Tessalatta Eel

[Tangs Rule]

I know the larger tessalatta eels are very aggressive and it is recommended that they be kept alone or with very large agressive fish.

Does anyone have experience with a small tessalatta eel? Are they very aggressive when they are small? Will they still go after fish that are too big to eat?

There is a 5" on liveaquaria.com in the Divers Den. I am very tempted to buy it.

 

[Pootie]

keep it away from groupers.. :eek1::bigeyes::eat:

 

[House of Laughter]

Now that's funny!

House

keep it away from groupers.. :eek1::bigeyes::eat:

 

[marrone]

Even small ones are very aggressive, they also hunt at night so be very careful with them. They grow pretty fast and reach a pretty good size, so even a small one with get large pretty fast.

The one in the picture actually had jump out of the tank and was dying. The owner throw it into the tank so the grouper could eat it. If the eel was alive and in good shape the grouper wouldn't have been able to grab it like that or even hold on to it.

 

[Googz]

I bought one last month from saltwaterfish, it grew like 4-5 inchs at least eats a ton and produce alot of waste. They dont really have good eyesite so they are pretty safe with fish however mine does go after my fish when its feeding but isnt fast enought to get ahold of anything. Im upgrading my tank hopefully next week!
Btw it came in really good health from swf it started eating that same day.

 

[Tangs Rule]

Googz, what are you feeding yours, and how often? I was thinking of keeping 2 of them together with maybe one or two more fish like a volitan lion and maybe a nice angel or trigger. Good idea? Bad idea?

 

[marrone]

Don't keep a Lion fish with a eel. The eel will chase after it and the Lion will probably stress out and die. Unless it's one of the more gentler eels, like the Zebra or Snow Flake.

You need to be careful with eels and triggers as a trigger may bit into the eel or pull food out of the eel mouth, especially large triggers. This will causes injuries to the eel, which could result in it dying. Also eel can and do grab onto trigger when fighting over food.

 

[marrone]

I bought one last month from saltwaterfish, it grew like 4-5 inchs at least eats a ton and produce alot of waste. They dont really have good eyesite so they are pretty safe with fish however mine does go after my fish when its feeding but isnt fast enought to get ahold of anything. Im upgrading my tank hopefully next week!
Btw it came in really good health from swf it started eating that same day.

Not having good eyesight doesn't make an eel save with fish. Most eels with chase after fish, especially when food is in the tank. Also most eels hunt at night, so they can easily find fish that are sleeping for the night.

 

[Tangs Rule]

So, Marrone, you think it's best to keep eels by themselves or with bigger, passive fish? Like a larger tang? Or Angel?

 

[marrone]

It depends on the eel. Eels like Snow Flake and Zebra are usually not that aggressive and you can be kept them with smaller fish, though Snow Flakes with eat very small fish. The bigger more aggressive eels, like the Green Moral and the Tessalatta, which get very large, need to be keep with aggressive and large fish or by themselves. Grouper, Snappers, Triggers and large Angels will work. You also need a large tank for some of the big Eels, as some reach 4'-6' and are pretty thick.

It's also very important to use a feeding stick, as this will train the eel to take food just from the stick instead of going crazy when you place food in the tank. Many fish get grab and hurt from an eel going crazy over food in the tank.

 

[Googz]

Thats true marrone, however i found that fish are usually fast enough to get away. Like i said it does go after my fish but it hasnt been able to catch one yet.
I feed mine i feed my fish two times a day, once in the morning and once when i get home. I feed silversides, krill, squid and clams mine accepts a variety of food. I have mine with a lion, clown trigger, a six/goldline grouper and a niger trigger. I also have a lot of live rock for the eel to hide. When i first got it i would feed it with tongs just to be sure that it got food, now its agressive enought to get its own food.

 

[marrone]

Thats true marrone, however i found that fish are usually fast enough to get away. Like i said it does go after my fish but it hasnt been able to catch one yet.
I feed mine i feed my fish two times a day, once in the morning and once when i get home. I feed silversides, krill, squid and clams mine accepts a variety of food. I have mine with a lion, clown trigger, a six/goldline grouper and a niger trigger. I also have a lot of live rock for the eel to hide. When i first got it i would feed it with tongs just to be sure that it got food, now its agressive enought to get its own food.

Eels are pretty fast and they usually catch fish during feeding frenzies, especially when a fish may have some food in its mouth. Also most Eels hunt at night, and with fish hiding/sleeping in the rocks, can make them easy victims for an Eel.

Small Eels should be feed about 3 -4 times a week, and not over fed. When they get large once to twice a week is usually good. As for diet, well that should be based on the Eel. Some are fish eating while others eat inverts, like clams and shrimps. You should also soak their food in vitamins.

Even though the Eel can find it's own food now you really should use tongs or a feeding stick. This will keep the Eel under control.

