How to train your eel

[Squeaky McMurdo]

I have been wanting a snowflake eel for a while now and my husband got me a tiny baby one (about 6 inches) as a Christmas gift last night. She is by herself in a 20 gallon long quarantine tank with a lid and is actively swimming. Any advice on training her to take food from a feeding stick? I offered her a small piece shrimp this morning but she just kept swimming around it.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I have been wanting a snowflake eel for a while now and my husband got me a tiny baby one (about 6 inches) as a Christmas gift last night. She is by herself in a 20 gallon long quarantine tank with a lid and is actively swimming. Any advice on training her to take food from a feeding stick? I offered her a small piece shrimp this morning but she just kept swimming around it.

I’ve had a snowflake eel trained for tongs, basically you just create a schedule for them to eat, I used a skewer and attached shrimp/silver slides to it and he would always chase to a point if he even saw the skewer or tongs would start swimming around waiting for it lol. But your snowflake could be stressed because they should be immediately eating , if this is the case you may need to check for parasites or feed live foods to reset predator instinct

 

[lion king]

Sometimes they will need to be enticed with live foods, ghost shrimp are the best offerings, small ones to start as not to intimidate. Such a little guy you may try PE mysis in a pipette or baster, turn off the pumps and gently squeeze some in his direction. Use a clear feeding stick, a rigid airline tube will do, bend where necesssary and angle the tip to pierce your offering. Big tools may initially intimidate newly introduced little guys. Cut up food into small bits; shrimp and squid are usually accepted. Wiggle a bit and make him chase it, chumming the water a bit with PE mysis right before.

 

[Squeaky McMurdo]

I did give leave the frozen mysis I was trying to feed her from chopsticks and don’t see any evidence of it on my bare bottom tank, so I believe she ate it once she was in the dark. I just would rather she learned to be fed rather than hunting for something to eat. I think the chopsticks made her nervous to actually take the bite. She isn’t bothered by my hand but I know that won’t be a great idea once she’s bigger than a little spaghetti noodle.

If I absolutely have to feed her something live, I have saltwater mollies and could separate a gravid female to get the fry before my corals do. But hunting fish is the last thing I want her to learn to do.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I did give leave the frozen mysis I was trying to feed her from chopsticks and don’t see any evidence of it on my bare bottom tank, so I believe she ate it once she was in the dark. I just would rather she learned to be fed rather than hunting for something to eat. I think the chopsticks made her nervous to actually take the bite. She isn’t bothered by my hand but I know that won’t be a great idea once she’s bigger than a little spaghetti noodle.

If I absolutely have to feed her something live, I have saltwater mollies and could separate a gravid female to get the fry before my corals do. But hunting fish is the last thing I want her to learn to do.

Is there anywhere for the eel to hide in QT? Eels won’t eat if they don’t feel secure

 

[Squeaky McMurdo]

There is but she hadn’t ventured to the bottom long enough to find them yet. I piled some small rocks in a shower caddy and suction cupped it to the top so she would run into it. It’s a hit!

 

[lion king]

I did give leave the frozen mysis I was trying to feed her from chopsticks and don’t see any evidence of it on my bare bottom tank, so I believe she ate it once she was in the dark. I just would rather she learned to be fed rather than hunting for something to eat. I think the chopsticks made her nervous to actually take the bite. She isn’t bothered by my hand but I know that won’t be a great idea once she’s bigger than a little spaghetti noodle.

If I absolutely have to feed her something live, I have saltwater mollies and could separate a gravid female to get the fry before my corals do. But hunting fish is the last thing I want her to learn to do.

Snowflakes are pebble tooth and would appreciate a ghosties vs a fish. PE mysis is different than the regular mysis, they are a bit more substantial. While some eels may scavenge food a bit it is not in their nature, they need some enticement to illicit a feeding response. Any live feeding would just be to get her acclimated, they usually take to dead food quickly enough.

 

[Squeaky McMurdo]

She found a comfortable hole to hide in yesterday and I made a feeding rig with a thin piece of wire attached to a handle. She was watching it but the shrimp fell off and she lost interest, but took a bite today