Zebra Moray or Snowflake Moray for my 300 litre tank/ 80 gallon tank.
- Thread starter Badiskm1
- Start date
, but is the snowflake good for with a reef aquarium?
rssjsb
New member
Not really.
(1) Eels are very messy eaters and can create nitrate issues that are bad for corals.
(2) When juveniles, snowflakes also eat invertebrates, so it's hard to keep a cleanup crew.
(3) Snowflakes are evolved to be able to survive for short periods of low tide by slithering for brief periods on rocks. This makes them notorious escape artists. In fact, most die this way long before they reach maturity.
(4) Because of number (3), most people do not realize that when snowflakes reach sexual maturity, their teeth change and they can and will eat fish, even those much larger than their own skinny little heads. They use their bodies to tie knots around the fish, break them down, then take it into their cave to eat at their leisure (hence, water quality issues referenced above).
Sorry to be such a downer, but there's a lot of bad information out there about these fish.
Maybe a dwarf eel would work.
(1) Eels are very messy eaters and can create nitrate issues that are bad for corals.
(2) When juveniles, snowflakes also eat invertebrates, so it's hard to keep a cleanup crew.
(3) Snowflakes are evolved to be able to survive for short periods of low tide by slithering for brief periods on rocks. This makes them notorious escape artists. In fact, most die this way long before they reach maturity.
(4) Because of number (3), most people do not realize that when snowflakes reach sexual maturity, their teeth change and they can and will eat fish, even those much larger than their own skinny little heads. They use their bodies to tie knots around the fish, break them down, then take it into their cave to eat at their leisure (hence, water quality issues referenced above).
Sorry to be such a downer, but there's a lot of bad information out there about these fish.
Maybe a dwarf eel would work.
rssjsb
New member
It's based on my experience. I've kept eels before, including a snowflake that I had for about eight years. I always target fed him first because once he was grown, the other fish would hide until he had eaten.
The interesting thing was that when he reached maturity, he started doing that crazy pretzel thing with larger pieces of food. He wouldn't just swallow it, he would "subdue it," drag it into his cave, then come out and seek more. Later, some of it would drift up out of his cave uneaten.
Maybe I had a weird hoarder eel, but I don't think so.
The interesting thing was that when he reached maturity, he started doing that crazy pretzel thing with larger pieces of food. He wouldn't just swallow it, he would "subdue it," drag it into his cave, then come out and seek more. Later, some of it would drift up out of his cave uneaten.
Maybe I had a weird hoarder eel, but I don't think so.
Define "mixed reef." It all depends on what else you're planning to keep. 99% of the time in this subforum you're going to be told Zebra, Snowflake or Chainlink, and of those only the chainlink really stays small (under 2'). Occasionally you can find "skeletor eels" which are for all behavioral/size purposes the same as chainlinks.
If you have an exceptionally secure tank, you can add Golden Dwarf (Gymnothorax melatremus) to that list (stays under 1'). If you don't plan on keeping any fishes under 4" or so, you can add G. miliaris to the list (max just over 2').
If you are willing to look to the ends of the earth to source one, you could also consider G. zonipectus (1.5') or Enchelycore carychroa (<1'). Should you find a place that stocks either of those, please let me know.
Note that in virtually all circumstances you will be unable to keep arthropods, very small fish (especially slow ones) or (possibly) clams. Additionally, eels under 1' are capable of escaping pretty much anything less secure than a BioCube.
