I apologize in advance for the long writeup but I am dissatisfied with the information I have found online and would have many questions about these beautiful but terrifying creatures as they are my favorite fish. Please keep in mind this will be for research purposes and for future enthusiasts seeking to own one of these eels.
Here is what I have found so far
I have not found very good information at all on a good tank set up and aquascape, filtration system, clean up crew, feeding schedule and the like. Seems like the information available, summed up, is basically "A large tank: the eels get big" "A good filter: they're messy eaters with a large bioload" "Don't put your hands in the tank and have a very secure lid: They have sharp teeth and due to their size can push off even tight lids" I read somewhere that an enthusiast or lfs was using cinderblocks to weigh the tank lid down.
While this is good information to either deter you or educate you on the type of commitment owning one of these monsters is, it doesn't give you any kind of information on HOW to care for one.
Consider the following
What about fish that are too fast for the tessalata? If provided with caves small enough for them and not the tessalata so they can dart into and sleep in piece, could that work as well? I currently have a lawnmower blenny that moves so fast he becomes nothing but a brown blur. His size leads into another question lightly touched on this forum but not in-depth; what about fish TOO SMALL? Someone (once again their username/handle slips my mind) someone brought up the example of damsels.
Another area of question is lobsters. Beings as tessalatas are not pebble tooth like zebras or snowflakes, would they still go after reef lobsters or will those be okay?
Second to last are cleaner wrasses and cleaner shrimp. How well will these hold up? A quick google search will yield pictures of cleaner shrimp inside of the mouths of tessies but how long until the tesselata eats the shrimp? Will that ever happen? What about the wrasse?
The last idea, which is a wild card, came to me through observing my own tank. I have two clownfish that call a carpet anemone home and a snowflake eel in the same tank. Said snowflake eel has eaten a clownfish before. When the snowflake touches the carpet anemone he jolts away like he just touched a hot stove. I read somewhere that because eels also have slime coats that anemones don't affect them so what is my snowflake doing? If a carpet anemone deters eels, would a large carpet anemone be enough to deter a young tesselata from its clownfish hosts? Would a large tesselata even bother with the clowns in an anemone?
Once again I apologize for the long write up but these are details I was not able to find online. Tesselata eels are my favorite fish in the hobby and if I am ever to own one in the future and plan a tank for it, I would like to know these details to most effectively plan out the build. Thank you for taking the time to respond and reply. As my username implies, I have 2manyideas
Here is what I have found so far
- These eels get HUGE! 6' long seems to be very common.
- Most websites say about 180 gallon minimum tank size. This seems to be false with most people strongly recommending 300+ gallons.
- These eels are fang toothed, aggressive, mostly nocturnal and ambush predators. Because of this and point number 1, they will eat every fish you put in the tank, usually while the victim fish is sleeping. Lionfish, pufferfish, triggerfish and tangs are all on the menu... so are your fingers.
- Bites from these eels can cause bacterial infections and almost immediately require medical attention.
- Lastly, ANYTHING can happen in this hobby.
I have not found very good information at all on a good tank set up and aquascape, filtration system, clean up crew, feeding schedule and the like. Seems like the information available, summed up, is basically "A large tank: the eels get big" "A good filter: they're messy eaters with a large bioload" "Don't put your hands in the tank and have a very secure lid: They have sharp teeth and due to their size can push off even tight lids" I read somewhere that an enthusiast or lfs was using cinderblocks to weigh the tank lid down.
While this is good information to either deter you or educate you on the type of commitment owning one of these monsters is, it doesn't give you any kind of information on HOW to care for one.
- Aside from "a big one" what kind of tank set up do you need? I want details on
- What kind of clean up crew? Brittle stars, sea urchins, crabs and snails, cleaner shrimp etc. what is safe from the tessalata? Being a fangtooth they eat fish not crustaceans right? If "nothing is safe" how do you clean the glass? A waterproof, cut proof glove and a scraper? What about the rocks and sand?
- What does a "good filtration" system for a tank like this look like? Same as a regular tank but larger scale? What kind of filter media in your sump? Just live rock or another media? What kind of algae in the refugium? Chaeto? Ulva? What do you do with the algae to remove the nutrients? Just throw it away? (It's my understanding that in a refugium, as algae takes in those excess nutrients, the algae and thus the excess nutrients have to be removed from the system to actually work. In typical reef systems it is often fed to tangs and obviously that won't work here.)
- What kind of aquascape? You need large caves for the eel to hide but are you stuck with just lumping rocks together with epoxy in a blob with caves for the eel? What kind/brands of epoxy will hold the rocks so the eel won't knock them over? Do you need to drill holes and run acrylic dowels through the rocks for support? What do you need to do to "eel proof" for something that will get this big? (specific products and processes would be appreciated)
- What do these eels eat?
- Tank mates
Consider the following
- Groupers
- Cat Sharks
What about fish that are too fast for the tessalata? If provided with caves small enough for them and not the tessalata so they can dart into and sleep in piece, could that work as well? I currently have a lawnmower blenny that moves so fast he becomes nothing but a brown blur. His size leads into another question lightly touched on this forum but not in-depth; what about fish TOO SMALL? Someone (once again their username/handle slips my mind) someone brought up the example of damsels.
Another area of question is lobsters. Beings as tessalatas are not pebble tooth like zebras or snowflakes, would they still go after reef lobsters or will those be okay?
Second to last are cleaner wrasses and cleaner shrimp. How well will these hold up? A quick google search will yield pictures of cleaner shrimp inside of the mouths of tessies but how long until the tesselata eats the shrimp? Will that ever happen? What about the wrasse?
The last idea, which is a wild card, came to me through observing my own tank. I have two clownfish that call a carpet anemone home and a snowflake eel in the same tank. Said snowflake eel has eaten a clownfish before. When the snowflake touches the carpet anemone he jolts away like he just touched a hot stove. I read somewhere that because eels also have slime coats that anemones don't affect them so what is my snowflake doing? If a carpet anemone deters eels, would a large carpet anemone be enough to deter a young tesselata from its clownfish hosts? Would a large tesselata even bother with the clowns in an anemone?
Once again I apologize for the long write up but these are details I was not able to find online. Tesselata eels are my favorite fish in the hobby and if I am ever to own one in the future and plan a tank for it, I would like to know these details to most effectively plan out the build. Thank you for taking the time to respond and reply. As my username implies, I have 2manyideas