SNOWFLAKE ELL
- Thread starter oxtim
- Start date
guppie
Member
Most of the time an eel won't eat right away, but you still have to keep offering him something to eat, the best way to feed him is with a feeding stick. Have you tried krill or silversides yet, mine with tear that up. Do you have a peice of PVC pipe in your tank they really like that it makes then feel secure. Also One of the sarks said to always feed them at the bottom of the tank, so they won,t go looking for food at the top and try to get out. Good Luck
blueberryboomer
Active Member
I agree with the posts above about the food, sometime the LFS feed only live food, goldfish & guppies, you may need to give him a little time to adjust to his new home, and he may also need to be weened to frozen food. Just continue to offer it daily I suggest with a feeding stick, if he doen't eat it make sure to pull it out though. I hand feed ours, I do not recommend doing this, we have been feeding our this way since day one, and he shys away from the feeding stick now...These are awesome critters and need to be respected! Later Lisa 
G
glenn
Guest
Oxtim,
Dont worry about not eating. Mine didnt for 3 or 4 days when i got it. That was when it was about 6-8 inches long. Now it is about 20" and almost a quarter size around. I feed with the feeder stick also and when eel feels like it he will come and eat from my hand. As for training it to do this it is easy but watch it, it will try to get out sometimes. I have a full canopy so i dont worry about that. Even if you dont have the canopy make sure you tank is fully covered.Sometimes they do roam.
Glenn
Dont worry about not eating. Mine didnt for 3 or 4 days when i got it. That was when it was about 6-8 inches long. Now it is about 20" and almost a quarter size around. I feed with the feeder stick also and when eel feels like it he will come and eat from my hand. As for training it to do this it is easy but watch it, it will try to get out sometimes. I have a full canopy so i dont worry about that. Even if you dont have the canopy make sure you tank is fully covered.Sometimes they do roam.
Glenn
pufferlover
Active Member
guppie mentioned something that I had posted about feeding my eels (have 2) at the bottom of the tank with a feeding stick. I have to report now that the big one has now begun to come topside for its food and altho I said not to do it the eel suckered me now he is up there every feeding (this I do not like, but I started it by feeding him up there once). The baby one still is a hard feeder it will eat then skip a few days (he is in a tank now under copper and I figure that is part of the problem for now)
chopper320
Member
I must have gotten lucky(or unlucky) with my snowflake. He is a pig!! He never skips a day of eating and I have trouble feeding my other fish b/c he goes straight up to them and rips it out of their mouth before they can swallow it. I also try to feed mine at the bottom as well, but it's hard b/c as soon as the food hits the water my snowflake smells it and begins roaming the tank trying to find it.
I have to agree with everybody that these are awesome fish. Even though they stay pretty hidden, they always have their head poking out and when they do decide to take a quick swim they have the coolest color patterns!!
I have to agree with everybody that these are awesome fish. Even though they stay pretty hidden, they always have their head poking out and when they do decide to take a quick swim they have the coolest color patterns!!
goldfish
Member
When I first got my eel he went quite awhile without eating as well. I ended up getting a feeding stick for him to see if that would help. It did, then he figured out that the food was being put in at the top of the tank.
I know many of you have "Houdini the escape artists," but mine has never once tried to get out. I have a hood with two openings plus a pretty heavy canopy.
I think if you try some krill or silversides skewered onto a feeding stick, he will get quite a snack and learn to look for you to be his feeder!! Good luck!
I know many of you have "Houdini the escape artists," but mine has never once tried to get out. I have a hood with two openings plus a pretty heavy canopy.
I think if you try some krill or silversides skewered onto a feeding stick, he will get quite a snack and learn to look for you to be his feeder!! Good luck!
blueberryboomer
Active Member
Our Snowflake eel will not touch silversides,he'll come out get a wif and turn tail and hide...I can only get him to eat fresh or frozen crab or squid. I guess I can't blame him for not wanting to eat the silversides, have you ever got a good wif of them, makes my stomache turn...Later Lisa
pufferlover
Active Member
Funny thing about my 2 is neither will touch frozen squid. According to what I read about them before I bought them Squid to them is a delicacy, but mine don't seem to understand that. Tonight for the first time I gave the big eel a big frozen siverside (normally I use the smaller ones) and did it wolf that sucker down in one gulp. I may have created a monster now!
oxtim12345
Member
It's been 5 days now and no sign of eating yet. I tried putting a piece of squid in his hole but he just looks at it funny. I think my next step is to get some live feeder fish. I'll see if that works.
Thanks for the responses.
Thanks for the responses.
G
glenn
Guest
Oxtim,
2 questions, 1 how big is this eel? 2 when do you try to feed it? If it is a small eel then when it is late in the evening you could try a silverside or any other food. Make sure it is a small diameter size piece. Put it on a stick and try to get it into the eels mouth. I had to do this with one that i was nursing back to health for a store. Once it got the taste it ate like a champ. It hadnt eaten for about 3 weeks. It was a larger eel. Even though its head is sticking out of a hole it may be sleeping. Make sure it is awake and when it breaths thats when you try. It may strike at it out of defense, but it will get a tatse of food and may start eating.
2 questions, 1 how big is this eel? 2 when do you try to feed it? If it is a small eel then when it is late in the evening you could try a silverside or any other food. Make sure it is a small diameter size piece. Put it on a stick and try to get it into the eels mouth. I had to do this with one that i was nursing back to health for a store. Once it got the taste it ate like a champ. It hadnt eaten for about 3 weeks. It was a larger eel. Even though its head is sticking out of a hole it may be sleeping. Make sure it is awake and when it breaths thats when you try. It may strike at it out of defense, but it will get a tatse of food and may start eating.
grouperhead
Active Member
i have a snowflake, and hes my favorite fish. mine will go on feeding streaks. he will eat for 3 days, then fast for 3 days. mine will eat krill, clam, squid, silversides, shrimp, brine, and anything else i throw in. have you tryed feeding at night? this is when eels are usually most active, and when i first got my eel he wouldnt eat at all, then i fed him one night, and wham!, he ate. try feeding at night. bo
oxtim12345
Member
Thanks for the great post. It's been day 7 and havn't seen him eat. I do leave a piece of squid in his hole and when i come back it's gone. The other fish could have got it but don't know. He seems pretty active going through all the live rock and he sticks his head out all the time. I'm going to try tonight again, lets hope he eats.