Vicious Snowflake Eel

fulcrum

fulcrum

Member
I added an 18" snowflake eel to my 125 gal. aggressive tank about 2 months ago. He has tons of live rock to hide and tunnel in.
He has gotten progressively more bold at feeding time, and last week at feeding time he killed my 5" Volitan Lion. The lion was sufficiently large, and it was not a feeding thing....as the eel let the carcas go as soon at the lion stopped thrashing.
I added a snowflake becase I read in mulitple places, including here, that they were smaller, less agreesive eels.
Did I get a bad eel or bad info?
Also.....does anyone want him? I do not want to lose the other fish in the tank, especially my niger, which has been with me for a few yers now.
 
evilss

evilss

Member
sounds like you just got a mean snowflake. i have never had one that agressive. mine have always been very passive. let me know if you still wanna get rid of him. i may be intrested.
 
I

irenicus

Guest
I have a Snowflake Eel that is really aggressive. It comes out a great deal during feeding time so I take care in making sure as soon as he sticks his head out for food I target feed him till he is satisfied.
They have poor eyesight so this can make them extra ferocious (sp?) during feeing time.
HTH :happyfish
 
beanpole12

beanpole12

Member
How are you feeding him? Is he group fed with the other fish? I have a anowflake the same length as yours. I've had him since he was about 4 inches long and I haven't had any problems at all. He's actually in a community tank now with gobies and clowns. I have always fed him using krill placed on a feeding stick. That way he doesn't compete with my fish for food at feeding time. Don't think all snowflakes are that way though, mine even eats out of my hand and swims out of his hole and looks at me when I walk up to the tank.
 
blaze86

blaze86

New Member
ive found with eels especially if hes a large SF then you gotta take care of his apitite first. let em get his fill and retire back to the rocks. this way your other inhabitants are not at risk. i had the same problem with an 18in SF that killed a dog face. this practice seemed to work for me.
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
I noticed that snowflakes are a lot more aggressive than the books and websites say they are. I had one, and it killed everything that was in the tank with him. He did even bite a huge chunk of my niger's head, which, hours later, killed him. I don't know how big your niger is, but I would get the snowflake out of there asap.
 
I

irenicus

Guest
The SFE would only get stung if he hit the top spines, which in all likelyhood it didn't. During feeding time a SFE most often bites wildly looking for the food and trying to keep others away.:scared:
 
fulcrum

fulcrum

Member
Update:
The eel is no longer with us. I apologize upfront to any eel lovers, but I caught him trying to kill my niger, and there was simply no other option but to remove him immediately. I did it in a humane way, but after the threads I've read on euthanasia I guess that is even debatable.
The day after I posted the original thread, I went downtstairs and found the niger on the floor next to the tank....drying out rapidly, and not breathing. Miraculously he is back to full health, but I was convinced he was a goner. I didn't have my quarantine tank up and running, so I had no choice but to put him back in the tank with the other fish....and the eel. I did not see it happen, but I am convinced the eel chased the niger out of the tank.
The next day I approached the tank just in time to see the eel slithering into the niger's hiding spot and trying to pull him out by the tail. He did bite off the little wispy ends of the niger's tail, but that's all he got before I netted him.
I have to say I am very disappointed with my eel experience. I think they are fascinating creatures to watch, but I will never have another one in my tank.
P.S. to TRIGGERX89....it sounds to me like your tank is pretty well stocked (if not on the verge of overstocked). I would not risk any eel, or other major additions to that environment.
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
I'm sorry to hear that the snowflake had to go. I know how you feel, mine was the same way. I took him back to the store however.
TRIGGERX89, stop inquiring about these different fish if you will not listen to us. Your tank is WAY overstocked and 1/2 of those fish need to go. Take them back asap before you kill them!
 
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