Blue Ribbon Eel Questions

[MSB123]

I was gifted a blue ribbon eel by a friend who ordered it and had no idea about it, and now I have this 18" long eel in my QT tank. I have kept a snowflake eel successfully in the past, and I have never tried keeping ribbon eels. I would have never ordered it, but my friend decided to order it without my consent . Any and all help is greatly appreciated!
I have a few questions:
1.) If he bites me, is it bad? (is he poisonous?)
2.) Is he reef safe (I don't have many small fish, almost all of my fish are 3-8".)
3.) What should I feed him? I haven't tried yet, as he came in about 1 hr ago and my friend just brought him over.
Thanks,
-MSB

 

[Humblefish]

@Bob Loblaw

 

[KMench]

https://www.saltwaterfish.com/product-blue-ribbon-eel

Here's some basic info at least. Not familiar beside the results of a google search

 

[MSB123]

@Bob Loblaw

Thanks!

https://www.saltwaterfish.com/product-blue-ribbon-eel

Here's some basic info at least. Not familiar besides the results of a google search

I read this, it doesn't provide much info on the care and feeding requirements Thanks anyway!

 

[KMench]

http://www.reefedition.com/the-blue-ribbon-eel-rhinomuraena-quaesita/

How's this? It seems they suggest starting with live feeder fish and then transitioning to frozen. Looks like a fairly demanding eel from this ;Wideyed

Even better!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/eel-care-guide.190769/

Here's some great info on R2R

 

[lion king]

I've had a black ribbon in my observation tank for a month now, the juvi stage of a blue ribbon. They are notorious for being difficult to feed, this is what I did and mine is settling in nicely. I immediately dosed prazipro, one reason they may not eat is because of internal parasites. I put a few small live ghost shrimp in the tank to live with him, and give him an opportunity to eat them at his leisure. On about the third day I noticed him mouthing one of the ghosties, but not really chomping down. I also have a jeweled eel and am familiar with other morays but the way this eel eats is very soft. I figured out he needs thinly sliced pieces of food an inch or so long. I pretty much had to put the food into his mouth at first, I first used a rigid tube with piece of fishing line to skewer the bits of food; now I use a pair of tongs and he takes it pretty well. His favorite food is silver fish I buy out of the frozen section at an asian market. He also eats smelt(silversides at the lfs), squid, shrimp, and krill. Again I found him to have a soft mouth and fed easier with the food cut into thin strips about half the width of his mouth and no longer than twice the length of the length of his mouth. My guy seems to be a very young small guy so the blue may eat more aggressively, but this activity did set me back a bit.

 

[MSB123]

Ok, thanks a lot! That's really helpful! How did you dose the prazipro?

 

[MSB123]

I've had a black ribbon in my observation tank for a month now, the juvi stage of a blue ribbon. They are notorious for being difficult to feed, this is what I did and mine is settling in nicely. I immediately dosed prazipro, one reason they may not eat is because of internal parasites. I put a few small live ghost shrimp in the tank to live with him, and give him an opportunity to eat them at his leisure. On about the third day I noticed him mouthing one of the ghosties, but not really chomping down. I also have a jeweled eel and am familiar with other morays but the way this eel eats is very soft. I figured out he needs thinly sliced pieces of food an inch or so long. I pretty much had to put the food into his mouth at first, I first used a rigid tube with piece of fishing line to skewer the bits of food; now I use a pair of tongs and he takes it pretty well. His favorite food is silver fish I buy out of the frozen section at an asian market. He also eats smelt(silversides at the lfs), squid, shrimp, and krill. Again I found him to have a soft mouth and fed easier with the food cut into thin strips about half the width of his mouth and no longer than twice the length of the length of his mouth. My guy seems to be a very young small guy so the blue may eat more aggressively, but this activity did set me back a bit.

And which prazipro and how much did you use?

 

[lion king]

Ok, thanks a lot! That's really helpful! How did you dose the prazipro?

I think it's like 1 tsp per 20g into the water column, obviously remove any media and it will make skimmers go crazy. I'm not much for pvc in my tanks, but this was an observation tank so I put a length of pvc with a 45 degree elbow. He really took to the pvc so I did put one into the display he is going in, I buried it really nice and camouflaged the opening with rocks.

this stuff: http://www.hikariusa.com/solutions/healthaid/prazipro/
Dose and do a 25% water change after 5 days then redose, 5 days later another water change and add back carbon or whatever else you use.

 

[KMench]

Yeah, dosage is 5 mL per 20G.

 

[MSB123]

ok, I have PVC in the QT tank for now, I already had some for my QT tank normally. Do you remember what size bottle you used?

 

[MSB123]

I think it's like 1 tsp per 20g into the water column, obviously remove any media and it will make skimmers go crazy. I'm not much for pvc in my tanks, but this was an observation tank so I put a length of pvc with a 45 degree elbow. He really took to the pvc so I did put one into the display he is going in, I buried it really nice and camouflaged the opening with rocks.

this stuff: http://www.hikariusa.com/solutions/healthaid/prazipro/

and did you only dose once? when you first got him?

 

[KMench]

Typically you dose it once, wait 5-7 days and then dose it again. If you're worried about the eel being sensitive to the PP, you can run carbon 24 hours after dosing it. PP takes 24 hours to work, but will remain in the system for up to 72 otherwise.

 

[MSB123]

Got it

 

[MSB123]

here is the tank he is going in- I did not buy the blue tang, he was a rescue, he is now 9" long and i love him

 

[KMench]

Keep us posted! I want to see your eel!

 

[MSB123]

ill post pics in a bit, he is hiding atm

 

[KMench]

Nice tank. What is the big fish in front of the blue tang?

 

[MSB123]

Its called a scat fish, he was also a rescue, they are normally a brackish fish, but he was conditioned for salt, so I took him in, he is awesome! He is a pig though and he eats everything- including all the nori for the tangs

 

[MSB123]

If you are familiar with the hikairi frozen mysis cubes, i feed 3 of those a day