbase link G undulatus
 
Thanks LisaD, I think that is what I am going to do. I am just pretty scared of catching him!! He always swims near the surface when I come close to the tank, and he's always following my hands...that's where the food comes from though, so I can't blame him. Someone just told me about a garbage bag method in another thread, so I may try that, but I'm pretty nervous about him biting me...
 
Not to make you worry, but in the event the eel does bite you, it may be wise to see medical attention (not only for getting stitches you may need, either). The bacteria in the mouths of eels can be pretty bad, and getting that in an open wound wouldn't be a good thing. There's this one species, I think it was the white margin moray, that a fish book I was borrowing from a friend even listed as venomous because of the bacteria. So just be careful and to be safe, don't get bitten and leave the bite untreated. Don't be scared- Just be careful. Good luck catching him!
 
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