on a scale of 1-10...how bad is a snowflake eel?

K

king_nothing_

Guest
I've been starting this aquarium up with the notion in my head from the start that I want a tank with lots of unconventional thigns in it. (meaning no clownfish, yellow or blue tangs, royal grammas, or chromis of any kind). So I was just wondering....is a snowflake eel REALLY reef-safe if you keep them well fed and spoiled??? I hear lots of conflicting thigns from the people selling them and the various websites. Some say "yes, but they'll eat your fish in a feeding frenzy" and others sya "fine with fish, but will eat any shrimp in the tank" ect ect ect....I dont know what to believe. If they TRUELY do eat shrimp, then I couldnt get one, because I'm going to need cleaner shrimp, thats like a nessesity. But I was just wondering. I mean, it sounds like eels are lazy and would only eat these live animals if you stop supplying them with dead stuff daily by hand. am I right or wrong??? I dont want to buy the eel for 20 bucks and think i got a great deal, then end up hating myself for it when it gets bigger and eats my 6-line or a couple firefish or whatever!
 
draconius

draconius

New Member
I had one, that died tonight, but in the first week of having him in my tank he ate 2 of my fish. He didnt make attempts after that on any of my fish. I could hand feed him which was really cool. but eels have a tendancy to jump out of the tank. Which is what mine did, straight into the pump. ><
So they can be good i think properly feed.
 
K

king_nothing_

Guest
but you JUST said it ate 2 of your fish = ( I was wantign to know whther or not it would eat my fish, so I guess it would. Even just eating one fish is like it eating 20+ dollars. I can't afford that.
 
ccampbell57

ccampbell57

Active Member
king,
I would say that a SFE is about a 5 when it comes to an eel. The SFE is more mellow than all of the morays, but at the same time it is an eel. There are numerous stories about people that have these animals and they are awesome. They eat out of their hands and some I have seen where the owner can handle the eel without it freaking out. On the otherhand, I have seen SFEs that are just bad to the bone. They snap at anything in the tank and will bite anything and everything.
My LFS had a fun 500 gallon tank that housed a 4 ft baracuda and a few other fish. In the tank there was a 3ft snowflake. He put in a football sized panther grouper and within 3 days the grouper was dead because the eel took HUGE chunks out of its belly and sides. I have also see this with a friends prized puffer. The snowflake bit its belly during feeding time and the puffer died from its insides falling out (pretty nasty and sad).
at the end of the day, if you are not willing to see any of your fish die or be picked on to injury, then I would steer clear of any eel.
BUT if you want to have one, the best fish to put in there with an eel is a triggerfish. These guys are tough. Litteraly. I have seen a large banana moray chomp an 8" niger and thrash it around. Once released, the trigger didnt even have a scratch.
 
K

king_nothing_

Guest
thanks a TON for the honest reply. Yeah, thats what I was afraid of = I mean, I REALLLY wanted an eel, but the more I thinkabout it, the more it wouldn't be worth it, because having JUST an eel in an aquarium by itself is kinda lame, cause they don't move much. I WANT fish, and I guess I won't be able to have both, so I need to choose one or the other. And I'll have to choose fish over the eel = My tank just isn't big enough to keep a trigger fish, so it won't be do-able. Thanks again, I'm glad someone told me before I made the mistake of throwing an eel in with a longnose hawkfish or somethign and makign me waste 40 bucks.
 
D

dragonzim

Active Member
Most eels need to be kept with other equally aggressive fish and unfortunately aggressive fish dont really go well in a reef tank.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
As Campbell mentioned, some are a 3 (out of 10) and some are 8's.
Just on a side note, IMO, a cleaner shrimp is far from a necessity. My cleaner does nothing but wait for the pellets (he go after them like a fish, he right in the mix) or try and mug food from my corals. I won't let one get in the way of a fish I wanted, esp. since I think you may be overestimating what a cleaner shrimp really does....
 
