I've had my 14in fire eel for 4 or 5 days now and I'm having that typical problem of him not eating (tried bloodworms, brine shrimp, live earthworms, etc). I feed him after the tank lights go out, all that typical stuff....still not eating. How long should I wait before I start worrying about him starving to death?
How long should I wait to start worrying about him not eating?
- Thread starter LeviathanLady
- Start date
He won't stave him self to death. I had the same problem with my now 15-16 inch eel,(he's still shy). It took me a month to get him to come out and eat. Even now, i drop the worm in front of his hole and wait. Soon enough he eats it... I don't see much though. or see much of him.LeviathanLady;3314631; said:
I feed him worms only
He's actually not at all shy. He's always coming out and swimming around. I put small pieces of earthworm on a feeding pole and wiggle it in front of his nose but he only sniffs at it. I'll try the shrimp next. Do I just get regular shrimp from the grocery store?
earthworm pieces. my 3 are about 14" atm and still need their worms chopped into 3-4 pieces at least to take them. I'de also try live black worms. if hes out and about alot i wouldn't worry about aggression being an issue in the tank as far as feeding. mine refuse anything and everything except earthwarms (nightcrawlers, not red worms.) and live blackworms with the exception of my biggest one which will take frozen bloodworms as well. Ghost shrimp are also commonly used to try and encourage a shy feeder, i've never used them personally though. I'de also drop it down to him and not use the feeding stick, it may be scareing him, they seem to have excellent sight and it may be as simple as that. my one went almost a month without eating but has started feeding again for no apparent reason. if he's active, not gasping, and otherwise looks healthy I wouldn't be overly concerned at the moment. plenty of hideing spots if he seems to be constantly seeking cover if hes so active. Though mine are very active by nature and constantly flitting around the tank when the lights are off, though they each have their own pvc tube nap spot.
He has plenty of hiding spots, and doesn't seem to be stressing in any way. Just not interested in food too much, although this morning he nibbled a few bites of frozen brine-shrimp. I did try chopping up the worms, dropping them, etc. I'll check out the blackworms.
Just got mine today and tried to give him an earth worm but he would not accept it. Not to worried because I just got him today. hopefully he will accept food tomorrow.