Snowflake Eel

[ThatPhillyReefer]

I am thinking about getting a snowflake eel for my 90g mixed reef and I was wondering a few things.

Are they easy to care for?
Do I need anything specific for them?
How fast do they grow?
How well do they do with corals and other fish?
How do I feed them?

 

[JNalley]

I can only answer a few of these as my stint with a snowflake was short-lived (had to give it up).

Are they easy to care for? Yes, pretty easy.
Do I need anything specific for them? A nice long hiding place/lots of rockwork for them to coil up in
How fast do they grow? Not too sure, but google might be able to tell you
How well do they do with corals and other fish? Corals, not sure, had it in a FOWLR. Fish? It ate everything that fit in its mouth
How do I feed them? You can target feed them, but mine was pretty voracious, when I thought he was full, he surprised me by the next morning with another missing fish...

 

[SeaworthyAquatics]

I have few in mixed reef tanks.

Easy to care for but will add significant bioload to your tank, so I always go oversized on skimmer and may require more frequent cleanings.

You will need some sort of cave structure for it to live in. I generally use pvc pipe and build some tunnel systems and pile rock on it or bury in the sand.

Grow about a foot a year give or take IME. From baby to full grown of about 2 feet in a couple years.

Does fine with the coral, but might knock stuff over from time to time so glue things down well. Does fine with most fish, but will go after small ones. New tankmates after the snowflake are even more likely to be a snack. 100% will eat any shrimp in the tank.

I go back and forth between silversides and frozen shrimp mostly. Thaw it out and use some tongs to target feed. Don't use your hands as their eye sight is pretty horrible and will bite you even if they are going for the food.

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

I can only answer a few of these as my stint with a snowflake was short-lived (had to give it up).

Are they easy to care for? Yes, pretty easy.
Do I need anything specific for them? A nice long hiding place/lots of rockwork for them to coil up in
How fast do they grow? Not too sure, but google might be able to tell you
How well do they do with corals and other fish? Corals, not sure, had it in a FOWLR. Fish? It ate everything that fit in its mouth
How do I feed them? You can target feed them, but mine was pretty voracious, when I thought he was full, he surprised me by the next morning with another missing fish...

thank you!!

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

I have few in mixed reef tanks.

Easy to care for but will add significant bioload to your tank, so I always go oversized on skimmer and may require more frequent cleanings.

You will need some sort of cave structure for it to live in. I generally use pvc pipe and build some tunnel systems and pile rock on it or bury in the sand.

Grow about a foot a year give or take IME. From baby to full grown of about 2 feet in a couple years.

Does fine with the coral, but might knock stuff over from time to time so glue things down well. Does fine with most fish, but will go after small ones. New tankmates after the snowflake are even more likely to be a snack. 100% will eat any shrimp in the tank.

I go back and forth between silversides and frozen shrimp mostly. Thaw it out and use some tongs to target feed. Don't use your hands as their eye sight is pretty horrible and will bite you even if they are going for the food.

thank you!!!!

 

[ZoWhat]

Practically every Reefer I've known who bought an eel regretted the decision 6mos later.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Care:
Super easy. They are some of the hardiest fish in the ocean and are quite disease resistant as well. The most important thing about owning a moray is making sure they cant get out of the tank or into places they dont belong. They will swim over overflows, get into hang on equipment etc. They truly are escape artists.

Growth:
They grow extremely fast when theyre young. A juvenile could easy be over a foot in a year if feed well.

Reef safety:
They wont eat corals but may knock them over or even break thin branching sps. How aggressive they are toward fish and inverts can vary between individuals. Some may be murder machines while others may be perfect citizens, but one thing is for sure keeping them well fed increases their chances of leaving other tank mates alone. Theyre actually rather lazy and once they know their feeding routine theyll calm down alot.

Feeding:
Depending on size you may need to cut food into smaller pieces but krill, silversides, and squid are the most available foods. Its best to feed a variety and change it up instead of feeding one thing consistently. Feeding is best done with tongs.


Important side note:

You will not believe how much of a nitrate and phosphate factory eels can be. They will single handledly cause more water maintenance and its important to stay ontop of testing for awhilr after adding the eel.


