white mouth eel helps me out

J

johnyquest

Guest
I had a very interesting chain of events happen today. I have been trying to catch a 4" spotted hawkfish that has been harrassing some of the other fish, with no success. I tried again today and had noticed the white mouth seemed more agressive than normal. After 30 minutes of trying to catch the hawkfish, the white mouth decided he had had enough. I saw a flash of speed behind the rocks, and pressto no more hawkfish. 5 minutes after the meal all the fish are out and peace has been restored. If anybody needs a fish removed, let me know I will let you borrow the eel.
 

aw2x3

Active Member
First question you should be asking is "why did the Whitemouth decide to eat the Hawkfish, all of the sudden?"
Do you feed your Whitemouth live foods or frozen? Has it ever eaten tankmates before?
Now, you need to be worried about it eating the rest of your fish...if not eating them, then killing them.
 
J

johnyquest

Guest
he had been on a small hunger strike ( 1 week). He eats frozen tiger shrimp, scallops, squid, and clams. That fish is the first thing he has eaten.
 

aw2x3

Active Member
1 week is certainly nothing to make it all the sudden want to eat live prey.
My Whitemouth has gone for over 5 months without eating, with other tankmates and never once touched them.
Whitemouth's should be kept with other aggressive fish, too large to be eaten (or even thought about being eaten).
My opinion...you're gonna start seeing more fish disappear over the next few weeks/months. Another thing...change the diet. They're fish eaters, not shrimp/scallop/clam eaters. Squid and octo are fine, but you need to be supplementing a good diet in fish, such as Grouper, Snapper, Salmon, Tuna, etc.
 
J

johnyquest

Guest
I will take your advise about the diet, thanks for your input. What is your opinion about the eel and his recent behavior?
 

aw2x3

Active Member
I've had mine for years...there's not a behavior that I havent seen. What yours is expressing is normal...they're an aggressive species, plain and simple.
How long have you had yours, what size is it, what size tank is it in and what are it's tankmates?
 
J

johnyquest

Guest
I've had him about 8 months, he is 18" long, he is in a 125, and he is in with a clown trigger(5"), s&s puffer(8"), v-tail grouper(5"). I am in the process of upgrading to a 210.
 

aw2x3

Active Member
Only problem I see is the CT. At 5", it's getting close to that point where it's gonna start getting very aggressive. The Whitemouth or the Puffer would be the easiest targets.
My Whitemouth is over 30" and has been housed with Triggers, Puffers, Groupers, Lions, etc. Current tankmates are my 30"+ Hawaiian Dragon Moray and a 6" - 8" Giant Hawkfish.
 

unleashed

Active Member
Originally Posted by AW2x3
1 week is certainly nothing to make it all the sudden want to eat live prey.
My Whitemouth has gone for over 5 months without eating, with other tankmates and never once touched them.
Whitemouth's should be kept with other aggressive fish, too large to be eaten (or even thought about being eaten).
My opinion...you're gonna start seeing more fish disappear over the next few weeks/months. Another thing...change the diet. They're fish eaters, not shrimp/scallop/clam eaters. Squid and octo are fine, but you need to be supplementing a good diet in fish, such as Grouper, Snapper, Salmon, Tuna, etc.
i agre with this very much except the fish selection to be used grouper and snapper would be a fine choise but use tuna and salmon sparingly as they are a very fatty fish and too much can lead to fatty liver liver disease.my eels tend to favor talipia which is an inexpencive salt water fish from japan
 

aw2x3

Active Member
Originally Posted by unleashed
my eels tend to favor talipia which is an inexpencive salt water fish from japan

Tilapia is a freshwater (and not so often brackish) fish, that's much like the American Carp...they tend to eat all the poo and waste off the bottom. That is something I would DEFINATELY not be feeding my fish/eels.
I do agree with what unleashed said and I should have been more clear. Do not feed Tuna and Salmon alot. It wont cause liver disease (unless you feed it nothing but Tuna and Salmon for years), tho.
 

unleashed

Active Member
Originally Posted by AW2x3
Tilapia is a freshwater (and not so often brackish) fish, that's much like the American Carp...they tend to eat all the poo and waste off the bottom. That is something I would DEFINATELY not be feeding my fish/eels.
I do agree with what unleashed said and I should have been more clear. Do not feed Tuna and Salmon alot. It wont cause liver disease (unless you feed it nothing but Tuna and Salmon for years), tho.
tilapia is fresh water fish? ahh buggers lol..ok i will now scratch that one of my list of foods lol.. this one ill give andy lol..damned oriental lables lol..
i did a bit of reading on this fish too not that andy mentions it being a fw species its not realy a carp its a cichlid origanates in africa but none the less it is more of a fw fish so i will not be using this type as a food again for my fish..thanks for the heads up this one
 
J

johnyquest

Guest
Well its been a couple of weeks and the whitemouth seems to have settled down. He loves the new diet, and his tank mates are getting along great. Thanks guys!
 
Top