Green wolf eel

[fugetaboutit05]

I am new to the saltwater community. I have a male Juvi Green Wolf Eel. The first day i had him in there he ate a cleaner shrimp that was in the tank. Not a big deal, in a way i did expect it, so I wasn’t surprised when it happened. Everything else in the tank is bigger than his head so I wasn’t to worried about them..... until today. I have been feeding him freeze-dried shrimp by hand, until satisfied regularly on a schedule and haven’t had any issues. He’s been slightly aggressive toward some of the other inhabitants but its usually right before or right on time with his schedule that this occurs. After feeding, there have been no issues with aggression towards other tank inhabitants.

Yesterday i bought a jeweled blenny and a sand sifting goby to help control algae and diatom breakout in my substrate(crushed coral). Both fish i believed were too big for him to go after. I was wrong. The J.B. Is very fast and is slightly smaller than the goby was.... yes i said was lol. Unfortunately, i slept in this morning and missed his 7am scheduled feeding. My wife came to get me in a panic telling me “Wolfgang” (affectionately named) was killing the new goby. By the time i got to him the goby was dead but he had not consumed it yet. My fear was the goby was too large so i tried to take it from him. Needless to say, that didn’t work. He consumed the entire fish and it looks like the scene out the movie “Anaconda” when the snake ate the dude and you could see the shape of it thru the side of the snake.

My primary concern is for the health of the G.W.E, will he be able to properly digest this large of a meal successfully. He has found a hiding spot in the tank and is just “relaxing” so to speak. His breathing is on the heavy side, with his gills flaring every so often. I’m keeping an eye on him but am unsure of what to look for as far as signs of struggle. Also now that he has eaten this large of a portion, i am unsure of when to think about feeding him again.

My secondary concern is that now he has eaten this goby fish, which i thought was too large for him to begin with, will he now regress from the feeding schedule we had and try his luck with the other inhabitants. He is the only “predator class” inhabitant in the tank.

G.W.E - 7” long Juvi
Goby - (deceased) approx 2.5” long / 3/4” wide at his head

 

[Zoa_Fanatic]

Get rid of him. Eels will eat anything they can get ahold of regardless of feeding schedules. Some of the larger morays are ok with fish in their tanks “most” of the time but ine every smaller eel will slowly decimate every other inhabitant of its tank.

Edit: Just my two cents. I don’t do predatory fish at all outside of dwarf lion fish.

 

[fugetaboutit05]

Get rid of him. Eels will eat anything they can get ahold of regardless of feeding schedules. Some of the larger morays are ok with fish in their tanks “most” of the time but ine every smaller eel will slowly decimate every other inhabitant of its tank.

Edit: Just my two cents. I don’t do predatory fish at all outside of dwarf lion fish.

My line of thinking was that as he began to grow and mature, i would move him to his own tank. But my main concern right now ( being he is extremely docile right now) is his health.

Ive heard of the mantra “ your $5 fish will eat your $50 fish”. In this instance it was my $40 fish eating my $12 fish.

Regardless of the cost of the fish I don’t want this fish eating that fish for the rest of my life lol. I am new to saltwater, so mistakes will be made. I believe this may be one of them.

 

[Zoa_Fanatic]

My line of thinking was that as he began to grow and mature, i would move him to his own tank. But my main concern right now ( being he is extremely docile right now) is his health.

Ive heard of the mantra “ your $5 fish will eat your $50 fish”. In this instance it was my $40 fish eating my $12 fish.

Regardless of the cost of the fish I don’t want this fish eating that fish for the rest of my life lol. I am new to saltwater, so mistakes will be made. I believe this may be one of them.

Yeah we all make mistakes. It happens. Had a snowflake eel that cleaned my tank out. Will never have another. If he’s your only predator I’d get rid of him. He’s docile for now but eels also have very poor eyesight so anything that gets close to him is likely to be lunch.

 

[lion king]

What size tank is he in, this fish needs a larger tank than many provide, mainly because any suitable tank mate will need at least a 75g or larger. Any small slender bodied fish will never be 100% safe with this fish, tank mates must be broad bodied and larger than the size of the head to be safe for this fish not to make an attempt. Best case this fish would have been acclimated to captive living and put on a feeding schedule of dead food for a couple of months, before introducing him into the display. Over time this can be a good community fish for appropriate tank mates; dwarf angels and maroon clowns are about the smallest sized fish, just as an example. Any tank smaller than a 75g this may not be the right fish,

As far as digesting a large meal, these guys wouldn't be shy to regurgitate if they over ate. Reef level mg helps with digestion, I keep my predator tanks mg at 1400ppm. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Wolf89]

Get rid of him. Eels will eat anything they can get ahold of regardless of feeding schedules. Some of the larger morays are ok with fish in their tanks “most” of the time but ine every smaller eel will slowly decimate every other inhabitant of its tank.

