Getting Rid of a Moray Eel

[jlneng]

HI All,
I have a tiger reef moray named spot. It is about 40" long and about 2" in diameter and resides in my 125g reef tank. I want to get him out of the tank, so I can put him in a different tank. Aside from taking everything out of the tank to net him, does anyone have any eel removal tricks up their sleeves? Any way I could knock him out for a minute or two with out screwing up the other fish invertibrates, and corals? Thanks!

 

[Len]

Fish, including eels, are very passive and stupid at night. If you know where it sleeps, you can chorale him into a net or container by gentling prodding at it in the right direction. To see what you're doing, a red light (red filter on a flashlight will work) works great. Red light is not visible to most marine organisms.

Sorry, but I've got no specific eel tricks.

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

Hi jlneng, You got yourself a situation I see, and being that you placed this eel in a reef tank and allowed it to grown as large as it is now that the only way you will get this eel out is by tearing your tank apart for as it is now, your tank is way to small to do a reef tank with this eel as well it be too small a tank for the snake eel itself.

For if the eel was smaller, you might deal with trying to trap it, but being as it is now that the eel is 40" and is yet still too grow that even that this snake eel isn't as active as some true eels, yet it be more active then the SFE or Zebra morays.

If you can locate a fish hospital anywhere, they can tell you or sell you a sedative to for you not want to just use anything to do this, for you can have no idea of the many side effects or that if the eel will recover from being drugged. Now I just remembered that there is one that is about 1.5 hours from me and I just giving them a call and left a message for their fish doctor to see what he might suggest. I had giving the receptionist there besides my home phone number, my email so that perhaps he might get back to me sometime tonight, if not tomorrow.

I'm sorry Len, on what you suggested is not realistic, the snake eel will when sleep be in the rock work and aren't really stupid. Least of all, the only thing which be in our favor be that we can think and reason were as the eel only reasoning be of its own survival.

Buddy

 

[Len]

I've had smaller eels and they behave like all marine fish do when resting at night - that is, they're totally clueless to their surroundings. IME, it is extremely easy to catch any fish at night if you know where it sleeps. I would suspect this makes catching a big fish easier since it's a lot easier to find where it sleep versus something like a Pseudochromis.

 

[jlneng]

Scuterica Tigressa, Tiger Reef Moray aka spot is nocturnal, he sleeps all days and hunts for food at night if hungry. I have red leds in the hood so I check out the tank at night. It looks like it will be tear down time to get him out.

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

Like for many eels as yours, do become more active when its night for which they feel that using the cover of night along with their sensitive sense of smell as for if you only had this eel in this tank, it would appeared out more often. For ask around people who own a goldentail moray, that if they keep a well stocked aquarium, this eel will mostly only dash out when there is food. For myself, I keep a pair of these eels in a 70 all by their lonesome, and they swim around much into the open.

I called again the animal hospital, and the doctor who is in charge there has not returned my call as yet. For other then tearing the tank apart, might be your only option. But please wait and see if the doctor here can give some thoughts on the situation before doing so.

One other thing which troubles me is that, this eel is quite long and if the doctor here can suggest any sedatives for the eel. The eel might wrap its body around a rock other then being inside of its lair. But still if there is something to give the eel to make this easier and you not have to tear the who tank apart in trying to remove the eel.

So can you wait to see if the doctor can make this a easier job? If he tells me that there be nothing to do here, I will post then that you can pick the time and day to remove the eel from this 125.

Can I ask you in how long you had this snake eel, and at what size it was when you gotten it? Also, what you been feeding it? And can you post a pic?

Just before I was to post the message above, I tried calling again and had a asked the doctor there the question and this is what he said. They need to sedative the whole tank, that he knows of nothing else what you can do and he as well as myself had come up with one other who might know if you can place some sedative in the eels food. But you need right now is patience for the idea we came up with is that you can email Charles Delbeek who is at the Waikiki Aquarium in Hawaii.

Sorry I nothing better to tell you on this and when the time comes to remove this snake eel, wear protective gloves in case of it biting, for a net here aren't strong enough I believe to handle the eels weight, maybe. I handle it as if a snake on land, get it about near the neck and about 12-15" at the other end of its body.

Buddy

 

[jlneng]

Hi Buddy,
Thanks for the reply, I have had the eel for about 5 years, it was about 14" long when I bought him. He is a nice gentle animal. I will post a picture of it when I get home..I am going to set up a 300g tank in my basement with aggressive saltwater fish. I am planning to put him in there....

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

Yes, it is gentle animal, but yet still your tank is too small even for this eel. I also see your plan is too place it in a nice size aquarium, that is great, but do please be careful in your aggressive tank fish, this eel wouldn't stand a chance.

Now I did however get a sedative item by name for you. Its called "Finquel", this power substance is to be placed in front of the eels face that it breaths it in. I cannot tell you what if this will harm your corals.

Buddy

 

[neptunesgardener]

Remove all rock.Use big net.Old Man oil of clove will anesthetize fish.

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

Now I did however get a sedative item by name for you. Its called "Finquel", this power substance is to be placed in front of the eels face that it breaths it in. I cannot tell you what if this will harm your corals.

OOPS!!


The word should had been, powdery substance 8O

Also, An anesthesia is a more correct way of putting it>

 

[Anonymous]

Perhaps try making some sort of trap out of a very long length of PVC. Eels love investigating tunnels. I think it's be easy to get it to swim inside a baited pipe.

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

Perhaps try making some sort of trap out of a very long length of PVC. Eels love investigating tunnels. I think it's be easy to get it to swim inside a baited pipe.

With the eel being the size it is and tank being too small as it is, the idea of a tube pipe isn't feasible due to the idea that the trap would need to be of such a size, which is why I not bothered to suggest it.

There is however one way that idea could work for him. That if first get the PVC pipe , and get it 6" and about 2.5' long. Once he has this and set with a cap with small holes on one end and being that his to tear this tank apart as it is, he removes "everything".

Once every coral and rock are out, he place the pipe with a string on the open end. Also there be some holes drilled along this pipe for two reasons. One is that there be a water circulation inside the pipe, and two is so you can see how far the eel is inside the pipe once the eel goes inside, he pulls it up quick and covers the open end. He needs the pipe to be larger because the eel is already almost fully grown. For yes, it is longer the pipe in some ways, but also know that you need it too be.

 

[jlneng]

I had another idea, dosing the eel with a finquel solution using a turkey baster right in his nose. That way the rest of the tank should not be greatly affected? Anyone have any comments? I can get him out while he is anesthetized....

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

Not so good of an idea jlneng, for the sudden powder and water you push will cause the eel to retreat into the rock work. You need to gentle place the solution as near to the eel face you can and hope that it be enough. Also you understood that I would feel so much better that if you have not as many corals that perhaps it might be a far better idea to remove them, then you dose the tank, LR be no problem, it be the corals that you have which leaves me with much concern. As well, the eel needs to breath this in, and how much and how long a time period will depend on the amount you use, also you not want to overdose. You see jlneng, if this was a FO tank, you have no problem then in what you got to do here.