Freshwater Snowflake Eel?...I'm Confused.

MonsterCichlids75

Gambusia
MFK Member
Feb 15, 2012
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Boston, MA
Hey everyone, first let me say salt is not my area of expertise as i am an avid south american cichlid keeper. That being said, i was in a petco today (i know..haha) and i was real confused, as i saw a very "saltwater looking" eel in a freshwater tank with some young oscars.. Whats going on here? The tag said it was a freshwater snowflake moray eel. I never knew of any species of moray that is freshwater... Sounds like petco is up to something screwy. So what really is the deal with this eel? Arent they saltwater? Thanks everyone! Here is a pic.


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UnstoppableJayD

MFK NNJ
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Jun 6, 2012
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Ok thanks, hmm so what is the ideal SG for them? Thats ridiculous that petco is selling them as fully freshwater eels.


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That I am not to sure about as I have not kept one in a long time (since i got duped into "freshwater moray") but search gymnothorax tile and I am sure you can get all the info.
 

Cu455

Fire Eel
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Mar 8, 2011
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The eel in the discription is a diffrent eel from the one in the tank. You can see they stuck the price tag over the saltwater label. I have seen the eel in the tank several times in freshwater but know nothing about them. The eel in the discription is a snowflake eel and can only love in saltwater.
 

midnight_games

Gambusia
MFK Member
Sep 4, 2012
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Albany, GA
It's Gymnothorax sp., usually Gymnothorax tile. PetSmart, PetSupermarket, & PetCo, and some family based lfs can get them (usually via SunPet). But yeah, they are brackish. They will survive in full freshwater while they are young, but they can be difficult about taking prepared food without the addition of salt in their' water. We sell them at my shop, but we always let people know what they are getting into before they buy them.

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midnight_games

Gambusia
MFK Member
Sep 4, 2012
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Albany, GA
I would try to get the sg to 1.010 or as close as possible. Anything lower and they loose their' appetite and create excess mucus....Plus you need to convert them slowly from fresh to brackish over the course of a few weeks.

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Cichlaholics Anonymous

Polypterus
MFK Member
May 23, 2006
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G. tile become very robust and outgoing in saltwater, it's a shame people insist on pure FW or barely brackish (low SG) for them.

G. polyuranodon would suffice, but won't see one in petco
 

Aw3s0m3

Piranha
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May 6, 2012
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I've kept these guys in pure freshwater, brackish and saltwater and from my experience, they seem happiest in full saltwater. They come out of hiding more, feed better (that's when mine actually started eating prepared foods) and it lived for around 5 years in there. Before I switched it, it was in freshwater for a year, but I was never able to get it off live goldfish until it went into brackish.
 
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