Edit: Just my two cents. I don’t do predatory fish at all outside of dwarf lion fish.

Green wolf eels are not eels

 

[Wolf89]

Green wolf eels are not eels

GWEs are a species of dottyback

 

[fugetaboutit05]

What size tank is he in, this fish needs a larger tank than many provide, mainly because any suitable tank mate will need at least a 75g or larger. Any small slender bodied fish will never be 100% safe with this fish, tank mates must be broad bodied and larger than the size of the head to be safe for this fish not to make an attempt. Best case this fish would have been acclimated to captive living and put on a feeding schedule of dead food for a couple of months, before introducing him into the display. Over time this can be a good community fish for appropriate tank mates; dwarf angels and maroon clowns are about the smallest sized fish, just as an example. Any tank smaller than a 75g this may not be the right fish,

As far as digesting a large meal, these guys wouldn't be shy to regurgitate if they over ate. Reef level mg helps with digestion, I keep my predator tanks mg at 1400ppm. I wouldn't worry about it.

It’s 55gal display tank. There were only 2 fire clownfish w/ 1 H.C. Anemone(bonded), + 1 small BTA(un-bonded) prior to adding the goby & J. Blenny.

This morning the G.W.E was fine, moving around the tank like normal. But he looked like he was on the hunt again, surprise surprise lol, so i fed him normal time and he has gone back to his normal routine. He didn’t regurgitate the goby, i thought the same thing, he would spit out what he couldn’t digest. I just wasn’t sure. If i have further issues with him, I have a bowfront 50g that ill set up just for him. But I would love for him to stay in my main display. Although, I’m learning that in this hobby, I’m not always going t get what i want exactly lol.

Any suggestions on how to replace the sand-sifting goby with something that will survive and perform the same job? There was another goby at the lfs, he was slightly bigger but apparently a different breed and cost was around $100... very glad i didnt opt for that one.

 

[fugetaboutit05]

GWEs are a species of dottyback

I know, i was aware of this before i brought him home. But a predator none the less lol. I did my reading on him, knew how to tell between male and female. And read up n how to feed him. Everything i read said as long as its bigger than their head, more or less. I do agree with @lionking, no fish will ever be 100% safe, which is why i opted for the fire clownfish instead of the smaller more slender “normal” clownfish. He also wants nothing to do with the anemones lol. He’s gotten curious once or twice with the big H.C. Anemone, but after getting stung he stays away.

 

[lion king]

As long as you are happy with what you have in the 55g, it will likely work. You may try a sand sifting star, but I couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be interested. There's a larger goby that I can't think of right now that may work. Settle him in for a while and get him on a regular fedding schedule, after a while they really won't be interested in hunting down and wrestling their food. If you do try another goby, make sure he's pretty beefy.

On 2nd thought, you do know these guys will get to over a foot to 14" or so. I've seen them 1.5" thick. In the rndbthosd clowns may not even be safe. It's a risk.

 

[fugetaboutit05]

As long as you are happy with what you have in the 55g, it will likely work. You may try a sand sifting star, but I couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be interested. There's a larger goby that I can't think of right now that may work. Settle him in for a while and get him on a regular fedding schedule, after a while they really won't be interested in hunting down and wrestling their food. If you do try another goby, make sure he's pretty beefy.

On 2nd thought, you do know these guys will get to over a foot to 14" or so. I've seen them 1.5" thick. In the rndbthosd clowns may not even be safe. It's a risk.

I appreciate the advice, i had read about the star, but due to its lack of mobility and almost 0 defensive capabilities, i was worried I’d just serving up another meal lol. The goby you’re thinking of may be the one i mentioned earlier. Bigger, prettier, but about 6x more expensive. That could prove to be a more costly mistake than my last.

As for his potential growth, yes, i know how big he’s gonna get. Once he’s matured to full size (approx 14”-18”) he’s gonna get his own tank with much larger predatory and self-defensible inhabitants than the ones currently residing with him. This is my first attempt at saltwater aquarium handling. I figure by the time he’s big enough to move, ill be much more knowledgeable and ready to successfully set up a second display tank.

I’m adhering to the “patience is key” model right now. Making my mistakes now so I’m better prepared in the future. (In theory lol)