fresh water moray not knowing anything much about them. after some research i found that they are brakish fish. hes 12 inches long and 100% a gymnothorax tile. hes in a fresh water tank and only eats live shrimp that i keep in a cold saltwater tank under my main tank. my question is this is the salt intake from him eating the saltwater shrimp keeping him alive in the tank or are they able to adapt to fresh.
when i bought my tsn i also got a .......
- Thread starter livelymc
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I think they can adapt to fresh (but after searching online, I know now that even if they do adapt to fresh, they won't live as long and will live a miserable life) I seen some of those freshwater morays online, they look awesome and would be cool to have. They grow to be about 2' though.
Heres some additional info I found online,
Among advanced hobbyists it is known that all species referred to as freshwater moray eel in fact need brackish or marine water to thrive. The story is quite the same as with the brackish puffers T. nigroviridis and T. fluviatilis. They can last in freshwater even for months or years, but that is far away from the optimal care and thus should be avoided. The same is true for the freshwater moray eel. It’s a shame that the word has not spread to many fish stores, which sell them as freshwater fish to beginners. Morays in fact can be successfully kept by beginners, but only if appropriate guidance is offered to them and the fish stores are still the major source for information of most customers.
All moray eels kept in fresh water share a similar sad fate. Although very hardy in brackish and marine water, they are prone to a number of diseases in fresh water. It is common for them to reject food and to starve within a few weeks, although other specimens manage to decimate their community tank mates before being weakened from various infections and parasites.
Their natural habitats are the tropical estuaries and coastal mangrove swamps. Salinity in these areas changes with the tides and the monsun, but mostly is rather close to marine. That is why a specific gravity of at least 1.010 is needed to keep freshwater moray eel. A full marine environment may be even better (especially for the adults) and is, due to the use of live rock and skimmers, easier to maintain.
Moray eels may be predators and they may seem to have a vicious look in their eyes, but be aware that they are very easily stressed. Moving decoration around, netting the fish and especially changing the tank are typical actions, which can result in a scared moray eel that won’t eat for days or even weeks. So its good to reduce such actions to a minimum.
Morays are very curious at night and investigate every crack or gap for food or eventual hiding spots. Keeping a moray eel in a tank without a lid is a bad idea. It is important to hermetically seal all holes in the lid, because they also like to investigate any holes up there. It is frequently reported they ended up dead on the floor. If it manages to flee and looks dead, get a net as soon as possible and put it back in some saltwater. They are hardy and even after hours there is a chance for survival.
Resource: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/fwmorayart.htm
Heres some additional info I found online,
Among advanced hobbyists it is known that all species referred to as freshwater moray eel in fact need brackish or marine water to thrive. The story is quite the same as with the brackish puffers T. nigroviridis and T. fluviatilis. They can last in freshwater even for months or years, but that is far away from the optimal care and thus should be avoided. The same is true for the freshwater moray eel. It’s a shame that the word has not spread to many fish stores, which sell them as freshwater fish to beginners. Morays in fact can be successfully kept by beginners, but only if appropriate guidance is offered to them and the fish stores are still the major source for information of most customers.
All moray eels kept in fresh water share a similar sad fate. Although very hardy in brackish and marine water, they are prone to a number of diseases in fresh water. It is common for them to reject food and to starve within a few weeks, although other specimens manage to decimate their community tank mates before being weakened from various infections and parasites.
Their natural habitats are the tropical estuaries and coastal mangrove swamps. Salinity in these areas changes with the tides and the monsun, but mostly is rather close to marine. That is why a specific gravity of at least 1.010 is needed to keep freshwater moray eel. A full marine environment may be even better (especially for the adults) and is, due to the use of live rock and skimmers, easier to maintain.
Moray eels may be predators and they may seem to have a vicious look in their eyes, but be aware that they are very easily stressed. Moving decoration around, netting the fish and especially changing the tank are typical actions, which can result in a scared moray eel that won’t eat for days or even weeks. So its good to reduce such actions to a minimum.
Morays are very curious at night and investigate every crack or gap for food or eventual hiding spots. Keeping a moray eel in a tank without a lid is a bad idea. It is important to hermetically seal all holes in the lid, because they also like to investigate any holes up there. It is frequently reported they ended up dead on the floor. If it manages to flee and looks dead, get a net as soon as possible and put it back in some saltwater. They are hardy and even after hours there is a chance for survival.
Resource: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/fwmorayart.htm
im not a moray eel expert but my buddy has a bunch in his brackish tank. when i asked him a while ago about getting one the first thing he said was "do i have a brackish tank." i said no, and he told me that if you want to keep them the most comfortable they require brackish water. he said that they can be kept in fresh but they wont live to their full potential life span, and with freshwater they can more easily die. Being in freshwater makes them more sensitive to changing water conditions which is always a risk if you keep them in a 100% freshwater tank. the way he said it he would never keep morays in fresh, always brackish.make sure it has lots of hiding places and small caves to hide in.
Mines thriving in my tank with my tsn. I just feed it salty foods like live shrimp kept in a coldwater salt tank and he also loves mysis cuves. I'm currently setting up a 4x1.5x1 for him as brackish but it seems a shame to move him wen he's doing so well
Also is like to note the tank is overfiltered and weekly water changes of 25 are made all the time using clean well water as I hear copper is harmful to eels the water is nitrate 0 nitrite 0 ammonia 0 p.h is neutral. Also have lots of plants in tank
you will need some higher levels of marine salt in order for the G. tile to do well long-term...it can live in FW for some time, but generally, needs to move closer to marine as it ages. As for the feeding issue, they will do well on standard marine items like squid, shrimp, etc. varying the diet is the key.
thay cen live in fresh but as evryone is saying thay will have a shorter life brackish water will keep them in a better state thay need some salt in thare tank
that's a bit of an understatement. Yes, they can survive in freshwater for quite some time, but will certainly die as a result of being in FW. They need more than just "some salt in there", should be high end brackish or even marine conditions