Fang toothed moray in 75g

[Han]

Because of a few failed attempts at keeping predatory fish (whether my fault or not) I now have an empty 75g tank. Frankly i’m tired of losing predatory fish for seemingly no reason, it seems like whether or not i feed live or dead, medicate or don’t, they just die out of nowhere. I never lose fish in my “regular” community reef tank so i’m beginning to think I just get stuck with unhealthy specimens when it comes to predators rather than it being my fault.

I want to move forward with something hardy. I’m coming up on a year with my ribbon eel in another tank so I think (hope) that an eel would be a good candidate for this empty tank that I would actually be able to keep alive.
All i want is 1 fang toothed eel, no other fish. My first choice would be a fimbriated (yellow head) eel, second choice would be a jeweled. It is my understanding that both these fish should be fine alone in a 75g, but i’d like to hear from those who have experience. If there are any other fang toothed eels that would work in a 75g please let me know. Thanks

 

[lion king]

I think one of the small fang toothed alone in a 75g would work. Make sure you secure the top extremely well; with clips, weights, or even gorilla tape. These little 2' foot monsters are very strong, as thick as my girly wrist when they get full grown. They will mostly stay tucked away but will cruise from time to time and can easily push through the top if not heavily secured. Secure the top of the overflows with a piece of acrylic and a couple of drops of superglue.

The 2 you mentioned as well as the Gymnothorax miliaris would fit the bill. More commonly known as the goldentail, there are 3 color morphs; one kind of brownish, one also called the fire eel which is more reddish, and a canary yellow also called the banana eel which will run you about $700.

As with all predatory fish it is highly recommended to treat for internal parasites. The biggest problem with fish like this is that it sometimes takes a bit of effort to get them eating dead food. So suppliers will feed them diseased and dying fish along the way, which is why so many times they have internal parasites.

A simple 2 dose course of general cure and all should be well. Absolutely no copper and I strongly recommend against antibiotics.

 

[Han]

I have a glass lid which is pretty heavy by itself but i’ll figure out some way to secure it. I’m a little hesitant to use meds after some bad experiences, is general cure usually safe with these guys? Beautiful jeweled.

 

[lion king]

I recommended general cure because it has Metronidazole and Praziquantel so it covers the broadest range of parasites, as well as flukes; and it the easiest to dose. For my jeweled and ribbon I used prazi in the water column and seachem metroplex/focus in their food. To my knowledge these 2 meds are for the most part safe, and tolerated by most; except scorps. If you are dosing in a tank with alot of rock, compensate for displacement. While both these meds have a wide tolerance in amount dosed, be very careful not to overdose.

While it is risky you could observe very carefully and not medicate. They need to eat right away, they are usually starving. That whole settling in thing is very risky and bad advice, because not eating is one of the 1st signs of internal parasites. If they are eating well and you observe there is no stringy poo, eyes are clear; close observation is fine. As long as you are ready to dose at the 1st signs of trouble. Waiting is what always kills.

 

[Han]

Well then i’ll medicate just in case. I’ll have live food available too in case there’s any difficulty feeding.

 

[lion king]

All of the 3 small fang tooths will take to feeding on tongs pretty easily. Like alot of predators you may have to give them a molly or 2 to get them started, but they really quickly if not right away take to eating a variety of dead foods. Make sure to add some squid and octpus in the line up.

 

[Han]

What should I expect as far as bioload goes in the 75? I know eels are messy and big eaters, not sure if this is a concern? I do have an oversized skimmer and a lot of live rock.

 

[lion king]

Him being the only one in there it should be no problem. Cut the food down so that he can get it down without too much mess. Use tongs to target feed, let him keep coming back to you for another piece.

I see people just tossing in food and thinking he will scavenge up everything. Feeding large pieces where the eel is shaking and ripping up the pieces. Feeding too fast and then the eel regurgitates the food. All of these things make a mess, it's many times human error.

You can always add an algae reactor, even planting some macro in the display. I have some caulerpa growing wild in one of my pred tank, and a refuge in another.