Eels in a reef aquarium

[Lavabrine ninja]

You do want your rockwork set up with an eel in mind, as well as a top with absolutely not a sliver possible for an escape. You can search for tips on how to set up rockwork to give den options and secure top, carpet searching is the #1 cause of death of eels in captivity. The zebra is a very large eel, while the chainlink is somewhere between the snowflake and zebra. The chainlink and skelator are more aggressive, need more swimming space, and are more of threat to smaller fish. It all starts from the beginning as I mentioned before, people have best success when they start with a smaller eel and get them accustomed to living in captivity and eating dead food, before they go into the display. Small wrasses like a pinkstreaked or possum wrasse may not be a good idea; but larger wrasses would be fine. You have to size everything appropriately from the beginning.

What is your tank size, smaller the tank, greater the risk, this is also how many people get into trouble.

The ribbon eels are difficult to care for, and usually don't live very long if live food is not included in their diets.

The chronicles of a Rhinomuraena quaesita

Aka the black ribbon eel in the juvenile form, the blue ribbon eel in the male form, and the green ribbon eel in the female form. This is another notoriously difficult fish to keep, I've had some success with one and would like to share my observations. I've witnessed a couple friends and other...

www.reef2reef.com

So what would be better the chainlink or snowflake eel? And on tank size I'm about to upgrade to a 180g

 

[Shooter6]

So what would be better the chainlink or snowflake eel? And on tank size I'm about to upgrade to a 180g

Snowflake, although a 180g is on the small side, due to filtration issues. Especially if your trying to keep coral

 

[Lavabrine ninja]

Snowflake, although a 180g is on the small side, due to filtration issues. Especially if your trying to keep coral

Uve probably already said it but I just cant remember but what makes a snowflake eel better in a reef then a chainlink eel?

 

[lion king]

So what would be better the chainlink or snowflake eel? And on tank size I'm about to upgrade to a 180g

Tank size is fine for either, as I've mentioned, you may just want to consider tank mates for the chainlink a little more carefully. Again to drive home, none of the eels you've mentioned will grab and eat any fish. The only fish at risk are ones too small in relationship to the size of eel. A pebbletooth eel will literally have to slurp down the fish whole, only when people house a larger eel with fish that can fit in their mouths, do they have an issue. A snowflake is just a more common eel, if you like the chainlink better, it is a good choice.

 

[Lavabrine ninja]

Tank size is fine for either, as I've mentioned, you may just want to consider tank mates for the chainlink a little more carefully. Again to drive home, none of the eels you've mentioned will grab and eat any fish. The only fish at risk are ones too small in relationship to the size of eel. A pebbletooth eel will literally have to slurp down the fish whole, only when people house a larger eel with fish that can fit in their mouths, do they have an issue. A snowflake is just a more common eel, if you like the chainlink better, it is a good choice.

Currently I only have a scopas tang, blue tang, 2 clownfish, and yellow coris wrasse. But as of which I like more, i just want the one that's not gonna go for my small fish. I like both

 

[lion king]

Currently I only have a scopas tang, blue tang, 2 clownfish, and yellow coris wrasse. But as of which I like more, i just want the one that's not gonna go for my small fish. I like both

Depending on the size of the clownfish and the coris wrasse, they could be at risk. You can easily find small snowflakes, but chainlinks usually come in at a larger size, maybe at a size that would be a risk to the aforementioned fish. I(t would be safer getting a small snowflake and raising them up, at that end it would very unlikely they would pose risk to those fish.

 

[fishguy242]

hi, not to contradict, 3 1/2 adult b/w ,20" ,1 1/2" thick snowflake, this was # 6 before i could get him out.
1 being 3 3/4 "frost bite . wish i would of took video,but watched gut wrenching ,helpless ,was over in less than a min.

sump dweller now...

 

[Lavabrine ninja]

Depending on the size of the clownfish and the coris wrasse, they could be at risk. You can easily find small snowflakes, but chainlinks usually come in at a larger size, maybe at a size that would be a risk to the aforementioned fish. I(t would be safer getting a small snowflake and raising them up, at that end it would very unlikely they would pose risk to those fish.

I can get a baby snowflake eel, I think there under a ft

 

[lion king]

hi, not to contradict, 3 1/2 adult b/w ,20" ,1 1/2" thick snowflake, this was # 6 before i could get him out.
1 being 3 3/4 "frost bite . wish i would of took video,but watched gut wrenching ,helpless ,was over in less than a min.

sump dweller now...

Many variables; tanksize, how long the eel was in the tank, how big the eel was at introduction. When I say a small snowflake and raise him up, I mean starting at like 8". A 20" snowflake not long from the wild can be a threat to a small clownfish.

 

[Lavabrine ninja]

hi, not to contradict, 3 1/2 adult b/w ,20" ,1 1/2" thick snowflake, this was # 6 before i could get him out.
1 being 3 3/4 "frost bite . wish i would of took video,but watched gut wrenching ,helpless ,was over in less than a min.

sump dweller now...

