Eel care guide!

[BugXprt]

Zebra is a shelled animal , clam eater naturally, not really carnivore, now the banana is a carnivore, but he has no interest in the fish, as other eels may.
Any body have a small golden morey? How are those with tank mates?

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Zebra is a shelled animal , clam eater naturally, not really carnivore, now the banana is a carnivore, but he has no interest in the fish, as other eels may.
Any body have a small golden morey? How are those with tank mates?

Just because it eats mostly shellfish, doesn't mean it's not a carnivore... but I know what you're talking about.

I've kept a few golden dwarves, and I've never had one eat a fish. I've had them get excited at feeding time and take a swipe, but the fish is faster and they get fed well to discourage hunting. No point in looking for food when it's handed to you on a stick.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Just because it eats mostly shellfish, doesn't mean it's not a carnivore... but I know what you're talking about.

I've kept a few golden dwarves, and I've never had one eat a fish. I've had them get excited at feeding time and take a swipe, but the fish is faster and they get fed well to discourage hunting. No point in looking for food when it's handed to you on a stick.

How well would they do in a 75 gallon tank?

A lot of our fish get hand fed. I mean they pull it off my finger tips.

Based on our former aggressive snowflake eel I am guessing that's not such a great idea, even though the golden is a tiny one.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

How well would they do in a 75 gallon tank?

A lot of our fish get hand fed. I mean they pull it off my finger tips.

Based on our former aggressive snowflake eel I am guessing that's not such a great idea, even though the golden is a tiny one.

It would be just fine. It would certainly have lots of swimming room. I feed mine with a stick. It's actually a BBQ skewer. I'm not worried about getting bitten, the stick doesn't really spook him tho. He's learned food is attached to it. I guess I could train him to eat from my hand, but it's easier to reach in the tank with the stick.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

I've had this happen with a dwarf moray and I found that the food was too large. The eel would get it almost down and then decide it was too large to eat, regurgitate it and was done with it. Try smaller pieces next time and see if that helps.

Well, I’ve tried feeding even smaller pieces of food (smaller than his head) but it seems the moment it “tastes” the food in his mouth, it loses interest and lets go of the food. It’s the same food (LRS Chunky variety) that I’ve been feeding it for the 6 months. Why the sudden did it lose interest ???!!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Well, I’ve tried feeding even smaller pieces of food (smaller than his head) but it seems the moment it “tastes” the food in his mouth, it loses interest and lets go of the food. It’s the same food (LRS Chunky variety) that I’ve been feeding it for the 6 months. Why the sudden did it lose interest ???!!

That's odd it doesn't want the Chunky. I feed mine the same. It isnt perhaps still partially frozen and still cold, maybe? Other than that, I'd say give it a while. Maybe a week without offering food and try again. Sometimes, they just aren't hungry but will snatch food off the stick anyway.

(If you see a lot of excitement at feeding time for the fish, or it starts trying to go for your fish before the week is up, feed immediately.)

 

[PacsAdmin77]

Hmm it seems unlikely that the food might still be frozen. I thawed the food in some DT water and then let it soak in Selcon and garlic extract for another 10 minutes. But I’ll wait another week and/or until it goes into frenzy mode before attempting another feeding.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Hmm it seems unlikely that the food might still be frozen. I thawed the food in some DT water and then let it soak in Selcon and garlic extract for another 10 minutes. But I’ll wait another week and/or until it goes into frenzy mode before attempting another feeding.

There's your problem...

Try NOT soaking it in the selcon and garlic. Garlic is very unnatural and I'm really against feeding it to fish. Selcon isnt needed either. LRS is already full of probiotics and vitamins. No need to ruin it with snake oils.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

There's your problem...

Try NOT soaking it in the selcon and garlic. Garlic is very unnatural and I'm really against feeding it to fish. Selcon isnt needed either. LRS is already full of probiotics and vitamins. No need to ruin it with snake oils.

Lol snake oils. Interestingly enough, I’ve used this same regiment since I’ve had Skeletor and it seemed fine with it until recently. But I’ll try your advice and feed it LRS au natural :O

 

[PacsAdmin77]

Well, I’ve tried feeding LRS Chunky to Skeletor w/o garlic or Selcon, but it didn’t even nibble at it. So now I’m at a loss. With Selcon/garlic, it’d grab the food but let it go immediately. Without food additives, it wouldn’t even take a bite. Is it unheard of for an eel to suddenly lose interest in its staple diet ( ie LRS)? It’s going on 2 weeks since Skeletor last ate.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Well, I’ve tried feeding LRS Chunky to Skeletor w/o garlic or Selcon, but it didn’t even nibble at it. So now I’m at a loss. With Selcon/garlic, it’d grab the food but let it go immediately. Without food additives, it wouldn’t even take a bite. Is it unheard of for an eel to suddenly lose interest in its staple diet ( ie LRS)? It’s going on 2 weeks since Skeletor last ate.

