My Blue Ribbon Eel eats! (pics and videos)

santamonica

Member
My Blue Ribbon Eel eats! (pics and video)
This is the pics-only post; my other post in the Reef Tanks section has the story and hi-res video links, and more pics.
Well I wanted to wait to write this until I was sure that my blue ribbon would live. It's been about eight months now, so I think it's time to tell my experiences so other will have the best chance with their blue ribbons. I'll also put videos on Google Video, YouTube, and Putfile (just search for "blue ribbon eel"). All pics and video were taken after six months in the tank...





 

ginarox

Active Member
wow!!!! that is an awesome looking eel. your tank looks awesome too, thanks for sharing, have a great day...
 

santamonica

Member
Jerthunter and Ginarox: Glad you like him, and the tank.
AAnthony: The BR has no interest in inverts. He once ate a ghost shrimp by accident while chasing guppies, but never again. The snowflake, on the other hand, depleted the tank of inverts in just a few days. But he is now donated to LHS because he also took an interest in the BR.
 

santamonica

Member
Sharkboy13: It's a 90. He's well past the guppies now... is doing frozen silversides. Cost?... well I guess if you just got a tank for an eel by itself, it would be cheap. Maybe a 30 with sand, and maybe rock. You really don't need anything else to keep him alive, except the pipe (cheap PVC from the hardware store). My guess is you could set yours up for $500 (mostly for the equipment.) Used would work fine. The eel by himself is only about $50.
surfinusa:
Yes I know. When I first saw him drag the first guppy into the pipe, I almost fainted.
The J.O.P.:
Well he's three feet long. I don't think he'll get much longer, but even if he does he has about six feet of pipe under the sand.
 

lion_crazz

Active Member
While it is wonderful that your blue ribbon eats and is healthy (and I hope it remains that way for you), this does not warrant people to try them. They are still an incredibly difficult species, and one that really should be left in the ocean, as the large majority of them do not make it past the LFS.
 

santamonica

Member
lion_crazz: Well I can only say what worked for my BR. I does not mean it will work for anyone else. However, since starving at the LFS seems to be a constant issue, and since LFS's never have long pipes for them to hid in, I think this might be something that can be applied across the board. If LFS's put three feet of coiled tube for each eel, then they might be early enough in the supply chain to make a difference. I think two-inch copper tube would be the easiest to find (plumbing supply store), but I'm sure a supplier could manufacture something for the trade, which would be compact, plastic, but still have three feet of tube.
Sharkboy13:
Well I wish we could sell ours, but it has too much coral. Plus we'd lose our office centerpiece. If you are near So Cal, my tank maintenace guy Bill Purcella (wpurcella@socal.rr.com) could set one up for you.
I really think it's the lack of tubing that is causing most BR's not to eat. Mine would never eat if he weren't in his pipe. So by getting pipe into the LFS's (and maybe even the wholesalers), and by installing pipe in your own tank, I think it's a do-able project. Would like to hear of the next person who tries it this way.
 

autofreak44

Active Member
is it just me or do you have a sea horse in with all that stuff... i thought seahorses were species specific.,,..... can we have a full tank shot pleees
 

bs21

Member
That is one of the coolest things ive seen. Its looks ginormous.
Where do you see a sea horse?
 

sharkboy13

Active Member
Originally Posted by autofreak44
is it just me or do you have a sea horse in with all that stuff... i thought seahorses were species specific.,,..... can we have a full tank shot pleees

o ya i see it, looks like a brazilian maybe
 

sharkboy13

Active Member
SantaMonica said:
I think two-inch copper tube would be the easiest to find (plumbing supply store), but I'm sure a supplier could manufacture something for the trade, which would be compact, plastic, but still have three feet of tube.
no copper wont do, its toxic to most fishes. did i just say fishes, man i feel like a loser :notsure:
 

bs21

Member
its ok "fishes" is when you are talking about multiple fish of different species....if multiple fish of same species then u say fish. unless you are saying that because this thread is about eels in which case who is the loser now (this guy). I thought copper was only bad for inverts and coral?
p.s. i still dont see the seahorse?
 
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