EELS!!!

[Darkangel]

I want an ell real bad! anyone know of a good reef safe eel? i was looking at the blue ribbon , white aka ghost eel or the banded? Any info anyone on these types? I have heard the blues are difficult to get to eat but once feedign are pretty hardy? I have also heard that these eels sometiems eat small shripms? bu twhat kinds? and we talking like tiny small shrimps? or are we talking like cleaner shrimp and fire shrimp sized? thanks for any help befre hand!

 

[fungia]

i have read here that ribbon eels are very hard to keep because they dont eat anything and starve. people say they also like to climb out of the tank! 8O i would avoid them.

not sure about any reef safe eels. i am interested too. that would be so cool, eel in a reef tank. anyone?

 

[ryan_lalande]

well one of the nicest and smallest only getting to about 18 inches is the snowflake moray eel...its got awsome patterns ust look it up o nthe net......i had a few....never ate the cleaner shriimp, even let the shrimp clean there teeth!

never had a fish get eaten, however i had a 6 line wrasse disapear..so i dont know if it was sleepin and the eel found it.....i fed it gold fish which you shouldntdo cause its not naturall........however i found it got so used to goldfish it would even try to eat the other fish.....i would imagine however once they get full size they could eat small damsels or clownfish.......its the closest thing you will find for a reef safe eel aside from the ribbon eel...........basically no fish small enough to fit in its mouth..so basically that rules out alot of reef fish, but still its debateable
i had it in a reef.......with small fish like clows and a blennie...never a problem except the possiblity oif the wrasse

what do all you guys think about what i said?

ohh and by the way save ur money dont get the ribbon.!

 

[LFS42]

eels are reed safe as far as corals go.
but the produce a massive amount of waste and
IMHO, I would not put them in a reef.
I just set-up another tank for an eel/scorpion enviroment.

All eels will eat anything they can fit into their mouths.
including shrimp
starfish and urchins are well suited as tank mates.

If you wanted to put corals with them, Sun corals work the best.

Other delicate filter feeders will work as well, like sea apples.

BTW, I've seen a snowflake eel get bigger than 18"
all the moray types get at least 24" most get 30"

 

[Anonymous]

I have heard that also. Never seen one in a reef tank.

 

[Len]

Golden Dwarf Morays (G.meletramus) is reef safe. It's TINY (about 12" max and pencil thin). NKT has one in his reef, but he's on vacation so I'll ask him to post pics of it when he returns next week. It's a cool eel, doesn't bug shrimps or fish and is very tame. Perfect reef safe eel. The problem is it's pricey They range from $100-200 (the more golden, the more expensive). It's gorgeous though!

 

[Anonymous]

give us some pics. I think everyone would like to have a eel in there tank but are afraid too

 

[vair]

I've had Snow Flake Eels and a Golden Eel in a reef tank. No problems eating other fish, I kept them well feed.
The problem beside the waste, I have a huge skimmer, was the knocking everthing down all the time. They are strong and can move the most stable rock set ups. I moved them to ther own tank after always fixing the rock scape and picking corals up all the time.
Dave

 

[Expos Forever]

It's worth repeating that eels are NOTORIOUS for being escape artists! They will escape through the tiniest opening. Your hood must be completely sealed or fitted with a plexiglass barrier extending above the high point in your aquarium.

 

[Darkangel]

Hey thanks for the info, cant wait to se pic of this golden eel Anyone know a god online place to get one? Hey *save_the_expos* that logo looks familar, is that from an old band logo? MY friend , this lfs owner just got in a couple of these white eels today, they are called *ghost* eels and they are very pretty,all white, look like some kind of moray but i cant find anything on the web at all about them. Anyone hear of them before of know any of care facts for them? Thanks abunch

 

[Mogo]

I was about to purchase a snowflake eel. When I went back to the LFS a few days later to pick him up, I asked why they had him isolated in a separate container in the aquarium. The LFS dude said that he had been trying to escape. He said that if I didn't have a tight cover, then forget it.
I did.

 

[wade1]

Len mentioned NKT's dwarf moray... here is a picture he posted in the photo gallery:

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... hlight=eel

Wade

 

[Len]

Here's the pic itself, originally posted in the Photo Gallery Forum:

(must be logged in to see since it's an attachment)

 

[texman]

I have had a golden dwarf for about 2 years - he/she is a good reef inhabitant. I have a stainless grate on top of my tank, but that is more for my wrasses than the eel, since I have never seen the eel even come close to fully emerging from the rockwork. The only issue is that he needs to be individually fed with fish chucks or shrimp, since he will not eat the pulverized food which I feed to the tank. I feed him every 2 or 3 days and he seems to do well.

 

[DOGMAI]

I have an eel that i bought about almost a year ago. He is about a foot long and the width of a pencil. He looks like an earthworm. He is pink like you can see through his skin. He looks pink with like a white pearl to it. Not very colorful. He lives in the sand and only pokes his head out when i feed. I have not seen him in a couple of months but this is normal. For a while I thought he was dead but when I moved the tank i found him still in the sand. Fun to watch and kinda cool when you get to see him. it is like a treat, if you will. The lfs did not know what kind of eel he was. paid $20 for him. If i can ever get any pics i will post them.

 

[AngelMaster]

I asked about ribbon eels in this forum a few months ago. Was told by SeaMaiden they are very hard to keep and should only be tried by experienced marine aquarists so never tried it, her sea-Monkey icon just looks so knowledgeable

 

[teevee]

Confirming all above concerning ribbon eels. Many experts estimate only a tiny fraction ever make it past a month in captivity (Bob Fenner).

Most eels are escape artists and you'll want to make sure the tank is totally locked down. Some people report that they spend their evenings patrolling the water surface for openings.

Snowflakes reach a maximum length of three feet. Not a good choice if you have small fish/crusties, regardless.

 

[Anonymous]

cool pic.I want one

 

[Anonymous]

I have had a Snow for about 4 months now......he has not ate anything other than what I feed him.......store bought perch that I slice in bitesize pieces. He has not harmed anything in my tank and even shares a hiding place with a Coral Banded Shrimp. He has escaped once out of the 100 gallon tank..my dog found him and prevented his death by alerting me with alot of barking and growling. This is just something you have to accept.......hese guys may just decide to kill themselves by crawling out of your tank.

 

[fishfanatic2]

100-200$ is on the low end for an eel. I've seen ones in my LFS run for 500$! I think that was a golden one.