My Eel Attacked!

[fishlawyer]

Hey All
So, I posted on here a while ago that in the past year or so my Aquarium has been a little dull. (I havn't purchased or lost a fish in about 9 months...) My current setup includes 3 Yellow Tail Damsels, 1 Large Marron Clown, a Yellow Tank and a Snowflake Eel... (Plus cleanup crew...)
Anyway, I finally decided to purchase a new fish to stir up the soft sand in my tank. So, after looking around, I found an amazing yellow headed goby at my LFS for a great deal. He was about 3.5 inches long and very well built. I buy him and bring him home, slowly introduce him to my office tank and he is fine for a day or so. Anyway, I am at my office today looking at my tank and I see the Eel "eyeing" the goby a little suspiciously... About 30 seconds later, SNAP! He grabs it by its tail and eats it! I was shocked!
I have had the snowflake eel for about 14 months and feed it very regularly. (It ate a while silverside yesterday!) It has grown from about 4 inches long to about 16 inches long in this time. It has never been agressive to any other fish, and the little damsels even pick at its open mouth from time to time... Has anyone ever seen this before?

 

[nicetry]

IME, small bottom dwelling fish like gobies and blennies are not suitable tank mates for an eel. Snowflakes are not piscivores (fish eaters) by nature but will sometimes go after smaller fish that stay on the tank floor. Chalk it up to experience but I'd stay away from any more fish from that family.

 

[florida joe]

Most eels are ambush predators I believe the snow flake is one of them. He was just doing what he is genetically programed to do

 

[crypt keeper]

that is awesome. its eel doing what an eel does. eat slow moving fish that lay around

 

[fishlawyer]

Originally Posted by crypt keeper
http:///forum/post/3233382
that is awesome. its eel doing what an eel does. eat slow moving fish that lay around
Truth be told, it was pretty cool to watch... The only problem is that it was a $40 snack!!!
Ah well, you live, you learn...

 

[saxman]

i had a 'flake for 15 years, and what you're experiencing is about right...they get some size on them and go postal and begin eating their tankmates. my specimen bit me...twice, it even came out of the water once to bite me as i was working on something over the tank.

 

[halamaya]

My Snowflake is about the same size as yours. He needs to be well fed every other day to everyday depending on how dangerous he looks. They will get quite a bit bigger also. If I don't get the feeding prong right in the tank when I put food in for my other fish he starts tasting everyone else to see if their his dinner. He's grabbed a couple feeder fish that I've put in there before also, (no one in the tank eats live food anymore though.)

 

[seanothon]

I have watched my snowflake demolish some feeder goldfish. You eel was just doing what eels do. I was surprised that my anemone got more of the goldfish than the eel though...