Sometimes they just go on hunger strikes... Sometimes something is off in your water, high nitrates, any kind of metal contamination. If you have healthy corals, you can rule out metals, and nitrates astre easy enough to test for. I'd just give hon time to get over his hunger strike. 2 weeks isn't bad.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

I test my water weekly and nothing seems extraordinarily high. And I’ve been running “premium” activated carbon so I doubt heavy metal contamination is an issue? I hope it’s not another hunger strike. The last one ended at end of Feb 2019 and it’s especially stressful for me. I wonder if switching to other frozen food types might get it eating again? Any thoughts?

 

[PacsAdmin77]

Well, I’ve tried feeding Skeletor PE mysis and small Hikari krill but same result - it’d take a bite and then release. I’m out of ideas. Maybe it’s going on another hunger strike? If so, it’d be almost 3 weeks since its last meal. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[PacsAdmin77]

Hi All,

Has anyone noticed this behavior before, where a Skeletor eel with normally dark coloration suddenly change to a lighter complexion where it appears pale enough that the white spots are almost blended in? Skeletor’s started to do this only at night and for the past few days, it’s escaped into the sump. I’m not sure what to make of this. Any thoughts?

 

[lion king]

Hi All,

Has anyone noticed this behavior before, where a Skeletor eel with normally dark coloration suddenly change to a lighter complexion where it appears pale enough that the white spots are almost blended in? Skeletor’s started to do this only at night and for the past few days, it’s escaped into the sump. I’m not sure what to make of this. Any thoughts?

A simple explanation it's just a stress response, likely due to his trip to the sump. His color should return quicky after he settles back into the tank. If he remains pale for a length of time, the cause could be more complicated.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

A simple explanation it's just a stress response, likely due to his trip to the sump. His color should return quicky after he settles back into the tank. If he remains pale for a length of time, the cause could be more complicated.

Well, it looks like he made a second trip to the sump because he’s not in the DT today. I’m not sure what prompted his recent need to wander. I’ve heard eels are escape artists which is why my DT’s lidded and he’s been well-behaved since introducing him in Oct. 2018. Water parameters are good and I don’t notice anyone bullying him so I’m not sure what’s going on. If I catch him again, I may just make the QT his permanent home.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

A simple explanation it's just a stress response, likely due to his trip to the sump. His color should return quicky after he settles back into the tank. If he remains pale for a length of time, the cause could be more complicated.

I stand corrected: I noticed his pale coloration even before his trip to the sump.

 

[lion king]

As I stated earlier the simple answer is stress due to conditions which you could control, you answered those so you may be looking at another cause for his paleness. Any internal maladies will just be a guess, if he was ever exposed to copper treatment, either in your care or kept in a system running copper prior to your care, can be detrimental. If you have done everything from maintaining proper water conditions and there does not seem to be any bullying going on, there's nothing else to do on your side.

Him cruising around and ending up in the sump is just his natural way. It's a crack up to me that humans think they will put this ocean creature in a glass cage, provide him with a human approved environment with rocks and such. Keep good water conditions, and somehow this guy is suppose to just tuck himself into the rocks and be happy.

In the wild they cruise, squeeze themselves into crevices, that's all he is doing. You can protect him from ending up in the sump by covering your overflow with piece of plastic or acrylic with a few drops of superglue.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Hi All,

Has anyone noticed this behavior before, where a Skeletor eel with normally dark coloration suddenly change to a lighter complexion where it appears pale enough that the white spots are almost blended in? Skeletor’s started to do this only at night and for the past few days, it’s escaped into the sump. I’m not sure what to make of this. Any thoughts?

Did he finally start eating?

What worked?

Glad he is still alive!

 

[PacsAdmin77]

Did he finally start eating?

What worked?

Glad he is still alive!

Hi @norfolkgarden! Yes he’s been eating consistently for quite a while now. Eventually his hunger trumped his stubbornness and he’s been nom’ing like a champ on krill. But now it seems like I have to deal with another one of its quirks (escape artist-in-training). :/