Pros and cons of eel species?

[ezhawk]

Hey all, Im converting my 50 gal reef to aggressive. Oh yeah I was hoping some of you eel experts out there could help me out. I am looking a smaller species of eel. The two that I think I want to get are either a SFE or jeweled moray. Could you please tell me the pros and cons of each. Any other species you could suggest?
BTW: thanks for all the ideas posted on how to eel proof tanks. Ive got it all sealed up and ready, i just have to decide what eel to get.

 

[polarpooch]

You can't go wrong with an SFE...they are good looking and easy to keep. However, they do get about 3 feet long and pretty thick...ultimately, it would probably be best to keep it in a larger tank.
Jeweled morays, I'm told are fairly aggressive, but are easy to keep.
There are many species that would work in a 55g. More than just the two you identified. You should check out Reef Fishes, Vol. 1 by Scott Michaels (most LFS will have a copy laying around). It has tons of good info on a big selection of morays.
Do some more checking, but here are some others listed in the book that would work in a 55g or smaller aquarium (remember I listed eels that are 55g MINIMUM or smaller, so some of these would actually do better in the long term in a larger tank):
SFE
Larghead snake moray
Ghost Moray (aka unicolor moray or white ribbon eel)
White eyed moray
Gray moray
Black ear moray (aka West African Dragon)
Jeweled moray
Blackedge moray (aka ocellated moray)
Richardson's moray
Goldentail moray (aka golden moray)
Fimbriated moray
Stout moray (aka salt & pepper moray)
Tiger moray (aka enigmatic moray)
Whitelip moray
Zebra moray
Dragon moray
Viper moray
Chestnut moray
Banded moray (aka ringed or barred moray)
Chainlink moray (aka chain eel)
I have a Blackedge ...they are awesome eels, and usually very inexpensive and easy to keep. I also have a Ghost moray, and it's in my 29g--again awesome eels, easy to keep and very cheap usually. I had an SFE, but it went carpet surfing and died. While I had it, it was the nicest eel! I've been looking for another, but need it to be pretty big already to live with the other morays I have. (I also have two of the big boys: a tesselata and a green)

 

[ezhawk]

Thanks for the lengthy reply polarpooch
I watched the video you posted of your eels feeding...very awesome. My 4 year old asks to watch it every day.

 

[polarpooch]

My 4 year old asks to watch it every day

You're 4 year old can handle it better than my mom...she won't even watch the video

 

[polarpooch]

you mean 55 minimum or LARGER
No, I mean a 55g or SMALLER. The eels on the list are for 55g or smaller and taken straight from the Scott Michaels book. (I should mention that 30g is the smallest tank any moray is "rated" for)
There are lots of small and smaller morays. It's a myth they all need big tanks.

 

[polarpooch]

No eels could last in a 10g...

 

[moto757]

i agree on the sfe they look great and start off rather small i have had mine since the begining of when i started my tank and he is the coolest even though he ate a bunch of small fish he is a pig and that was after i feed him 4-5 krill and he is only 6in.

 

[midwest reefer]

be sure your tank is completely covered. SFE's are like mice, they can slip threw spaces only a fraction of their body lenght. If youve ever seen the eclipse hoods, they completely cover the tank. I had a SFE get out of it, and up in the filters of it. They will wind up in your sump, filters, or carpets if your not careful.
Dont get me wrong, it can be done, just be sure your tank is ready before you get it.
Seal the top and the overflows etc... anywhere the eel will get taht you dont want him. You can use fiberglass, plexi glass etc...
Also provide plenty of LR, the more area it has to hide, the less the chances are it will want to escape. (same with food, the less hungry, the less the chance of escape)
HTH.
lastly--- if you want aggressive, dont get a zebra. mine is afraid of cocktail shrimp

 

[leopard_babe]

someone on here told me about a jewel moray, and it made e think twice about getting one. They will eat anything that moves. They can be extremely agressive. If you want to keep one, then you should keep it with LARGE fish. In a 55 you cannot really keep any large fish. So (from what others have told me) if you want to keep a jeweled moray, in your case, it would be best kept alone.

 

[leopard_babe]

ok I found it. Do a search on eels, type my user name leopard_babe, and it is in the agressive forum. Someone gave me some great information on eels for a small tank. HTH
Leopard

 

[polarpooch]

They will eat anything that moves.
Leopard Babe...that's not just a jeweled moray---that's just about any moray!

