Ribbon Eel Help!!!!!!

[ribbon eel]

I have a 55 gallon tank 50lbs of liverock and 4in of LS & CC mix. All I want is is a ribbon eel(blue,black or yellow what ever is the eaisest) What can you tell me about them? Has any had succes w/ them? What are you feeding it and how did you get it to eat? Can I keep it in a tank w/ a lot of light? Any info is needed!!
thanks
P.S. the tank is coverd!!!

 

[fmarini]

Hi:
i take it you've read up on these eels? they are incredibly difficult to keep alive. while a few people report some success most can't get them to eat consistantly. The eels are very shy and won't compete w/othe rfish in the tank.
w/ that said, the ghost ribbon eels (whitish color) tend to do the best -if thats a word i can use to describe slightly better than real bad.
The key is to get one that is eating and eating before your eyes.
The blue/black and yellow ribbon eels (you know what the colors mean) normally have to be fed live feeders until they take food consisitantly.
There a tough fish
frank

 

[hnf2k]

out of curiosity, what do the colors mean?

 

[stacyt]

The white eel that Frank is refering to is more commonly sold as the ghost ribbon eel. I would not get one unless I knew that it was eating. I got my eel from my LFS, and I made sure that it was eating before I purchased him. I made them feed it in front of me. To get it acclimated it should be added to a tank without any fish in it. They do not compete well for food. After the eel has setteled in and is eating well than you can think of adding some fish to the tank with it. I do not consider this an aggressive eel, and would not add any aggressive fish into the same tank. My ghost ribbon eel will eat just about anything that I offer him. I feed frozen krill, shrimp, fish, and silver sides.

 

[sistrmary]

Ribbon eels are potandric hermaphrodites. All females were once males that have changed ---. The black, blue and yellow ribbon eel are all the same eel during different stages of its' life.
I have a ghost ribbon eel that wasn't eating at the pet store. I used ghost shrimp to get it to eat initially, and now it eats whatever comes at him. It also competes with a fingerprint toby and a porker puffer for food. Mind you, I think that I'm the exception, not the rule. I'm just saying it can happen.

 

[tigriss]

I have a snowflake eel in a tank with triggers. I got him as a bitty baby now hes big. I never feed live food. I go out and buy smelts,scallops and frozen krill.
They like to be able to dig tunnels under the rock. Mine will show his face when he is hungry. I feed every other day. The more they eat the bigger he will get.
I warm the food with tap water and dangle it in the water, I use my finger to splash a little, he will then come to the top and take it out of my hand. But is sometimes more interested on trying to bite me. Last night I fed him 5 pieces of krill.
For fun u can buy a frozen clam on a half shell warm in and throw it in and watch him tie himself in a knot to get it off.
He has also attacked my triggers to get there food, biting them on there side to big them into his hole so feeding this tank is tricky for me (and dangerous for my fingers) and them dont seem to have great eyesight.
hope this helps

 

[fmarini]

tigriss:
thanks, your snowflake is quite different than these ribbon eels. Snowflakes do very well in captivity and eat real well, ribbon eels don't.
A far as your snowflake biting your trigger. you do know most eels have really poor vision, they smell things and what happens is they follow a scent stream. If any fish gets in the scent the eel just bites at it, I have seen a few snowflakes when they get bigger potshot fish, essentially the fish wander into the eels range when your feeding the tank and wham the eel mistakes the swimming fish for food.