Is my “surprise” going to eat anyone?

[AndyR83]

Hi,

My daughter, who is about as crazy about this hobby as me, got me a surprise addition to our tank yesterday. I’m hoping he won’t eat any of his new neighbors, but have no experience with these guys:

He’s about 6 inches long. I have to say, he’s incredible! The way he moves through the water is mesmerizing. He seems to be enjoying himself exploring every last inch of the tank and he was quite happy to scarf up some mysis shrimp that we offered him with a pair of chop sticks (which was all we could find to use!)

Speaking of dinner... are any of these guys in danger of becoming dessert?

Fish:

• Blue Damsel
• Yellowtail Damsel
• Domino Damsel
• Two Stripe Damsel
• Cloudy Damsel
• Frosty Clownfish
• Diamond Goby
• Scooter Dragonet (she’s tiny, I’m a bit nervous)
• Mandarin Dragonet

Inverts:

• Turbo Snails
• Peppermint Shrimp
• Emerald Crab
• Hermit Crabs

Corals:

• Zoas
• Palys
• Alveopora
• Leptoseris

Thanks!!

 

[C. Eymann]

No promises, keep it well fed and you will decrease predation chances, but yeah, the dragonets would be some slow moving easy pickings.

 

[lion king]

1st off if you were not prepared for an eel, especially a small snowflake, make sure every crack and crevice is covered. I do mean any sliver of opening even if you have to tape it.

They are pebble tooth which means they naturally feed on inverts, so do not be surprised if one day your crabs and peppermint go missing, thats very likely if not automatic. The tiny scooter and even mandarin I would also be concerned with. If he is kept on a strict feeing schedule, please do your research on feeding eelz, you'll find many informative threads here. The small fish may escape, I do say may. A smowflake would not usually hunt down fish as his 1st choice, but if hungry and opportunity arises, all bets are off.

 

[AndyR83]

Thank you for the replies. The tank he joined was open top. After watching how active he is and how close to the surface he swims at times, we improvised temporary coverage.

I’d like to get him into another tank ASAP with more appropriate tank mates and a proper cover. I’ve read they grow fairly quickly and would rather not tempt fate regarding the potential for some of my fish to become dinner. I’ve also read that they’re fairly sensitive to water quality and changes. That doesn’t strike me as the ideal livestock to start a new tank and go through an initial cycle.Does anyone have any suggestions for how I might best handle this?

Thankfully, access to empty tanks to make one for the snowflake is not a big concern. I have an empty 55g currently and will have a second 55g becoming empty in the near future when I move some things around.

Thanks!

 

[lion king]

He will be fine in a 55g, some recommend this size tank for a minimum. I can not stress how imperative it is to make sure the tank is completely covered, the #1 death of eels is carpet surfing. Snowflakes are especially adept at finding the smallest crevice and getting through.

You do need the tank cycled but otherwise they are not super sensitive to water quality, they are actually very hardy. To quick cycle a tank; if you have a lfs with fully cured live rock or caribsea life rock, that would be a good start. Then use biospiro bacteria additive and ammonia to cycle; the tank will likely take a couple weeks to be ready. Do not attempt to get the eel through an uncycled tank.

 

[SeaJay]

Pretty sure you’ll be shrimp free in no time.

 

[Kenny311]

I loved my snowflake. Kept him well fed and he did no harm to me or his tank mates. He grew quick but was so much fun to watch. He always knew when it was feeding time. He would quickly swim around the tank waiting to be fed. He got so big after 3 years that I had to take him to LFS (been working with them for years) so they could find him a new home. He went from my 65 gal tank to a 300 gal tank. I am sure he is very happy. I fed mine silversides.

 

[Mitchella68]

Late reply but why not
Had several of these.
Yup they are great in the reef for me
Yes mine ate a $40 cleaner shrimp and a tiny purple fish I got for free but other than that he is a model citizen for me
The other cleaner shrimp I have seen cleaning his mouth recently
I feed him silversides once in a while and he is about 14 inches and he always misses and bite my finger lol
These guys are a cool addition