I purchased a blue ribbon eel on Dec 12th. I did as much research as I could before running to the Lfs to have them order me one. ( Didn’t find a whole lot on the web) I knew going in they were extremely difficult to get to eat. I was up for the challenge hoping we would both come out like champs. I tell you what we sure did!!!!! He finally started eating Dec 29th. I would be lying if I said I didn’t get frustrated or thought about giving up. I’m glad I didn’t because it paid off big time. As I was acclimating him, I put together his pvc tunnel. Made it to were he could peak out in the front of the tank but also peak out the back. I cut it into a few different pieces so I could run it through my rock work and along the back side of the tank.
He swam around for awhile the first night exploring the tank. I was worried he wasn’t going to find his tunnel and be stressed out. Next morning I woke up and he was in it. Huge relief for me that he found it. Now comes the fun part, trying to get this guy to eat. My first attempt was ghost shrimp. He didn’t even flinch but my fish had a nice treat. Next I tried frozen krill no luck. Tried pieces of frozen shrimp no luck. Frozen silver sliders no luck. Got desperate and tried guppies no luck. ( I was trying different things a few days apart, not all at once) By that time I was out of options and felt like I was running out of time. I thought maybe he’s afraid of the tongs...or maybe he doesn’t realize what’s going on...I know they have great sense of smell so thought why not go up to the Lfs and grab some garlic. Came home and rigged up my little feeding hook for him. I used a clear acrylic rod, and attached a clear hook that I carved out of plastic. I soaked some silver sliders in tank water again but this time added the garlic. This was my last idea and my last bit of hope. Ding ding ding we have a winner, not only did he eat, he actually ate 3 that night! So then I was like maybe it’s just a fluke, I can’t possibly be that lucky. Well I can now say he’s eaten a total of 10 silver sliders. I don’t feed him every day. When I see him coming out of his tube more then usual I know he’s hungry. I finally got a video of him tonight. (Sorry not the best) it was extremely hard to try to feed and film at the same time lol. Also attached a blurry pic just to give you an idea of how long this guy is. Oh and I forgot to mention, I’m not sure if it was my crappy little pole and hook I made or the garlic. Unfortunately I tried both the same night he started eating so it’s hard to say. I will say though now that he’s accustomed to eating, he’s not afraid of the tongs anymore. So thankful cause his little hook stick I made was starting to get annoying. Didn’t have as much control and grip on it like the tongs [emoji4]
He swam around for awhile the first night exploring the tank. I was worried he wasn’t going to find his tunnel and be stressed out. Next morning I woke up and he was in it. Huge relief for me that he found it. Now comes the fun part, trying to get this guy to eat. My first attempt was ghost shrimp. He didn’t even flinch but my fish had a nice treat. Next I tried frozen krill no luck. Tried pieces of frozen shrimp no luck. Frozen silver sliders no luck. Got desperate and tried guppies no luck. ( I was trying different things a few days apart, not all at once) By that time I was out of options and felt like I was running out of time. I thought maybe he’s afraid of the tongs...or maybe he doesn’t realize what’s going on...I know they have great sense of smell so thought why not go up to the Lfs and grab some garlic. Came home and rigged up my little feeding hook for him. I used a clear acrylic rod, and attached a clear hook that I carved out of plastic. I soaked some silver sliders in tank water again but this time added the garlic. This was my last idea and my last bit of hope. Ding ding ding we have a winner, not only did he eat, he actually ate 3 that night! So then I was like maybe it’s just a fluke, I can’t possibly be that lucky. Well I can now say he’s eaten a total of 10 silver sliders. I don’t feed him every day. When I see him coming out of his tube more then usual I know he’s hungry. I finally got a video of him tonight. (Sorry not the best) it was extremely hard to try to feed and film at the same time lol. Also attached a blurry pic just to give you an idea of how long this guy is. Oh and I forgot to mention, I’m not sure if it was my crappy little pole and hook I made or the garlic. Unfortunately I tried both the same night he started eating so it’s hard to say. I will say though now that he’s accustomed to eating, he’s not afraid of the tongs anymore. So thankful cause his little hook stick I made was starting to get annoying. Didn’t have as much control and grip on it like the tongs [emoji4]