They'll eat whatever will fit in their considerable mouths! I have heard better things about Zebras not being AS aggressive, but I wouldn't trust any moray with any fish that can fit in their mouths (that varies, but understand that even small morays can take down bigger fish than you'd imagine--my skinny ghost moray ate my 3" clown and 2" niger trigger...and he's only as thick as a Sharpie pen!)
I've learned the hard way how true the no fish rule is with eels! The most shocking ever was when my tesselata (which was about 18" at the time and fairly thin) swallowed my 8" klunzinger in one gulp. I couldn't believe that fish fit in the eel's mouth. I even got a picture of it. Have posted in the Aggressive Forum before if anyone wants to do a search.

 

[leopard_babe]

ahh....

hence the reson I don't have one. I like my little fish.

 

[falconski]

Pooch,
Sounds like my Blackedge. I put in a very large Gold sleeper Goby and the blackedge ate him in one gulp. This fish was 6-7" long and cost me $25!
For some reason he does not bother the 3 damsels I have in the tank although he could easily eat them at any time.
This past morning I got to see my box puffer inflate for the first time when the Blackedge, named RazorFace by my kids, decided to take a bite. Neither was injured but the eel had no problem doing it again 5 min later. And this was AFTER he ate 5 silversides!
Eels are cool but they will at least try to eat almost anything.

 

[ezhawk]

Thanks for all the info guys. I still have a few questions I would like some help with.
#1: I have read that a clean up crew is not possible with eels. would snails and hermits be okay with one?
#2: Would a UV sterilizer be as effective as a snail/hermit clean up crew in controlling algae growth?
#3: How aggressive are goldentail morays compared to a SFE.

 

[mn1467b]

I love the SFE. I have one for about 4 months now He eats about 6 krill a day I have to Hand feed him because my puffer just attacks the krill when I put it in the tank. So far my SFE has not ate any of my other fish in the tank. Also make sure you have alot of live rock or he will jump out. When I first got him he jumped out because I only had 2 pieces of Live Rock in there. Luckily I was standing there when He jumped out. After that I added more Rock and he has not jumped out since.

 

[scs]

I just picked up 2 snowflake eels and they are currently living in a 55g aquarium, both are medium sized, around 15 inches. I have not noticed them even looking at my snails, nor do i think that they could take down one of my trochus if they tried, they also haven't touched the fighting conchs.
They are amazing fish, although make sure you do lock up your tank, both of them when i turn the light out try and find a way to escape the tank and it's very nerve racking.
but....with that said.....they are by far my favorite fish of all time after 3 days.
BTW.....Invest in some frozen krill....At the LFS they only ate live goldfish, but after 2 days they converted to frozen krill...they just engulf it.

 

[jared]

would snails and hermits be okay with one?
I wouldn't try it. I've done A LOT of reading, especially on this forum, and not many people have had good luck. An eel may not eat them for a while, but I wouldn't give it too long. If they get hungry I can imagine them eating just about anything.

 

[polarpooch]

Here's my two cents:
Cleanup crews are still advantageous in an eel tank. Eels take awhile to find all those little goodies. I always use a cleanup crew in the eel tank (usually a 50 pak), and the critters last a good 6 months. That's just me, I don't mind losing the snails and crabs eventually, because they are so good at keeping algae and detrius at bay.
As for UV, UV is great for hair algae. I do use one in my eel tank, but they are not necessary in an eel tank if you are good about water changes and have a killer protein skimmer (which I recommend!).
As for Goldentails--in my opinion, they are some of the coolest looking eels out there. They are said to grow to a slightly less-thick diameter than an SFE and don't get quite as long. However, they are aggressive right away, unlike the SFE, which "grows" into its aggression.
OH yeah...don't put your eel tank in your bedroom...they are NOISY rockmovers!
BTW, if there is anyone who knows where I can get a LARGE SFE, let me know. I would love to have another one, but it must be large enough to swim with the big boys in my eel tank.
FalconSki--I once had a porky in with my Blackedge, and he would puff up all the time when the eel got near him! It happened too often, though...and ultimately, I returned him to the LFS>

 

[justchillin]

i've had a jewel moray for about5 years now and he's definatly my favorite...they can be aggressive but i haven't had any problems with mine... he's been with a lion and a damsel that was disrupting another tank...as well as a butterfly.

 

[moto757]

I have had my sfe for 8 months now and no problems attacking cleanup crew he just loves krill is all and a few of my small fish when i had them