Will my Eel only eat live food now?

[uncleowenrip]

So I have a fish tank with a gymnothorax tile (aka freshwater moray) and when I first got him he was very easy to get to eat. He would start going crazy looking for the food before it even hit the water. He was being fed frozen krill for awhile and then frozen squid.

At one point I had bought 7 fiddler crabs for the tank. The eel eventually killed/ate almost all of them. For about over a month now he has not been accepting his food. There was a point when I was away and I think he was being fed a little bit every day. for over a month he has been very docile. He used to come out and explore a lot (well, for an eel) but now he hides ALL of the time. When food hits the water it doesn't budge him at all. I even bought some frozen silver sides to feed him but nothing.

The water quality is perfect, I've had it tested many times. And I know that eels sometimes fast for around a month. And since he was eating so much for a short period maybe he is just really really full. However, I am also worried he might now prefer live food since he feasted on crabs, and that's why he is rejecting the frozen.

Does anyone think that this might be the issue? And if so what could I do to ween him back onto the frozen foods?

Thank you very much.


50 gallon tank
1 columbian catfish shark
2 mono argentus
1 red scat
1 fiddler crab
5 nerite snails
1 moray eel

 

[SalmonAfrica]

If you think it's the live foods that he's just gotten used to, try 'feeding' him another fiddler crab. If he eats it, then it's likely he hot used to the luxuary. If not, he may just be fasting - which wouldn't surprise me if he ate so many crabs.

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

make sure tankmates aren't stressing it out too much

 

[uncleowenrip]

There is one fiddler crab in there now that he hasn't really bothered as far as I can tell.
I don't think that the other tank mates are stressing him as he really does not have much interaction with them. He just hides in his cave and the scats and monos swim around, my catfish shark just swims in the very top corner unless it's feeding time.

 

[bromie88]

how long have you had it? what SG is your tank? they can stress out if its not high enough... have you rearranged the tank lately, has it got pleanty of places to hide?

it might be an idea to spear the frozen food with a piece of wire and jiggle it around in front of its lair. see it it strikes.

eels do fast from time to time. if it ate 7 fiddlers it could just be sleeping it of, and may be sluggish for a while... try getting another fiddler crab, or some ghost shrimp. it may just be fussy. so you should try to get it settled again, once its feeding on live you will be able to wean it off onto frozen foods.

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

does the tank have a land portion for the fiddler crab?

 

[uncleowenrip]

My SG is fine. It is around 1.020 when I last had the water checked a few days ago, I have since done a water change so it is between 1.010 to 1.020 definitely. The eel has plenty of hiding spots. He has been coming out a little more lately, kind of. Instead of hiding in his cave where you can't see him he has been hanging out in the entrances, sometimes poking his head out. Last night he was outside of his big cave and hiding more visibly in the corner of the tank. I think I will try feeding him some frozen food in a couple days to see if he takes.

Yes- there is a landing pad for the fiddlers.

 

[bromie88]

ok. did you just do a WC with FW? im just asking as you say your Sg is between 1.010 and 1.020... thats a big range... you should be more careful with the levels of salt in your tank. you've probably heard it before, but dont change the SG in your tank by more than 0.002sg per week, as your tank could crash, and all the most sensitive fish will go first i.e your eel.

id check. if its now happy keep the tank at that SG. if its poking its head out of its crevice thats fine. they generally keep the back half their body hidden so they can hide quicker...

also try feeding with the lights off. or with the lights dimmed if possible. predators feed more during the twilight hours. 1hr before and after dawn, and 1hr before and after dusk.