My Snowflake Eel Is Missing!!!

[Viking_Reefing]

Have you tried feeding a couple hours after lights out?
Those things are stupidly good at staying hidden.

I’ve also checked my house and I can say with some certainty that he hasn’t made his way to Stockholm, Sweden.

 

[splitting_lanes]

They can go for weeks without eating, and he’s small, so he may just be well hidden.

be patient, he should turn up.

also, thanks for keeping us updated

 

[theMeat]

Do you have a cat?

 

[piranhaman00]

I had a freshwater wolfish "escape". IT was in my overflow box, I found out by sticking my hand in there feeling. Thank god it didnt bite my fingers off.

 

[ca1ore]

Okay well I have very few clean up crew except for a few snails right now. Also my Ammonia is near perfect so he can't be dead. Ugh I'm starting to not like this eel.

Unfortunately it certainly could be dead. CUC is far broader than just a few crabs, and a small eel could get reduced quickly. Wouldn't expect an ammonia pulse unless your biofilter is woefully undersized. Small eels are really good at hiding though, so it may still be in there. It's one of the things that makes eels kind of pointless IME - you never see them. I have a 30" zebra in my tank and it only emerges once every two weeks, at night, to gobble down a couple of table shrimp. Pebble tooth eels generally don't mess with your fish.

 

[Soren]

Unfortunately it certainly could be dead. CUC is far broader than just a few crabs, and a small eel could get reduced quickly. Wouldn't expect an ammonia pulse unless your biofilter is woefully undersized. Small eels are really good at hiding though, so it may still be in there. It's one of the things that makes eels kind of pointless IME - you never see them. I have a 30" zebra in my tank and it only emerges once every two weeks, at night, to gobble down a couple of table shrimp. Pebble tooth eels generally don't mess with your fish.

Yes, they can be good at hiding. I have a 12" snowflake eel that can stay hidden pretty well in my 75-gallon FOWLR with only about 4 large chunks of live rock (though I can almost always find some part of his body visible, even when he does not stick his head out). He slithers around under the rocks as well as through holes in the rocks. Usually, he sticks his head out during the day and watches the surroundings before moving on to a different area and sticking out his head again. I typically feed him in the morning about every 2-3 days. I know he is hungry when he comes out during feeding time and swims up to the top to crawl around behind my filter return and some mangroves hanging near the top. Using tongs, I feed him there consistently and it seems that he has been well enough trained for me to find it enjoyable having an eel, especially during feeding time. I think they are quite interesting to watch, though one of my sisters hates eels because they are too much like snakes!

A 6" snowflake eel could hide very well in enough rock, though it might be odd to never see it over several weeks.

@Jake_Janoski have you tried watching your tank at night with a small flashlight? Snowflake eels are typically more active at night, so you might see it coming out to eat during the night.

 

[Sharkbait19]

There used to be an LFS I went to that had lost most of their marine life because their snowflake eel got into the sump and clogged the filter. So I guess my point is....is there any carcass in the filtration? Double check, triple check the filtration system.

Do you have any other fish with it? Or is the eel the only thing in the tank right now?

Once upon a time, I had a crayfish that I was sure had died. I tore that tank apart, and even stuck a tiny camera down every hole and crevice, and found nothing. He showed up four months later. You'd be surprised by how well creatures can disappear into their environments, especially if some of those rocks are very porous.

Another option is setting up a camera to run at night. Place food in the front of the tank. When you wake up, check the footage for anything. I did this for a lizard that I lost one time.

If you find it nowhere around the house, give it time. You'll either find the eel in the tank at some point, or you'll eventually smell it somewhere in the house.

 

[theMeat]

Unless you have a cat, then you won’t smell it.
If I was a bettin man I’d say she’s still in tank

 

[CMMorgan]

Unless you have a cat, then you won’t smell it.
If I was a bettin man I’d say she’s still in tank

eels remind me of snakes... I'd be freaking the heck out and sleeping with the lights on.
That said, I inherited a cultured rock with some zoas on it. It was basically like a bowl, think like a cave made out of fake live rock. This had no "holes" in it. After transferring the rock from the other guys 10 gallon AIO to a 5 gallon bucket and then into my 90 gallon.... a week later I spotted an Anthia in my tank. He or she (we called it Frodo) swam around for a week or two then vanished. When I reached out to the previous owner of the rock, he said that he thought that fish had died 6 months prior. Sometimes, these creatures are incredible illusionists. I have not seen Frodo in months but I suspect it may still be in there.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

One thing to keep in mind, that I have yet to see mentioned, is that Echidna eels (Snowflakes and their ilk) naturally leave the water to hunt on shore for crabs, or to move from tidepool to tidepool during the height of the day. Snowflakes can be out of water for a very long time, and they will dry themselves to a surface if they get too dry to wait for water. If you find the eel, do not throw him away! He may wake up after you put him back in.
Good luck man!

 

[windemerejack]

If he did escape your tank, is there any possibility he has escaped from your house? such as a cat flap or any tiny hole anywhere in your house? It may have escaped and is dried up somewhere in the basement, attic, any room in the house or it may have escaped outside.

 

[HockeyRooster]

I have to subscribe to this thread just to see how it turns out.
Hope you find your eel alive!!

 

[Be102]

"Tune in to the next post to find out where @Jake_Janoski 's eel is.... "

one of the wonders of the world...

 

[Leo_ian]

found the fishy? i am so glad this helped convince me fully to not get an eel until I have a 3000 gallon and a green moray

 

[Be102]

We need an update...

 

[HockeyRooster]

We need an update...

Agreed. And happy new year everyone.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Okay, just read this and I am curious now. What happened? Did you find him?
My hubby would FREAK if this happened. He is terrified of snakes and they are just too close for him. I could never get one. Even the engineer goby I had he was not fond of at all.
Hope he is just good at hiding. I have found fish in really crazy places after looking for weeks. Overflows, sump sock, sump, floor, back of tank stand. Those were not the lucky ones though.

 

[Jeffcb]

Maybe he will show up next year!

 

[Rmckoy]

Funny enough. .
My old snowflake made it down my overflow into the sump , through 4 baffles and Into the return pump chamber where he was stuck in the pump .
no damage and was good . But the sound of water stopping caught my attention .

a while later we added numerous small yellow Belly tang which wouldn’t last the night and they were dead , missing chunks of their bodies , head gone etc .
I sent him back to the lfs.
That night he escaped making it into a neighbouring tank and cleaned out the livestock in it .
This eel would disappear for days without being seen ( it was 12” long )

guarantee it’s Hiding inside a rock .
Wiggle a piece of raw shrimp in the tank after lights out . If he’s alive , he will come out to eat

 

[Sharkbait19]

Or just introduce live food. Over time, you’ll notice it’s there, as the new critters disappear. Happy new year everyone!