Eel Questions

~ocean

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 12, 2009
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Stoon
A question to all you eel keepers;
I have a 75 gallon and I'm thinking about stocking with a eel. From what I understand, eels are great escape artists and I will be able to get lids and such. I have a question about the species though, I've limited my eel purchase list to either; the snowflake eel, skeletor eel, dwarf golden, or jeweled moray. My question is, which of those species would be most reef friendly, most easily hand fed/interactive, and which one is best suited to a 75 gallon.

Thanks,
Ocean
 

skatin707

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 11, 2013
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Delaware
Morays are notorious for eating clean up crews. Snowflakes are good eels though, I've seen quite a few hand fed.

I went with a Tessellata, but not by choice. I love him though, he's a blast to feed and very friendly. He hasn't eaten any of my more expensive fish, or any fish that were in the tank before him.

Morays are great! You are in for a treat.

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~ocean

Feeder Fish
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May 12, 2009
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Stoon
Just wondering, do some morays have better sight then others? I understand the snowflake is a great eel, but they have pretty bad sight (i.e. misses food when it's right in front of them). Does this problem exist for your tessellata, or something like the jewled or skeletor eel?

Anyways thanks for your input, I'm looking forward to a moray. (I also plan on housing a puffer with the moray, but I don't think it will be a problem).
 

skatin707

Feeder Fish
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Mar 11, 2013
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Most eels have pretty bad eye sight, my tess included. You have to be very careful when you hand feed them. My tess doesn't bother my fingers when there isn't food clenched in them.

I recommend getting the puffer before the eel. For some reason my eel ate 2 fish I added after him, but he won't touch any of the ones that were in there first. May just be a coincidence.

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jfritts91

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 16, 2012
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Snowflakes seem to be one of the more peaceful eels. The stories that I've heard during my time working in fish stores have hinted that snowflakes are also one of the eels least likely to try and escape. Cleaner shrimp and ornamentals will most likely be eaten, regardless of how full the eel is, but larger fish should be fine. Golden Dwarf Morrays are incredibly cool, but due to their smaller size, keeping one in a 75 might not be a great idea. You'd have a hard time spotting him, and spot feeding him. Not to mention the price difference. But as far as reef safety goes, I'd go with one of those two. Their small size makes it hard to eat some of the smaller reef inhabitants, and neither of them have the jaw structure for crushing harder shells, like the ones on Hermits/snails.
 

skatin707

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 11, 2013
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If you add a cleaner shrimp, do it before the eel. My eel won't touch the shrimp I had in there before him but he ate the one I added after. I could tell the difference between the two because the first one was smaller.

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~ocean

Feeder Fish
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Stoon
thanks for the great info. Just wondering, anyone have experience with jeweled morays? I am wanting one, except they seem to be either extremely aggressive or relatively peaceful. And also, how often does a eel try to escape? Just curious. I currently have a plexiglass cover, in order to prevent escape, with 2 small holes for hob skimmer and submersible heater wire. Is that okay? The hole is about 2-3 inches by 2-3 inches.
 

skatin707

Feeder Fish
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Mar 11, 2013
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Eels can lift half their body out of the water, they are magnificent escape artists.

My goal, as dumb as it sounds, is to make my eels environment so perfect it makes him not want to escape. I definitely pamper him, probably more than my wife! Fresh seafood at every meal, most of it local caught too.

Eels are great man, you are in for a treat. I recommend selcon vitamin supplement as a mandatory item. Over time, they will discover a favorite food. They will only come out for that food. I did my best to avoid a picky eel. I feed 2 or 3 things at each meal, and never the same thing for at least 4 meals. It sounds tough, but it's not. I'll do tuna and silversides for one meal, squid and shrimp another, rock fish and snapper another, etc. It's pretty easy.

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Slippery K

Piranha
MFK Member
Dec 5, 2011
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If you want a peaceful moray with less chance of loosing tankmates then get the snowflake. If you want a solo pet, go with the jeweled.
 

~ocean

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 12, 2009
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Stoon
Thanks for all the feedback!

If you want a peaceful moray with less chance of loosing tankmates then get the snowflake. If you want a solo pet, go with the jeweled.
Just wondering, why would the jeweled be solo/species only? Aggressive nature I'm guessing? Otherwise, have anyone successfully kept jeweled morays with other fish, i.e. puffers?

Eels can lift half their body out of the water, they are magnificent escape artists.

My goal, as dumb as it sounds, is to make my eels environment so perfect it makes him not want to escape. I definitely pamper him, probably more than my wife! Fresh seafood at every meal, most of it local caught too.
So how often do your eels try to escape? Or is it at any given opportunity?
 
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