Snowflake eels- thoughts?

[lainamarie]

I’m considering grabbing a snowflake eel from a fellow reefer that lives down the street. He tells me the eel is chill compared to most if fed 2-3 times a week with a shrimp, so he’s assured me that it won’t deliberately go out of its way to murder my shrimp and CUC inhabitants and slower fish.

I have 2x cleaner shrimp, a pompom crab, a bunch of assorted hermits and snails, a dottyback, one huge ******* clarky, one smaller clown and a yellow fin damsel.

I have a 56g bow front with decent rockscape (lots of crevices) and some corals too.

Thoughts?

Also was water changing in that photo lol

 

[fishywishy]

Thats a little small imo, a 4 foot tank would be better.

Even though he says it wont go after your small fish and inverts, its not a guarantee it wont, and the small tank doesn’t help.

 

[Slocke]

Shrimp is not a good diet for an eel. You need a variety of seafood and shrimp is not very nutritious. also that person is feeding too little too often.

Cleaner shrimp rarely last long with a snowflake. I sometimes feed mine peppermint shrimp.

Also agree with above. I would look at an engineer goby instead

 

[lainamarie]

Thats a little small imo, a 4 foot tank would be better.

Even though he says it wont go after your small fish and inverts, its not a guarantee it wont, and the small tank doesn’t help.

yup that’s kind of what i figured i think with other threads i’ve been reading as well that i’ll tell him to seek another more suitable home, it’s a 16” eel as well and the more i read even with PVC hides and lots of caves, he could end up being a disaster.

thank you for the response!

 

[lainamarie]

Shrimp is not a good diet for an eel. You need a variety of seafood and shrimp is not very nutritious. also that person is feeding too little too often.

Cleaner shrimp rarely last long with a snowflake. I sometimes feed mine peppermint shrimp.

Also agree with above. I would look at an engineer goby instead

thanks!

two of my goby’s have disappeared i’m adding a mesh cover to the back of the tank and implementing a sump system&overflow, hopefully my next guy won’t poof on me!