Everything else said, morays are my favorite fish in the ocean and are extremely fun to feed and watch in the tank.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Practically every Reefer I've known who bought an eel regretted the decision 6mos later.

I will never regret any moray purchase lol but what you said is the truth. Most dont realize how fast they grow, how big they get, and how much waste they produce. Its scary how many buy a giant like a green or tessalata not knowing they grow to be over 6ft and will do so in a few years.

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

Care:
Super easy. They are some of the hardiest fish in the ocean and are quite disease resistant as well. The most important thing about owning a moray is making sure they cant get out of the tank or into places they dont belong. They will swim over overflows, get into hang on equipment etc. They truly are escape artists.

Growth:
They grow extremely fast when theyre young. A juvenile could easy be over a foot in a year if feed well.

Reef safety:
They wont eat corals but may knock them over or even break thin branching sps. How aggressive they are toward fish and inverts can vary between individuals. Some may be murder machines while others may be perfect citizens, but once thing is for sure keeping them well fed increases their chances of leaving other tank mates alone. Theyre actually rather lazy and once they know their feeding routine theyll calm down alot.

Feeding:
Depending on size you may need to cut food into smaller pieces but krill, silversides, and squid are the most available foods. Its best to feed a variety and change it up instead of feeding one thing consistently. Feeding is best done with tongs.


Important side note:

You will not believe how much of a nitrate and phosphate factory eels can be. They will single handledly cause more water maintenance and its important to stay ontop of testing for awhilr after adding the eel.


Everything else said, morays are my favorite fish in the ocean and are extremely fun to feed and watch in the tank.

whats are ways you recommended keeping nitrate and phosphate down because right now my nitrate and phosphate seem to stay stable then every month a do a 30-40g wc

 

[TheDragonsReef]

whats are ways you recommended keeping nitrate and phosphate down because right now my nitrate and phosphate seem to stay stable then every month a do a 30-40g wc

You dont have to do all of these but these are most of your options for lowering nitrates and phosphates:

-clean filters more often
-More frequent water changes
-Add a skimmer if you dont have one
-Refugium or a larger Refugium if you have one
-Gfo for phosphates
-Could use biopellets or start carbon dosing

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

You dont have to do all of these but these are most of your options for lowering nitrates and phosphates:

-clean filters more often
-More frequent water changes
-Add a skimmer if you dont have one
-Refugium or a larger Refugium if you have one
-Gfo for phosphates
-Could use biopellets or start carbon dosing

thank you so much!!!

 

[JumpingFlea]

This thread has helped me a lot as I have recently added a snowflake eel in my reef. Hopefully it all goes well, but should have thought about my phosphate problem before hand. I will figure out something.

 

[SlugSnorter]

I am thinking about getting a snowflake eel for my 90g mixed reef and I was wondering a few things.

Are they easy to care for?
Do I need anything specific for them?
How fast do they grow?
How well do they do with corals and other fish?
How do I feed them?

Are they easy to care for? Somewhat, they are messy eaters and can make it rather hard to keep sensitive corals with them

Do I need anything specific for them? Food for them, maybe feeding stick, TIGHT LID! cannot stress the fact they are really good at getting through and out of tanks

How fast do they grow? somewhat fast, they will reach full size in a little while

How well do they do with corals and other fish? They and their slime can irrrate some corals and their messiness can make it hard to keep water good for sensitive corals. They can and will eat many inverts especially snails, crabs, etc... so that can be an issue for some. oh, and also they will eat anything that fits in their mouth, fish included. if they get too hungry they can and will tear anything they can find into shreds, so make sure you dont skip feeding them for a while.

How do I feed them? Find some food for them or grow it, look up snowflake moray feeding and see what they do and say, its easier if you have visuals for it.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

my snowflake grew to almost 3 feet, as they get big the colors fade.
he went from a reef dweller to predator tank in his old age

they do look cool when small in a reef tank IMO

 

[SlugSnorter]

my snowflake grew to almost 3 feet, as they get big the colors fade.
he went from a reef dweller to predator tank in his old age

they do look cool when small in a reef tank IMO

maybe more like adult, those guys can live like 15+ years