snowflake eel and shrimps?

[fishieness]

dont worry guys, im not talking about putting my snowflake eel with a normal shrimp, i know hed probably eat them. But right now i only have a 29 gallon tank (have a larger one that i will set up for the eel once he gets larger) and a little snowflake eel about 9 inches or so. Well i was wondering if i could get a cleaner shrimp with him. Ive heard and read online that they can be kept together because the eel recognizes the duty or the shrimp to him and i was wondering if anyone else has had experience between these two. once i get the eel in the other tank, i wont have a cleaner shrimps in the larger tank because i would like to put a little lion in there like a fuzzy dwarf and im assuming he might eat the shrimp, but i dont know. Any more experiences anyone? Im hopeing that it is like how ive read and that they will live peacefully and rescpectably kinda like the little birds you see picking the teeth of a 10 foot crocodile on animal planet or Wild Discovery
My reserch says yes, but i would like some first hand expirience if anyone has one with a small sized snowflake eel.

 

[bluehippo9]

im not an expert but ive heard that eels would almost eat anything that fits in their mouths.
good luck!!!!

 

[ivanfj]

If you start training your snowflake when he's small, then there's a good chance he could be living happily with a shrimp. Just always use a feeding stick when you feed him, then he can recognize the feeding stick, so you are sending him a message that he can only eat what's on the stick and nothing else. That is just my little experience with eel and shrimps, but no guarantee it would work out exactly the same. :thinking: :thinking:

 

[fishieness]

yeah, ive been doing that. And i dont think hes realy agressive, even as far as eels go. He is active when he is hungary, but whenever i put in some food, he never demolishes it right away. He will always sniff it for a few seconds and then bring his head up the feeding stuff and smell that for a few seconds. And after of about 10 seconds of smelling, then he will find what way his mouth fits around it and grab it. I dont know how long a cleaner shrimp would put up with my little eel smelling him long enough before he would be able to make an escape.

 

[fishieness]

woops. i meant even as far as snowflake eels go

 

[texasex]

Since he is small and you are working with him, if you got a large enough cleaner shrimp, it might survive for a while. But do you really want to chance it? And even though he is only 9 inches now, you do realize they get up to 30 inches long when they are full grown, right?!

 

[fishieness]

yeah, i know, i have a larger tank to transfer him into in a few months or so. I jsut have to finish buying everything and i have to set it up. Hes got room to grow in my tank for now though. But the cleaner shrimps are 25 bucks at my pet store! so i think ill wait until he switches tanks

 

[bigdogzack]

If the cleaner shrimp are in the tank before adding the SFE you increase the likelyhood of the SFE accepting them (keep multiple cleaner shrimp and if one dies...i.e. not eaten...replace it right away so the SFE always has cleaner present)...I had them together in a tank and this is the procedure I adhered to...

 

[fishieness]

well i already have the eel so its too late for that. It makes sence though. Once his tank is upgraded, ill put one in the 29 gallon.

 

[whaa...?]

well i just got back from LFS and this guy knows alot anywho your eel will grow attached to the shrimp if it grows up with it it'll even let it pick parasites out of its mouth! he says also that the cleaner shrimp has a different smell then other shrimps so that is my 2 cent hope u unstood it wat im basically sayin is they have a way better chance then any other shrimp(coral banded could live with eel to)

 

[fishieness]

yeah, i heard about the cleaner shrimp and thats why im asking. I also recently lost 2 fish to ick (i dont have a QT tank, someday though) so i thought it would be benificial. I was actualy wondering about the coral banded shrimp because they are bigger and look spiny. The guy at my local fish store said he wouldnt suggest the shrimp because it would be a risk. My eel is pretty peaceful, even as a snowflake goes. Hes going to a larger tank in the future anyways, so one hes goes, maybe ill try to breed some cleaner shrimp and try putting them in the bigger tank just in case. But in my 29, ill get some after the eel is upgraded