Bought a peacock eel about 3 days ago, the second i put him in he went straight into the gravel, now hes poked his head out and has been out a lil bit at night but within the last 24 hours i havent seen him at all, no nose poking out or anything, checked the floor around the tank and nothing. I have to do a water change today, and was planning to syphon? should i just do a normal water change so i dont disturb him or should i go ahead with the syphoning? obviously ill check the gravel before syphoning just didnt knw if he should be left alone or if a tank check for him is necessary? Hes about 3 to 3 and a half inchs, in a 20 gallon with a gold and opaline gourami, a 3 inch bgk and one pleco. Eventually moving the eel and bgk to a 75 in the near future.
New peacock doesnt come out
- Thread starter sSpAgZz@hotmail.com
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ill wait off on the water change, and wht about eating? I saw him eat bloodworms the very first night i got him, other then tht hes just had his head poked out and watched them pass by. How long should i go without seeing him eat?
Peacocks are the most shy of any of the spiny eels IMHO, I've never had much success in taming them or getting them acclimated to being out and about during the day. Usually they hide with there head sticking out of something...be it a cave or gravel...whatever. I've had a few over the coarse of a couple of years and never had much success with them...I always find them when I clean the tank and they never seem to grow much. I've had a Tire Track eel for over a year now and he eats out of my hand, but to this day I have yet to see him 'out and about'...slowly but surely is all I can say. It takes a a while...good luck. I wouldn't hold off on the gravel vacuum or water changes though. They need to get used to this, it'll help them in the long run from not being so skittish.
I had one that took over a year before it was comftorble being out during the day. The only time I ever saw it was when I disturbed it when cleaning the sand and it moved to a different hiding spot.
The 'not eating' thing...he'll eat. They are scavengers and nocturnal so it's normal not to see them...usually people recommend putting a small plastic cup in the tank with blood worms on the bottom and gravel on top (so the fish don't eat them) when the lights go out. If you want to "tame" him and get him used to daylight, probably best to try and spot feed him during the day, he might not eat for a week or two when introduced to the tank, but even if you see him not eating, he's eating. Just leave food for him to eat. They love chopped up earthworms/nightcrawlers...that might help bridge the 'friendship' gap.
Hes been coming out a lot more lately, eating bloodworms on a regular basis and even coming out for 10-15min periods during the day, got rid of the two gouramis (bullying eachother) and bought a green terror (gold saum). Was a lil worried about compatability between the saum and eel but they swim past eachother with no regards for one another. Ive decided to go planted for my 75 when i get it but heard they will uproot the plants, any suggestions???
driftwood... anchor java ferns, and/or anubus. My eels dig up plants.. but i also found having plenty of driftwood ect available for them to hide under/around keeps them from digging unless they get spooked. I keep hearty species planted that i can replant easy if dug up. mainly crypts.
Im with you on the driftwood, was already planning on having a decent amount of it, also was thinking about anchoring java moss to it. Didnt knw those plants could be anchored, this will be my first planted so any advice and or opinions are well appreciated.