Snake Eels: My one year review

Slocke

Wrasse and Eel Nerd
View Badges
Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
5,887
Reaction score
19,660
Location
Atlanta
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For those of you who don't know a snake eel is a family of eels separate from the moray eels that are far more common in this hobby.
I got my first one about a year ago and shortly later got a second. The first was a long and very skinny banded snake eel, Myrichthys colubrinus. The second was a shorter but fatter gold-spotted snake eel, Myrichthys ocellatus. Finally as a comparison I got the most common eel in the hobby a snowflake, Echidna nebulosa.
IMG_5885.jpeg

IMG_4921.jpeg

IMG_2295.jpeg


A couple of months after getting these eels I wrote an article claiming that snake eels were almost as easy as a snowflake and more fish safe. The major issue I had with that article is the same as my issue writing this follow up; both snake eels could not be more different both physically and in behavior. The banded is shy and still as lanky as it first was while the gold is if anything even stockier and is a bold and aggressive predator. Anyway here is my updated thoughts on these eels:

Are they as easy as a snowflake? Sometimes but mostly not. My gold-spotted is almost as easy as it is as willing to eat dead foods as my snowflake and poses no other difficulties except needing to burrow into the sand. It is as easy as any predator gets. The issue is my other snake eel the banded. It is a shy and picky eater that has a ridiculously small mouth requireing a lot of small bits of food. It is a hassle to feed every week and has tested my patience many times. Both eels appear as healthy as when i first had them settled but while I am confident in the longterm prospects of the gold-spotted I am not with the banded.

Are they fish safe? Probably. I have never lost a living fish to either eel but then I have a tiny sample size. What I will say abou them is that they do not attempt to hunt nor are they well designed to catch or eat fish. If they have teeth they are even more blunt then a pebble toothed eel like a snowflake. On top of that their eyesight is even worse and their nostrils are not forward facing which would help them smell fish in the water column. Rather they are adapted to eat inverts on the seafloor or even below. I still wouldn't trust bite sized gobies, slow or bottom dwelling fish that are small enough to be swallowed.

Are they invert safe? No. If they are too big to be swallowed or not appetizing then they won't be eaten. Urchins, serpent stars etc. Otherwise they are as bad if not worse then a snowflake eel. Even burrowing inverts may be eaten as they can dig too. However saying that the mouths of some are so small that they won't be ab;e to eat many inverts.

As with all the questions my two specimens are polar opposites so your experience will vary depending on the specific eel.


 
Back
Top