 

[Tangs Rule]

I am using a 150 or a 180 for the eel. Liveaquaria has two nice small tessalatta eels. 1 is 5" and the other is 7". I was thinking of buying both at this small size and adding a blonde naso tang or a vlamingi tang or a blue ring angel.

 

[Awibrandy]

Eels are pretty fast and they usually catch fish during feeding frenzies, especially when a fish may have some food in its mouth. Also most Eels hunt at night, and with fish hiding/sleeping in the rocks, can make them easy victims for an Eel.

Small Eels should be feed about 3 -4 times a week, and not over fed. When they get large once to twice a week is usually good. As for diet, well that should be based on the Eel. Some are fish eating while others eat inverts, like clams and shrimps. You should also soak their food in vitamins.

Even though the Eel can find it's own food now you really should use tongs or a feeding stick. This will keep the Eel under control.

You guys better listen up! Marrone is not stearing you wrong. I have both a snowflake and a zebra eel in my fowlr along with a Peacock Volitan Lion, 2 Purple tangs, Niger Trigger, Dog Face Puffer and a lg. GS Maroon Clown. And although my eels are of the gentler eels and the fish are on the large size I have witnessed the occasional mishap where the zebra the older of the two has almost bit a fish during feeding. Fortunately he/she has blunt teeth and not the sharp ones others have.

Marrone, would you say my guys should also be fed with a feeding stick? I have never been able to get any of my eels to feed off of anything..

 

[marrone]

That's pretty small so you need to make sure you're feeding them a lot. The 150 - 180 will be ok for a while, but they will grow fast. The fish you have listed will probably be ok, until the Eels gets bigger, and then they could be a problem. Also a 150 - 180 is to small for a Vlamini, it's best to pick another tang. just make sure the fish you get are a lot larger than both Eels.

 

[marrone]

Marrone, would you say my guys should also be fed with a feeding stick? I have never been able to get any of my eels to feed off of anything..

It's usually a good thing to get them to eat off a feeding stick. It keeps them from chasing fish when food is placed in the tank. Also if you have aggressive fish this is a way to make sure that the Eel is getting food and not being hurt if a fish tries to grab something from it's mouth.

I would try tongs, that's what I use and my Eels and haven't had any problems getting them to take food from them.

 

[Tangs Rule]

Yes, the Vlamingi will outgrow the 150 or 180 in time, but I was only planning on getting a 4 or 5 inch for now. However, with the rate of growth you are describing on the eels, that small size cold become a problem. The few fish that have outgrown my 6 foot tanks find a happy home at my Dad's house, where he has an 14 foot 750 gallon tank.

What do you use as a feeding stick? I noticed you mentioned tongs. What else? And I am pretty set on the tessalatta, so what should I start feeding it? Silversides? Squid? live feeder shrimp?

 

[Pinkheine]

The dreaded tessalata eel, just the name sends shivers down my spine. LoL.

We had one that was about nine inches or so, for two days exactly. First day he chowed down on my 6-7" bird wrasse. I figured okay he was hungry and that should sustain him for a few days. WRONG. Next day it was my saddle grouper. He expelled the saddle grouper though, guess it was a bit much for his glutton self. Next day we returned him.

That Fire Coral Eel they have in the Divers Den is gorgeous. We had one for four years he was gorgeous, very peaceful, bothered noone.

As for the feeding stick, that is the best way to go. The eel didn't even look for food unless he saw the stick overtime. We used plastic tubing (hard kind) one large, one smaller. We'd put the food in the larger tube and push it out with the smaller one once it got to the eel. It protected the food getting it to the bottom of the 170g so none of the other fish got at it. And the eel got his meal.

Honestly I think no fish is safe with a tessie but that is just me and about every other person I've talked to. LOL. I was that specific tessies third home. The guy at the LFS thought he finally got rid of it.. until he saw us with a bucket in hand. He laughed and replaced the fish he ate and gave us a refund. He knew it was a bad news eel. LOL


Typically we don't give up on anything and had aggressive species of fish anyways to an extent over the years.. but they by far push the envelope.
IMO there are far prettier eels that are much more docile.


Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[wrasseman]

this wont help ! i have had 2 of them one 9" and he was crazy aggresive . the other was 24" and i could hold and caress him like my jap dragon eel .he would never get aggresive at all even during feeding . so its each fish with a different temperment as with humans .be carefull and aware that they can be dangerous to anything they stumble upon . i have a green eel that is 16" long and he has tried to eat a 9"trigger, a big fish compared to that little eel . good luck if you do purchase it but its best in its own tank probably . i have 6 eel that i will sell ,im getting interested in other things . true viper eel , 2 yellow heads , green crazy one , brazilian horned eel and another crazy unidentified eel . [email protected] if your interested

 

[Googz]

I would check out swf i bought mine there it was cheaper and bigger then what live aquaria offered. Also the shiping is also alot cheaper for some reason they only charge fuel prices or something? My eel came in really good health ate the first day out of the box!