Thats the eel eating a clownfish

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Best reef tank eels are zebras, snowflakes, ribbon eels, ghost eel, and dwarfs. The rest are going to be more aggressive and get quite big. Banana eels are probably the next smallest that still have great color. But pretty much any eel can be kept in a reef if you keep them with larger fish. I have a 3ft dragon eel in my reef with a tang, angel and long nose butterfly

 

[Lavabrine ninja]

Best reef tank eels are zebras, snowflakes, ribbon eels, ghost eel, and dwarfs. The rest are going to be more aggressive and get quite big. Banana eels are probably the next smallest that still have great color. But pretty much any eel can be kept in a reef if you keep them with larger fish. I have a 3ft dragon eel in my reef with a tang, angel and long nose butterfly

I've looked at ghost eels, but what about a banded eel?

 

[fishguy242]

Many variables; tanksize, how long the eel was in the tank, how big the eel was at introduction. When I say a small snowflake and raise him up, I mean starting at like 8". A 20" snowflake not long from the wild can be a threat to a small clownfish.

12' l 250 gall system, and yes was new addition ,from another reefer, was in about two weeks
purposely to eliminate peppermint shrimp.
he got 3 of 4.
clowns disappeared over a few days as i disassembled 2 foot of reef to finally get out.
but there were a couple of 3yr+ fat female clowns in tank from start up...
yes my fault, just wanted to share .
have also been grabbed yrs ago by a 12" they grab hold and twist, that was not fun either.

 

[GARRIGA]

I dont care about losting invertebrate, mainly just care about fish and coral

I have an experimental 20H going with damsels and plan to add a small snowflake soon as I get a tight fitting top for it. As others have stated. Starting small helps. Would be cool to have several of them as they'll likely hang in the same cave and caves are needed. Lots of hiding places makes them feel at ease. Mine ate at the store and next day at home.

 

[Lavabrine ninja]

I have an experimental 20H going with damsels and plan to add a small snowflake soon as I get a tight fitting top for it. As others have stated. Starting small helps. Would be cool to have several of them as they'll likely hang in the same cave and caves are needed. Lots of hiding places makes them feel at ease. Mine ate at the store and next day at home.

If iirc the snowflake eels at the lfs are under a ft but I could be wrong. I do plan on feeding the eel every day or every other day. But what is a good way to prevent the eel from trying to go after small fish? I do prefer getting the eel smaller

 

[lefkonj]

Sorry forgot one other thing..... Feeding feeding and feeding. If they are well fed they should be fine but I do mean WELL FED. This means lots of poop.

 

[lion king]

#1 cause of death of eels in captivity is carpet surfing, #2 is overfeeding in the form of feeding too often. Please do your research on feeding eels, they utilize a gorge/fast feeding routine and because of their metabolism and somewhat sedentary lifestyle, they need time between feedings. Here's a thread I put together with some basic tips.

Eel Prepper

Eels and lions have alot in common; I have seen many posts lately concerning eels, so I thought I would pass on some information that I have learned over the years. !st off, know your source, do not get an eel from a source that runs copper in their system. Eels have sensitivity to copper...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Lavabrine ninja]

#1 cause of death of eels in captivity is carpet surfing, #2 is overfeeding in the form of feeding too often. Please do your research on feeding eels, they utilize a gorge/fast feeding routine and because of their metabolism and somewhat sedentary lifestyle, they need time between feedings. Here's a thread I put together with some basic tips.

Eel Prepper

Eels and lions have alot in common; I have seen many posts lately concerning eels, so I thought I would pass on some information that I have learned over the years. !st off, know your source, do not get an eel from a source that runs copper in their system. Eels have sensitivity to copper...

www.reef2reef.com

I've read alot saying fed eels twice to three times a week. What's ur opinion on that?

 

[Lavabrine ninja]

Sorry forgot one other thing..... Feeding feeding and feeding. If they are well fed they should be fine but I do mean WELL FED. This means lots of poop.

Twice a week or three times a week

 

[lion king]

Twice a week or three times a week

Small eels need more frequent feeding, 2 or 3 times a week is fine, an 8" eel every other day. As they mature feedings should go to once a week or so, you start to spread out feedings as they grow. Properly fed eels grow very fast, usually reaching full grown in an average of 1.5 years from under a foot. Over time eels will show you their metabolic balance by becoming more active, hunting in a sense, when they are hungry and ready to be fed. It's best to let them cruise for a day before feeding. You feed them their full, they will continue to take food until they are full, then they retreat into their dens. The best success you will have is to always start your research in the wild, and pay attention to how long and what conditions the hobbyist has provided. Tank size, introduction size, acclimation(did they use an observation tank), how long in the tank, size and species of other tank mates, and so on. The ones mentioning small tanks will not have success.