eels?

[q8cyu]

Hi, I’m researching eels and seeing if there are any peaceful eels that won’t go after fish. I have a 75 gallon reef tank.
The eel that I found that might work are snowflake eels. I found that they don’t eat Fish and might eat shrimps.
Are there any other eels I might not be aware of and would the snowflake eel be a good fit.
Thanks

 

[fishguy242]

Hi, can confirm Snowflake will or can turn fish eater , pics to prove ,JME
@Goaway @Slocke may have some input for you... :)

 

[Slocke]

Hi, I’m researching eels and seeing if there are any peaceful eels that won’t go after fish. I have a 75 gallon reef tank.
The eel that I found that might work are snowflake eels. I found that they don’t eat Fish and might eat shrimps.
Are there any other eels I might not be aware of and would the snowflake eel be a good fit.
Thanks

Snowflake eels do not generally eat fish in the wild but if they get an easy meal they'll take it. I advise against any gobies, blennies or other slow and slender fish with them. Any eel of the echidna genus is as fish safe as the snowflake.
Snake eels are also mostly fish safe but have special needs. Finally there are engineer gobies that aren't eels but are similiar in appearence. They are completely safe except that they excavate rocks and can bury corals.

 

[Goaway]

I had 3 ribbon eels, they never ate a tank mate.
I lost the first 2 due to bad events.

My current is with me a year now and only goes after live red mollys, shrimp tails, chopped seafood.
1 Black dalmation molly has lived with her for 1 year. She wont even bother.

Tank mates include, copperband butterfly, clown tang, 1 scopas tang, 2 clown fish, 1 firefish goby, 1 solar wrasse, 1 halichoeres leucoxanthus, 1 halichoeres chrysus, 1 black dalmation molly.

Somehow still alive..

 

[Slocke]

I had 3 ribbon eels, they never ate a tank mate.
I lost the first 2 due to bad events.

My current is with me a year now and only goes after live red mollys, shrimp tails, chopped seafood.
1 Black dalmation molly has lived with her for 1 year. She wont even bother.

Tank mates include, copperband butterfly, clown tang, 1 scopas tang, 2 clown fish, 1 firefish goby, 1 solar wrasse, 1 halichoeres leucoxanthus, 1 halichoeres chrysus, 1 black dalmation molly.

I forgot about ribbons and ghosts! They are much more difficult but very very cool if you can get them eating.

 

[Goaway]

I forgot about ribbons and ghosts! They are much more difficult but very very cool if you can get them eating.

I dont like the ghost, ive seen them eat smaller fish.

Ribbons are actually coming in with higher sucess rate. Seems like they may have reduced the cyanide capture method.

 

[lion king]

As long as you are housing them with the appropriate tank mates, the small pebbletooth eels can work fine with fish in a 75g. The ones that are usually available include the snowflake, skelator, and banded. Here's a couple of threads I wrote on eels.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/eels-as-pets.961896/https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/eel-prepper.847555/

 

[archercorals]

All eels will eat fish if they can grab them.

 

[Goaway]

All eels will eat fish if they can grab them.

She could, but hasnt. Solar was given a terrifying greating. After a few sniffs, she went home.

 

[q8cyu]

I already have a firefish, dimondback goby, a randalls goby, and Midas blenny the all these fish are fast though. Would there still be an eel that can be with them or would there be a high chance of the eel eating them.

 

[Slocke]

You already have a firefish, dimondback goby, a randalls goby, and Midas blenny the all these fish are fast though. Would there still be an eel that can be with them or would there be a high chance of the eel eating them.

Most eels are nocturnal and will search holes for food at night. Which is where those fish sleep.
Engineer goby?

 

[Goaway]

You already have a firefish, dimondback goby, a randalls goby, and Midas blenny the all these fish are fast though. Would there still be an eel that can be with them or would there be a high chance of the eel eating them.

A good varity diet is the best way to keep any fish happy and reduce risk of casualties.

Nothing is 100% in our tanks.

If you are not willing to lose even 1 fish, it's not worth an eel attempt.

 

[q8cyu]

Would a ribbon or garden eel work or are they to hard to keep? I’ve been reading a bit and it seems like the main concern seems to be feeding.

 

[Goaway]

Would a ribbon or garden eel work or are they to hard to keep? I’ve been reading a bit and it seems like the main concern seems to be feeding.

It is work on ribbon eels. I'm 3/3 for eating.

I find isolation works best for ribbon eels. With a nice length of pvc tubing. 6" to 12". Isolation also helps me establish frozen food introductions.

It's a little work, but worth it.

 

[q8cyu]

It is work on ribbon eels. I'm 3/3 for eating.

I find isolation works best for ribbon eels. With a nice length of pvc tubing. 6" to 12". Isolation also helps me establish frozen food introductions.

It's a little work, but worth it.

Would they be likely to eat any fish or is it a low chance

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

For garden eels, most people seem to struggle with them, but the person I’ve quoted below had them breeding in their tank (as of their last post in the thread, haven’t been able to get the young to settlement yet):

As far as my broodstock goes. (If my phone autocorrects that one more time to broomstick, I will scream!!!) I have 5 adults, 3 male and two females in my seahorse tank. They eat literally everything I put in there, including flake food. But they eat mainly a diet of PE mysis and whatever bits of the Gamma Marine Cuisine they fancy. SG 1.023, temp 22-23degrees Celsius. Sandbed of minimum 4 inches, rising to about 6 at the back. But they're happy in the 4" at the front.

The eels are some of my oldest tank residents, I've had a tank wipeout that these guys survived. I've had 3 (including the breeding pair) for around 5 years and two others for about two years. They eat literally everything I throw at them, including flake food and pellets. But because of the seahorses, they get mainly frozen food. But again, only twice a day. The biggest problem with garden eels is them escaping. My tank has a brace around the inside that's about 3" wide, there's a gap for the return pipes which I fill with filter floss because they will literally get through the tiniest gap, but only at the edge of the tank. I think the brace on mine is what's saved many of them from the carpet, unfortunately I've lost two newcomers from forgetting to fill around the return pipes with filter floss.

I feed the whole tank one cube of frozen gamma mysis, one cube of gamma marine cuisine and one cube of PE mysis, twice a day. The garden eels eat anything that comes near them, even the huge bits of mysis and happily take flake food too.
The shrimpfish prefer the mysis and aren't shy about competing with everything else for it.
I don't regularly add rots/pods or phyto to the tank. Just chuck some in every now and then if I have a surplus. The seahorses, copperband, filefish and mandarin means I don't have a large population of pods/mysis anymore.

I don't know if they're happy because of the other slow moving/careful feeding fish in there or because of the temp/salinity/rock placement etc. I keep the tank and 22-23degrees year round, SG at 1.022-1.023 and do about a 30% water change every 10-14 days.

Maybe I just got lucky!

 

[Goaway]

Would they be likely to eat any fish or is it a low chance

Mine were very picky and prefer raw shrimp. I never lost a fish to my eels that wasn't meant to be food.

I have read a few horror stories of some going down right murderous in other tanks. But, I've never had my ribbons kill a tank mate. Not even live shrimp. They'd die for other reasons.

 

[Goaway]

He's never been touched. This fire goby has been with me since september 2021. Living life with my ribbon for a year.

He also looks like the Mollys she loves to eat.