blue ribboin eel wont eat

[limshady]

I recently purchased a blue ribbon eel, about 3 feet long in my reef tank, Its situated itself nicely underneath some live rock, But i can't seem to get it to eat, i've tried Ghost shrimp, defrosted market shrimp, and even goldfish! i can't seem to get it to eat... any suggestions please???
Tank: 180 gallons
Skimmer, sump
77 degrees
all Parameters good.:help:

 

[yosemite sam]

These eels unfortuately are extremely difficult to care for and have an abismal survival record in home aquariums. Chances are, it will starve in your tank. What other fish do you have? BR eels are very shy and won't do well with active tank mates. If you can, I would take it back to where you purchased it.

 

[oceana]

ditto on the above.
i have never seen something good about these eels other then they look cool.

 

[golfish]

Yeah, best to do some research before you buy..That eels was a gonner way before you bought it. The problems is your LFS might replace it with another for some other person to buy.
I'd try to get it out and take it back for credit.. The only way I have heard of these eels living is to remove it and shove food downs its mouth.

 

[edwar050]

Why don't they eat? Beautiful Moray - It's a shame, do they have any blue ribbons that are aquacultured/bred in captivity. I wonder if it has something to do with their genetics, or being taken from a reef environment, like hunting.

 

[mystangt]

Have you tried the garlic drops on the shrimp?

 

[57chev]

I wish I could say that I even heard of one time where BR moray was able to be kept alive for any length of time in capitivity. I agree with the above. See if you can take em back. They should never be taken out of the wild IMO

 

[nm reef]

I'm moving this thread over to the aggressive forums....but the responses probably won't change much. I've never even considered a eel myself but I have heard that blue ribbons are not a very suitable choice...maybe the folks over in aggressive can help out more.:thinking:

 

[fishamajig]

I know a guy who kept a blue ribbon eel for a bit and he tried everything under the sun to try to get him to eat. even tried that flavor additive that i think seachem makes. nothing worked, eventuially it died. It took longer than he thought though.

 

[fmarini]

blue ribbon eels are difficult, but not impossible. However you have to set up the tank to assist them in their transition. The people who've had success w/ these eels do a few things.
1) smaller tank, lots of live rock and hidey holes. this increases your food density
2)- live foods. small saltwater feeders(minnows) ghost shrimp, mollies, guppies). but i has to be live food at first
3) no tankmates
4) dim lighting conditions for the first week or so
these eels are extremely shy and its not quite clear what they eat in the wild except small crusteans, so people have reported some success w/ small species only tanks until the eel is eating.What usually happens in a tank full of movement and swimming fish these eels will not eat.
Unfortunately they shoul be left in th ocean

 

[unleashed]

this species if a very hard to acclimate to the home aqaurium.often refusing to feed and waste away in captivity.. this is a quote from one of my marine books
max length: 3.9 ft(1.2m)
range: indo-west pacific
min tank size: 30 gal
Foods and feeding: difficult to nourish incaptivity.Live feeder fish are necessary to elicite feeding behavior.start with mollies or guppiesand gradually switch to marine fish and crustatean flesh.feed to sattiation 2 times per week.
reef aquarium compatibilty: may eat crustaceans and small fish
captive care: Ribbon eels make stiking display animals for the marine aquarium.but will refuse to eat in some venues.to acclimate a specimen to captivity,provide a good concentration of potential prey in its vacinity by adding a dozen small mollies or feeder guppies to its aquarium.it will help to house in a smaller tank 30 gal,at least at first,or to partition off the eels prefered hiding place in a larger aquarium.some specimens can be trained to take small peices of fish from a feeding stick or to take food off the aquarium bottom.provide sand and coral rubble for burrowing or an aquascape of live rock for hiding.they are especially proficiant at finding and escaping through small holes and cracks in the aquarium back stripping,and will swim up siphon tubes the lack strainer caps.All ribbon eels are hermaphrodites(all females are derived from males that have changed ---)As sexual transformation occurs,this eel undergoes a chromatic metamorphosis.the juvenile is jet black with yellow dorsal fin.At a size of between 25-32 in(65-80 cm)it begins to transform into a male and its coloration changes from black to blue.the snout and lower jaw turn bright yellow.At about 33 in(85cm)it begins to develope female organs and changes colors until it is either yellowish blue or entirely yellow..
this is deffinatly an interesting species of eel.I hope this helps you out.also I noticed for suitabilty after this species is full grown he become more hardy in the aquarium.
good luch he is a cool specemin