how do i......

norcal

Member
....get my new sf eel to eat? he is about 20 inches long and i have been trying to get him to take shrimp from a feeding stick but so far he is not having it. what is the best way to get them to start feeding. i have only had him a couple days so im not worried yet, but the sooner he starts eating, the sooner i rest easy! awesome fish by the way.
 
B

boatdrinks

Guest
Might just be a matter of the eel settling in to it's new environment. Sometimes they take a few days to get accustomed to their new surroundings before they will eat.
Have you tried different types of food? Sometimes they will eat certain things, and ignore others for a while.
I'd recommend trying krill, scallop, squid and silversides to start out with. Maybe he'll find a different food more to his "liking". These guys do need a varied diet anyways, so having them on hand anyways is a good idea.
good luck getting him to eat, and if you can, we'd all love to see some pics!
 

gofish85

Member
sometimes these guys can start fasting. i have had snf eels not eat for months. but also im sure it's just stressed out about the new environment. make sure you have a lot of caves for it and try to keep the lights off as much as possible since it is a nocturnal animal. and also give it a variety of food. anything that smells a lot .......smelt, krill, squid , shrimp ,silversides... then just wait let us know what happens
 

norcal

Member
ok cool. i am going to set up a pvc pipe and bury it in the sand for him. have the ends come out in the rocks. that way maybe he will feel a little bit more comforatable. i will also keep it darker longer in the tank as well. ill try and get some squid and silversides. where would i get silversides? i always hear them talked about but have never seen any at the store. also should i just get like squid from the grocery store or what? thanks for the help
 

gofish85

Member
usually your lfs will carry silversides and squid. you can use squid from the grocery store. silversides are a type of fish sold frozen and whole.. just try this by putting both of them on a feeding stick or even just dropping it by his home..have some patients with this process. they can go awhile without feeding
 

unleashed

Active Member
some eels just dont like shrimp .silverslides are a good choice .try soaking them in a cup of water with 2 drops garlic extreme before feeding garlic tends to entice a finicy fish to eat. no more than 2 drops more will cause confusion from the over powering scent and draw the fish away fron the food(this is recommended on the lable).wiggle the fish to make it appear alive
 

norcal

Member
ok i will try the silversides. i have been very busy lately and havent had a chance to get to my lfs. the good news is that he ate a piece of shrimp today. only one small piece though. i will try getting some silversides asap. by the way, he likes the pipe i put in. hid in it all day today.
off the topic. i have sand in my tank. has anyone ever had a sfe burrow in the sand? mine has dug around a bit to make more passageways in and out of rocks. but the weird thing is, every now and then, he will actually bury his head under a rock, and come up on the other side with just his head sticking out of the sand. its pretty funny but im a little worried he will get stuck or something. anyone else had an eel do something like this??
 

unleashed

Active Member
I never used sand in my agressive tanks but even my black moray which replaced my sfe digs in the cc.I only see him when hes hungry.but I think its pretty normal concidering the sand is so soft and easy to move through
 
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