Snowflake Eel

[maxpain]

I would like to have a eel in my tank but I wouldnt like him eating Nemo. I talked to acouple people and they all agreed that the Snowflake eel is a smaller less aggressive eel and if feed on a normal basses would most likly not eat or catch Nemo the clown fish. How true is this? And what kind of fish would I not be able to put into the tank with the eel. GF likes starfish, so if he ate the starfish, we would be having fried eel for dinner, with a side of peppermint shrimp.

 

[elitsoh]

dont take my word on this ..i might be wrong...but my cousin had 1 and it only messed with shrimp,and hermits....ive heard they are almost blind . so you might be ok with fishes..
but id wait untill i got a positive go ahead...good luck

 

[marine fanatic]

Snowflakes are virtually blind. Most occur accidents when a snowflake bites at a fish is it thinks it's food that you toss in and a fish swims by while the snowflake is eating. Alot of it also has to do with the living arrangements to minimize mishaps. Try making a tier with your substrate and rock/live rock. Having a lower area is where the eel will most likely make it's home while you can keep some shrimp/crabs on the upper level. Nothing is foolproof and you may lose a crab/shrimp here and there but I found that if you feed the eel on a regular basis, and feed him til he has to slither into his hole rather than swim....your chances of losing an invert reduces drastically. I can only speak for my snowflake, I feed him very well and he has never intentionally gone after any invert or fish. His only 2 mishaps were a clown that went after the same piece of mysis shrimp that the eel did and the clown got nipped a bit. The other was my STUPID neighbor who thought he would hand-feed my eel while I was outside BBQ'ing and he thought it would be "cool" to show my guests a hand-fed eel...his finger tells a different tale
Snowflake eels are fairly docile and rarely show aggression towards other tankmates. Alot of times they will even retreat to their hole instead of defending themselves against an aggressive fish. Like I said, ANYTHING can happen and I can only speak on the experience of 1 eel. If you want to get one....research as much as you can about them before you buy it.....it will enhance your enjoyment as well as the eel's well-being.
HTH

 

[sammystingray]

Snowflakes and zebras, like I prefer, have blunt teeth. These teeth are for eating crustaceans, cracking exoskeletons, not fish. The eels with sharp backwards pointed teeth are fish eaters. Crabs, shrimp, etc are in danger, but any fish bitten will probably be accidental.......same as a finger bite. Never hand feed them, because as stated, they smell the food, and are almost blind....you might get bit.

 

[sammystingray]

BTW, I more worried about fish messing with my Zebra moray than the opposite.

 

[jimmyn]

In my aggressive tank, I agree with the above, SFE eat primarily, in the wild, crustaceans. They acclimate in aquariums very well to stick feeding and drop feeding in front of their lair. There is always the potential that it will eat your ornamental shrimp if it gets hungry enough and big enough. It will not actively go after fish. My tessy and dragon on the other hand will go after everything.
I will say that you have to be careful with eels and triggers. Some mean triggers will actually attack the eels.
HTH
Jim
In my reef tanks, eels can be kept, but they tend to knock some over. And, every eel has itsa own personality, like fish, some are docile and some are not

 

[smarls]

I have a SFE in my reef tank, and he has NEVER gone after anything intentionally. As stated, they occasionally make a grab for something, but it is just because they are blind.
I have a small tang, and some chromis, and the tang pushes the eel around all the time, and the SFE is about 24' (started at about 8').
Personally, and this is only in my very limited experience, they are great additions to a reef tank...every time i go diving I see an eel in the reef, so they are a natural part of the ecosystem. However I would have two warnings:
1. They knock stuff over when they are slithering around. This includes corals, and entire portions of live rock, so make sure everything is well placed and secured. They like to borrow through the sand under the rocks...so be careful!
2. They are dirty eaters, and they like to eat...so make sure you filtration is good enough to handle it.
Other than that, they are great...and there is something really cool abnout seeing an eel stick its head out of a rock in between a big lump of coral with a cleaner shrimp cleaning out the inside of his mouth! It makes you realize that everything in the system is working / living together.
HTH
Stewart

 

[maxpain]

Now would the fact that I have a crushed coral bed instead of a sand bed make any difference in weither or not I should buy the eel? And how often do you feed your eel?

 

[tyr-sog]

I always wondered if eels are prone to the same parasites and dieseses that fish are?

 

[marine fanatic]

A book that I read stated that eels are not prone to the common illnesses that fish are. That's not to say eels cannot get sick, just not the same ones that effect fish.
And I totally agree about the view of an eel sticking his head out. Late at night when my moonlites are on I catch myself staring into my tank for minutes on end watching my snowflake peering out. Under the low blue lighting, they are mesmorizing creatures.

 

[jp0379]

Snowflake eels are great.........no one messes with them, and they don't mess with anyone. Mine eats live grass shrimp and sometimes krill, both fed to him with a feeding stick. We love the guy!

 

[jp0379]

Sorry,didn't see the other question........we feed him once a day or every other day. He comes out when he's hungry. And we have a sandbed, but the snowflake eels hide in the rocks, so as long as you have liverock he'll find somewhere to hang out.

 

[tyr-sog]

Anyones bother their bloodshrimps, cleaners, pepermints any crabs etc? I seen a Snowflake today at a lfs, it was huge, about 1 1/2" in diameter, 2 feet long atleast. That thing has got to eat your cleanup crew?

 

[marine fanatic]

Tyr,
Yes, snowflakes will chow down on most shrimp and crabs. I think the key to prevent it is (at least for me anyway), is to keep your eel very well fed. Once he gets hungry, your shrimp/crabs are open gourmet. Keep him stuffed and he will most likely never eat anything in your tank. Keep feeding him in the same spot if possible....preferably right in front of his home. In time he will associate the opening to his house......to "dining area". That will reduce the eel's desire to go hunting if he gets spunky. I can honestly say my sfe has never eaten any invert of mine. Not to say my methods are perfect, they just happen to work for me.
My snowflake is almost 20" now....his name is Ruff-Tuff-Creampuff

HTH