is it worth getting an eel?
- Thread starter halo_frk03
- Start date
unleashed
Active Member
to be honest I think most people have problems with eels eating fish due to their feeding schedule.My first eel was a SFE I had it for just over 3 yrs I keft a cleaner crew hermits snails even an engenerr gobie which was suposed to be a nono with eels.also damsels .My first set up stock of my agressive tank was 10 damsels(which slowly killed each other off) normal behavior issues for damsels but I also kept a vol lion s&s puffer SFE ,majestic foxface,silver scat,I feed my tanks daily on a normal basis.2 times with pellets and flaked foods .and once in the evening with frozen foods and larger meaty foods for predators.none of these other fish including the eel botherd my damsels.in fact i had no issues with other than damsel issues .until i got my panther grouper and my niger trigger,then later a lunear wrasse(all damsels dissapeared after they arrived(slowly) after the eel passed away after 3 1/2 yrs in my tank. I did replace my eel (not the damsels) they go through feeding spirts of every day feeding down to once a month feeding depending on the eels appetite. I also have a 2 1/2 almost 3 ft tess he is housed with what was 15 damsels now down to just 2 1 giant starry hermit and 1 smaller starry(they eat the damsels(also finding the damsels killed each other off and the crabs ate the remains) the 2 remaining damsels will litterally swim right through the teeth of my tess several times per day the tess shows no interest what so ever in them.he is fed every 3 days now.this is an eel that was returned to my LFS 3 times for clearing out the tanks he was kept in,was fed goldfish only once in a while.eels are not snakes and should not be fed as such IMO( .I have a 16 yr old ball python) if an eel is actively hunting for food ,feed it .dont wait for it to eat the fish you house with it and then think its a bad fish.its not bad ITs hungry and if you keep them with other fish remember its food to them. they do not have to be gorged to be content a couple smaller meals per week is much healther for digestion than one huge gut swelling meal. you can tell when your eel and other fish are hungry .they will tell when to feed them if you pay attention.
boalgf
Member
Originally Posted by unleashed
until i got my panther grouper and my niger trigger,then later a lunear wrasse(all damsels dissapeared after they arrived(slowly)
Sounds more likely that the grouper, trigger, or wrasse did your damsels in or they kept killing themselves off. Probably wasn't the eel if fed properly. People normally want to blame the eel in the tank when things die or disappear. Now if you have a tesselatta, then of course it's probably him. I've had a SFE and a zebra eel. Both were in with fish small enough to eat and there were never any casualties since they are not piscivorous. Unless you actually saw your SFE strike out and take down a fish, it's more likely something aggressive like a trigger or puffer took it out or it died on it's own.
until i got my panther grouper and my niger trigger,then later a lunear wrasse(all damsels dissapeared after they arrived(slowly)
Sounds more likely that the grouper, trigger, or wrasse did your damsels in or they kept killing themselves off. Probably wasn't the eel if fed properly. People normally want to blame the eel in the tank when things die or disappear. Now if you have a tesselatta, then of course it's probably him. I've had a SFE and a zebra eel. Both were in with fish small enough to eat and there were never any casualties since they are not piscivorous. Unless you actually saw your SFE strike out and take down a fish, it's more likely something aggressive like a trigger or puffer took it out or it died on it's own.
halo_frk03
Member
Originally Posted by HaLo_Frk03
im gonna stick with what my stocking list is...
-1 sfe
-2 black saddleback clowns
-1yellow tang
-1 coral beauty
what else could i put in there that is reef safe... i might do a low light reef in there.. like some shrooms and zoas...
im gonna stick with what my stocking list is...
-1 sfe
-2 black saddleback clowns
-1yellow tang
-1 coral beauty
what else could i put in there that is reef safe... i might do a low light reef in there.. like some shrooms and zoas...
halo_frk03
Member
what about a longnosehawkfish, or some kind of wrasse, how many anthias if any could i do... i dont want anything too aggressive
quatsch94
New Member
I had an eel in my 225g tank for years when I first got it. It was a very large eel and was very attractive. In the many years I had him he only ate one fish. The major problem with him was he was so big that he kept knocking over the coral in the tank and scratched the acryllic front glass. If you want a pretty tank I would steer away from an eel
moby
Member
I have had several eels over the years, few were "fish killers". I just had to make sure they stayed well fed.
The biggest problem I had with them was the constant digging under the rock and pushing sand all over the tanks. Made it hard to keep the tanks looking the way I wanted.
Moby
The biggest problem I had with them was the constant digging under the rock and pushing sand all over the tanks. Made it hard to keep the tanks looking the way I wanted.
Moby
halo_frk03
Member
woohoo! well i just got the 75 gallon... so im gonna start building my tank and stuff.... any more suggestions on other fish?
ejensen
Member
Originally Posted by HaLo_Frk03
well my new lfs is having a huge grand opening sale so im gonna get a 75 or bigger saturday!!!
You are taking baby steps. 20 to a 55 to a 75. Just come out with a little bit more money now and save money later and get a 150. You can get the fish that you really want.
well my new lfs is having a huge grand opening sale so im gonna get a 75 or bigger saturday!!!
You are taking baby steps. 20 to a 55 to a 75. Just come out with a little bit more money now and save money later and get a 150. You can get the fish that you really want.