I need a good eel recommendation

[bona42na]

Im looking for an eel for my 110G agressive which Im working on the stocking plan now. Snowflakes are OK but seem quite common and I would like your suggestions and maybe pictures /descriptions of another kind of eel I can consider for my tank. I know a lot of you guys keep eels and look forward to your insight. Thanks Peter

 

[innsmouth]

Zebra's get big, have nice patterns and won't mess with your fish which can always be an issue with eels. They are also long lived in captivity which is a bonus.

 

[bona42na]

Thanks Innsmouth , youure one of the resident experts here. When you say big how big do you mean. I dont want to have to get rid of him in a few years if possible. Thanks

 

[armageddon]

fimbriated

 

[innsmouth]

Thanks Innsmouth , youure one of the resident experts here. When you say big how big do you mean. I dont want to have to get rid of him in a few years if possible. Thanks
Oh please, I'm FAR from an expert! I've only been into this for a short time and most of my knowledge comes from this site and books. I do however have a zebra in my 92 gallon which is kinda small but he's getting a 180 by the end of the summer. From what I understand they rarely get bigger than 3.5' in captivity. There are a bunch of posts about them here and on other sites. Just jump around and do some reading, best thing to do in IMO.

 

[moto757]

jeweled or a tesstala eel looks good to me i dunno i got a snow flake and love him he is my fav. of the tank

 

[bona42na]

Tessalata looks great but I dont think from its description that its a good tankmate for my other fish. Zebra looks like Tess but seems to have a better community attitude !

 

[snakes'n'fish]

Zebra's are a good looking moray, BUT they can be a real challenge to get eating. They do not ship well and they will sometimes refuse food till they die. If you decided to get a zebra make sure it is feeding, watch them feed it at the LFS. If he refuses I would wait till you find one that is.
If your looking for a peaceful moray also consider a chainlink, though they are rarely seen much bigger than a foot around my parts. If you are looking for a hardy easy to keep moray I personally would reconsider the SFE, they may be common. But they still have alot of good looks and tend not to eat there tank mates. If your looking for a more aggressive one check out the fimbriated.. These are another very hardy species, but one you will have to be careful of what you add with him. If it will fit in his mouth and he is hungry, they will probably take it. Fimbriates are good looking, eat anything offered and tend to be rather reasonably priced.
Just thought I'd throw in my piece on them.
HTH
-Brian
here is my fimbriated going after dinner

 

[falconski]

Well, it all depends on what kind of eel you want. Do you want small and docile that keep to themselves or do you want an aggressive outgoing eel that isnt always hiding and is often on the prowl for snacks?
The snowflake is very popular but I find mine to be kind wimpy. He hangs in the rock most of the day and can be intimidated by other fish. Even my 4 stripe damsels slap him in the face with their tails from time to time.
On the other hand, my BlackEdge eel is a terror. He is often on the prowl, kicking up live sand to make his burrow more comfortable and he is intimidated by nothing. He certainly isnt more menacing than a tessa or a green but he is very fun to watch and is quite the coversation piece.
There are many eel species and everyone has their own preferences so do some more research and pick one that most suits your needs.
Personally, this thread has me interested in the fimbriated and I might have to go get myself one.

 

[bona42na]

Great thread guys,thanks for all the replies. I too am leaning toward the Fimbriated now. Its clear what I want is something in between the docile hide in the rocks SFE and a tiger in the tank. I just dont want to have to turn my tank into an eel only tank because I have a savage in there! The fish I plan to get are one each of trigger, tang and a Dragon Wrasse.. Ill try to get them reasonably sized so they arent expensive fish food. Should the eel be introduced first in the tank or what order do you recommend? Everyone feel free to chime in with your experiences. Peter

 

[stacyt]

I would say that it depends on the type of eel that you get. If you added a more docile eel, such as the SFE, I would add them 1st. If you go more aggressive than I would add it last.
As far as SFE eels mine has lits of personallity. For the 1st year or so he was pretty wimpy. Lately he has gotton more aggressive, he's out all the time, and he will chase the fish off durring feeding time, if they get to close. He has changed a lot ounce he put on some size.

 

[moto757]

i had my sfe in my tank first and added my trigger sec. if the trigger trys to get his shrimp the eel will try to get him but the triggeris to fast needless to say my eel is a tough little guy

 

[bona42na]

This is becoming tougher. Having read all eel related posts in the past 100 days or so I have seen almost too much information. I read in post by Irenicus and Leopard Babe (thanks) about eels messing with or eating their Dragon Wrasses which is my intended central or highlight fish whatever Im supposed to call it. This is because the D/W will burrow and mess around in the sand and live rock. So now Im backing off the Fimbriated bandwagon and leaning to either Zebra which is hard to get feeding (thanks Snakesn Fish) or maybe even foregoing eels altogether which would suck! Somebody please convince me that I can have these guys all swimming around happily ! Thanks Peter

 

[gasguzzler]

My Zebra is VERY docile. It lets the small shark crawl all over him. He doesnt mess with anyone so everyone leaves him alone. Hes already over 2 1/2 feet and never fails to miss a feeding. I know they go on food strikes now and then. Dont be alarmed if it goes on a strike for a few weeks. The owner of my LFS had one refuse food for over six months in his tank after acclimation and be perfectly happy. He has had it over three years.

 

[innsmouth]

My zebra would eat all day everyday if I let him. He ate hours after he was acclimated and has never looked back. Even after the food is all gone he crawls all over the tank for at leats an hour looking for more. I do however understand that people have problems getting them to eat at first but this is also the case with a lot of fish.

 

[steel]

ok this is MO i would get everything you want then put in the Eel. everyone i know says that is the way to do it i dont know why but i think it has something to do with the fact they i think that when the eel gets all set up in a tank and somethng else come in say a nother eel or fish then it has to defend it area.
How ever if he is added last then he is the new comer and i really dont think much fish would stop an eel but thats just what i have ben told and see it.
umm there is a web site that has a host of eels that they sell them kinda high priced and no refund if they come to you dead but still some nice eels.
one more thing ribben eels black and yellow very long but stay kinda slim i think they look good and as is with most eels as long as you keep them feed and happy they wont really mes with anything.

 

[jimmyy2kws6]

The snowflake is very popular but I find mine to be kind wimpy. He hangs in the rock most of the day and can be intimidated by other fish. Even my 4 stripe damsels slap him in the face with their tails from time to time.
That is funny. My SFE is very mean and he is always mad if a fish comes near his Rocks to take his food. Once during feeding he bite my ClownTrigger and held on to it while beating it in the sand. I couldn't believe he did that. The Clown trigger now doesn't come near him! my CT is about 3" and SFE is 15" My SFE goes crazy only when feeding.
Jimmy

 

[moto757]

i don't think you will be sorry if you get an eel any tank i own no will have one in it the next one will be an zebra or a chain link eels are awesome:cheer:

 

[mikeeyy]

dont get a dragon eel! mine is beautiful but when its hungry it will eat fish 2 or 3 inches long! my eel is 24 in long. if you get a d eel get fish 5 or 6 inches long min or it will be expensive eel food!

 

[gasguzzler]

As I have stated before, I have seen them go after fish much bigger than that and severly injure them. IMO, they should be kept alone.