K

king_nothing_

Guest
well, I had a thread about cleaner shrimp, askign if they're really all they're cracked up to be....and EVERYONE that replied to that said that they were constantly cleanign their fish and scavenging out in the open and were theyr'e favorite thign in the tank.... so I dunno, maybe you just got a lame shrimp. It sounds like MOST really do what they say they do. But I dunno.....
But even then, the eel eating the fish is still a problem, not just the shrimp. I could TRY to get a smaller SFE though (like 6 inches) and hand raise it, so by the time it gets big enogh to eat my fish, it just wont WANT to....think that would work? Cause all the SFE's for sale around here are about that size. Like 5-6 inches. They're mouth is TINY, so at first my fish would be safe I think. THen after being hand fed its whole life, Idoubt it would even KNOW that it COULD eat live fish lol. I dunno, maybe I'm being overly optomistic.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Hmm, maybe they haven't had them long enough. My cleaner was good when he still was newer to the tank, but later he became less and less active 'cleaning.' This is my 3rd cleaner. The first I killed off when I was topping off (no sump at the time), he swam into the fresh RO pouring in
. The 2nd disappeared one time when I was on vacation. This last one has lastest the longest, while over 6 months, and has grown quite big. All 3 though displayed same behavior, cleaning at first, but then realized how tasty pellets and mysis are.
That juvi SF plan could work. Probably more important would be keeping him fed when he gets bigger. I have a feeling though, that the impression your getting about SFE's is a bit skewed, negative experience are always more forthcoming to share...
 
rudedog40

rudedog40

Member
I've had my small SFE for about 2 months now. I'm pretty sure he took a chunk out of my clown's fin before he died, and my firefish goby disappeared after two days in the tank (he didn't come out for his daily feeding for 2 days after the goby went MIA). Other than that, he doesn't bother my puffer, chromis, green brittle, or CBS. I'm wondering how long the CBS will last once the eel starts growing. I was stick feeding Mr. Eel the other night, and the CBS was right above him on a rock. When the eel grabbed the krill, Mr. CBS came down from the rock and started poking into Mr. Eel's hole trying to take the krill from him!
If that happens when the eel gets bigger, I think Mr. CBS will get sucked under the rock for an after-dinner snack.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
That firefish never had a shot, with a SFE, a green brittle star, and a CBS! My odds are that the green brittle will get the CBS before the SFE will....
 
alex4286

alex4286

Member
my LFS has about a 300-400gal DT that has a 3 1/2 foot SFE along with three tangs about a foot long, a puffer and a trigger. Ive been going there for lil over a year and these SAME FISH have been in the tank with it. Neither have been sold or removed. So its possible to keep them all in there lol but u have enough feedback to tell u it could still take chunks out of ur fish lol
 
garnet13aj

garnet13aj

Active Member
I'm not going to read everyone else's anwers, but I'll say what I know from reading and experience. They naturally eat crustaceans, so I'm pretty sure they'll eat a shrimp if it's put in there, it's instinctual for them. My sfe also eats small fish...at least that's what I assume because he's the only fish that could possibley be causing the death of my other small fish, which is why I stay away from small fish now (besides my clowns who he doesn't seem to be interested in). The reason they say sfe is not reef safe is that when they are swimming they may knock them over. So if you aren't worried about that, or are sure the corals are secure, it shouldn't be a problem.
 
rudedog40

rudedog40

Member
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
That firefish never had a shot, with a SFE, a green brittle star, and a CBS! My odds are that the green brittle will get the CBS before the SFE will....

My green brittle is a wimp. He has stayed under the same rock since I got him. I keep thinking he's dead, but when I feed, one or more of his arms comes out to catch food. The firefish did setup residence next to the green brittle, but the first night, the green brittle never touched him. I've never seen one piece of the goby in the tank. It happened overnight, and if the CBS or brittle got him, there would've been some pieces floating around. I was surprised too. The one day he was in the tank, I could tell he was a fast mover. He darted in and out of a hole he made, I hardly could see him when he did it. That's why I wouldn't think the CBS or brittle could catch him. The eel however...
I must admit the CBS is a cocky little dude. He faced off with the SFE again at dinner time. The eel started heading for him, the CBS swung his claw, and I tapped on the glass to get them away from each other. Think it's inevitable the CBS will lose one day.
 
eelfan77

eelfan77

Member
my snowflake eel is awsome. when i feed him he will come right up in my hand and eat the shrimp. I make a little circle with my fingers and he goes through my fingers over and over again. He lets me pick him up out of the water to. he is the coolest thing i ever had.
 
A

alexmir

Guest
I have had my eel for about 2 months now and he is doing wonderful!!! He hasnt eaten anything yet, and hasnt been agressive toward anything. He justs hangs out in his little hideout and pokes his head out. I feed him fresh table shrimp every 2 to 3 days. He is very interesting to watch eat, he either barrel rolls as fast as possible to rip a piece off of the shrimp or he twists himself into a pretzel shape and tears it.
I would say just keep him well fed, and get him small so hes not the biggest thing in the tank right from the beginning.
Good luck
 
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