SFE ?s

[buddahjon]

is A sfe going to be ok in a reef tank? will he be ok with diamond gobies and clownfish? how big of a cave area would be best? im looking towards a 90g tank. any other SFE tips would be sweeet!

 

[ryan]

A 90gal is a great size tank for a SFE. Some people end up with very calm eels that dont bother their fish. Mine has eaten my yellow watchman goby, and a fiddler and porcellin crab.

 

[buddahjon]

i am looking at
1 SFE (hes only 8" no but i know they can get much bigger)
2 clowns (undecided on type but i really like the false)
1 diamond goby
my cleanup crew im thinking of peppermint shrimp, nassarius snails and a hermit crab or two.
any changes youd make or ideas? im thinking of adding maybe one more small fish just to add some color, any ideas here? ill also be having a couple blue mushrooms and i am undecided on what kind of anemone ill be getting for my little clowns.
thanks for the quick replies and all the help, these forums have been very helpfull.

 

[nutz]

I have a SFE in my 75 gallon reef. So far he hasn't touched a thing, except a stupid damsel that always gets in his face. The only problem I've had is when he gets hungry, he starts to move around and knocks over rocks. Other than that he's been a great addition to the tank

 

[irenicus]

I have a SFE and he's ate 10 times his worth in fish. I'm quite attached to him so he stays put.
Choose your tankmates carefully.

 

[justchillin]

as irenicus says choose your tankmate well and make sure your lr is firmly in place to avoid accidental movement ( i try to have 3 points of contact)...other than that you shouldn't have a problem...

 

[buddahjon]

yeah unfortunatly i think its no clownies for me as far as my life rock i will be glueing the cave pieces for the eel so he wont knock them down. any other ideas as far as colorfull fish that have some character to put with a SFE?? porcupine puffer should be ok, right??

 

[reefeel]

I would say no to the pepermint shrimp-sfe feed on these in nature. Some other addtions a dwarf angle that is reef safe ie coral beauty, sometimes flame angel and I think the cherb angel. I have 2 perc clownfish with my eel and he stays away from them and vice versa. I would avoid most gobies they are eel-like and if the eel is underfeed will go after them first-lost 2 engineer gobies. When you go to pick out an eel pick one that is hiding in the pvc piping they I think are a little more calm-I picked the one swiming everywhere.

 

[reefeel]

And for cave size mine is really big I had a huge piece of Lalo rock about a foot and a half long and a foot wide with a huge cave inside and I'm guessing that it is about 2-3 in from top of cave to a small 1/2 layer of sand. While out around it I have 3in of sand so it is burried. My eel loves his cave their a small holes he can fit through barely and he can swin out right from the top of the rock, kind of like a skylight.

 

[moraym]

It really depends on the specimen, so unfortunately can't give you a 100% guaranteed answer.
I actually have an engineer goby and SFE that are both 14" long, and they hang out together in the same cave structure. It's really interesting to watch. The engineer goby digs tunnel structures in the sand, and then the SFE moves in with him when he's done.
So far no dead clownfish, although the eel does exhibit aggressive mannerisms towards the clow during feeding.

 

[buddahjon]

thanks again for all your quick responses you guys have been a ton of help!!!!