Got rid of all the cichlids in my tank so all I've got ATM is the fire eel, what's the best way to get him to start eating? He's about 9 inches ATM maybe a tad bigger so he must of eaten something but I haven't seen him eat a thing so I'm hoping he was just not eating because of the cichlids. I'm going to leave the lights off for a few days and let him realise it's his tank now and hopefully he will start eating
Gettin my fire eel to eat
- Thread starter cooper.s
- Start date
feed it earth worms. i use red wigglers from a bait shop when i can't get worms from my garden.
try to get it used to eating from tongs or forceps. it will associate the tongs with feeding and after a while it should take other foods from the tongs (like shrimp or strips of fish).
after it is taking new foods, you should be able to just drop it in or hand feed if you prefer!
try to get it used to eating from tongs or forceps. it will associate the tongs with feeding and after a while it should take other foods from the tongs (like shrimp or strips of fish).
after it is taking new foods, you should be able to just drop it in or hand feed if you prefer!
at 9 " you can try frozen krill, bloodworms. if these don't work. live nightcrawlers, ghost shrimp, red worms may work but my eels tended to dis-like tehse. Live blackworms also are readily accepted generally though it would take quite abit to fill a 9" eel up. I would try the frozen foods first. defrost them and let them sink outside your eels hide spots, and walk away. check back in awhile, fairly readily it will associate you with food but these guys can be abit shy. As far as I am aware, there is no danger in hand-feeding these fish unless you simply don't want too. I feed my 24" ers by hand and though they have a raspy type mouth and can exert a decent amount of preasure. they have never even come close to drawing blood on me in boisterous feeding times.
btw turning off the ligth ect is def the right thing to do. You shouldn't have much issues once you find something he'll eat. they can be fussy/finicky/picky eaters. So once eating something it's worth the extra hassle of encouraging it to eat more then one type of food.
btw turning off the ligth ect is def the right thing to do. You shouldn't have much issues once you find something he'll eat. they can be fussy/finicky/picky eaters. So once eating something it's worth the extra hassle of encouraging it to eat more then one type of food.
ok, tried defrosting bloodworms and dropping them in and he didn't touch them, not 1. iv just tried another earthworm but it dont look promising, the thing that gets me is he is more active and unshy than my last fire eel, yet my last fire eel at 6/7inches used to eat pretty much everything from my hand! stressing me out lol
i never seen one eat blood worms, but i heard they will. they always take earth worms with enthusiasm unless there is something wrong with your eel or its environment. i would test the water and keep trying earth worms that are small enough for it. good luck!
if you're using tongs now, stop. just drop them in there for it to find.
if you're using tongs now, stop. just drop them in there for it to find.
I agree.. test your water as well. be patient but persistant with offering foods. nocturnal in nature even though the light is off you can put small nightcrawlers/live worms in at nght and in the morning remove anything un-eaten. also make sure your water temp is 72 -80. My bet is on a very shy fish.
See I thought he was just over shy but then remembered that he is so lively compared to the other fire eel I had, if I go up the his hiding spot(behind the fx5 intake) he comes out as if to say hi, and during the night he is always swimming around.
Just a little update on the feeding situation I put 3 earthworms in not last night the night before and as far as I could see he had ate 2 and there was 1 left, went for a shower and when I went to remove the in eaten worm but it was gone.
At the moment I have rocks and some bog wood in the tank but whats the best environment for the eel? It's pretty full with rock and wood
Just a little update on the feeding situation I put 3 earthworms in not last night the night before and as far as I could see he had ate 2 and there was 1 left, went for a shower and when I went to remove the in eaten worm but it was gone.
At the moment I have rocks and some bog wood in the tank but whats the best environment for the eel? It's pretty full with rock and wood
good to hear! they like to bury themselves when they're small so smooth sand or small smooth gravel are good for them. sand or gravel isn't necessary but they do enjoy it. if you don't use it make sure you have a good amount of hiding spots like pvc pipes and caves.