Garden Eels : Look Do Not Keep

[jhale]

Joe, that's good to know that cyanide is not used as much as I thought it was.

Jared, I agree on the tangs. Juveniles might be suited to smaller tanks but they grow up fast. I got a tiny purple tang to eat the algae in my frag tank (30G), it did a great job. But it has grown so fast that I need to place him in a larger tank as soon as I can.

Dean that's a great idea If we could get the same quality of information as to why a fish is not suited to be kept in captivity, I think that's much better than just having a list .

 

[IconicAquariums]

That list would get mighty long very quickly. It is disgusting some of the fish that are offered, and commonly available in most shops. It's also saddening the species that so many new hobbyists buy that are doomed (dragonets anyone?)

 

[georgelc86]

Jonathan,
We have had limited success with garden eels. We currently have 13 in our display aquarium that are doing fairly well. That being said the original number introduced was close to 25 individuals. That, to me, is proof positive that this should not be considered a success, and I am ashamed of the losses we have incurred. We feed that tank over 6 times a day, as garden eels will not leave their holes to find food. Food needs to blow by them on a regular basis. Also these are not reef inhabitants, they live colonially in their thousands in sand beds, constantly feeding on zooplankton. We felt our tank was large enough (580 gallons) to be able to sustain a small colony and afford them some (limited) semblance of their natural environment.
We do not , and will not sell garden eels. Much needs to be learned about their husbandry requirements.
We may try to "push the envelope" as it were, at the store, to try and understand the husbandry of certain animals. However we have a lot of resources available to us, including being able to feed a vast array of foods, as frequently as we choose.
I am rather shocked that these are being offered rather frivolously by online vendors, along with ventralis anthias, bluespot jawfish, moorish idols and the like.
Please do not consider the limited success we are having with these wonderful (heck, fricking awesome) animals, as a reason to try them.
As we better understand what these animals require for long term success, (remember, we have only had ours for 10 months) we'll be sure to pass it on, but right now we are only in the learning phase, and hope that hobbyists understand why we are reluctant to sell them.

I would like to say that I commend your honesty to your fellow MR members and to your clients. It's a nice feeling to know that serious aquarists, beginner or seasoned, have vendors like you as well as our MR who will be honest with us rather than some LFS hack who show us something flashy to get us to buy. Man do I loathe them.

 

[Mattl22]

I just came across this old post and was wondering if anyone has had any more info on these cool eels a few yrs later

 

[Surgeonfishmates]

Garden eels

Garden eels are the reason I set up my 500 gallon aquarium. I have surgeonfish, corals,and garden eels. I have had my garden eels for over a year and I'm glad I bought them.