White eyed Moray Eel feeding question

[Ev8siveaz]

I have a white eyed moray eel in my 180/75 FOWRL. I have had him for about a year and a half. He is currently about 13 - 15 inches. He has been a model citizen and usually eats pretty well. I usually feed him every 2 to 3 days. He usually takes down squid, clams, shrimp whenever I try to feed. Sometimes he would eat every day if he had it his way but I always keep it to feeding him everything 2 to 3 days. Everytime I have gotten him on a good feeding schedule, he goes on a random hunger strike for a week or two which is what he is doing now. The only reason it always seems weird to me is because he is still out and active during the strikes and acts like hes hungry but wont take food. He even swims around the tank and shakes his head around to smell. When he does take food he ends up shaking it around and spitting it out. Then randomly 7 - 14 days later he will start taking everything again. Ive read that eels do this from time to time so it seems normal to me. I was just wondering if anyone knows why they do it? Is it because they are full and need to take time off eating? If so, should I consider putting more time in between feedings? I know they can go a very long time without eating but there isnt much info on this species about tankmates and I worry he will try to hunt at some point. Hes definitely gone hungry in the past from time to time but has yet to even look at another fish of my (they are decent size to mention). I think my concern would be that one day he may turn on his tankmates even though I do offer him food all the time. Was wondering if changing his schedule will make him skip the hunger strikes. Thanks for any input!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I have a white eyed moray eel in my 180/75 FOWRL. I have had him for about a year and a half. He is currently about 13 - 15 inches. He has been a model citizen and usually eats pretty well. I usually feed him every 2 to 3 days. He usually takes down squid, clams, shrimp whenever I try to feed. Sometimes he would eat every day if he had it his way but I always keep it to feeding him everything 2 to 3 days. Everytime I have gotten him on a good feeding schedule, he goes on a random hunger strike for a week or two which is what he is doing now. The only reason it always seems weird to me is because he is still out and active during the strikes and acts like hes hungry but wont take food. He even swims around the tank and shakes his head around to smell. When he does take food he ends up shaking it around and spitting it out. Then randomly 7 - 14 days later he will start taking everything again. Ive read that eels do this from time to time so it seems normal to me. I was just wondering if anyone knows why they do it? Is it because they are full and need to take time off eating? If so, should I consider putting more time in between feedings? I know they can go a very long time without eating but there isnt much info on this species about tankmates and I worry he will try to hunt at some point. Hes definitely gone hungry in the past from time to time but has yet to even look at another fish of my (they are decent size to mention). I think my concern would be that one day he may turn on his tankmates even though I do offer him food all the time. Was wondering if changing his schedule will make him skip the hunger strikes. Thanks for any input!

@lion king any thoughts?

 

[lion king]

You could be feeding too often as well as missing some important nutrients. These eels would need some fatty fish, I recommend wild skin on salmon, they do need a good amount of efas. Whole shrimp preferably fresh and frozen in small batches vs bought frozen cleaned shrimp. Any food bought fresh vs bought frozen. While not as effective, supplementation with selcon can add efas. Feeding schedule should be more like once a week, feed them their full, offer them food until they refuse. Make sure at least reef level of ca and mg, fish do absorb nutrients from water column. There are also minor elements that are important which is usually usually accomplished in fowlrs with regular water changes.

 

[Ev8siveaz]

You could be feeding too often as well as missing some important nutrients. These eels would need some fatty fish, I recommend wild skin on salmon, they do need a good amount of efas. Whole shrimp preferably fresh and frozen in small batches vs bought frozen cleaned shrimp. Any food bought fresh vs bought frozen. While not as effective, supplementation with selcon can add efas. Feeding schedule should be more like once a week, feed them their full, offer them food until they refuse. Make sure at least reef level of ca and mg, fish do absorb nutrients from water column. There are also minor elements that are important which is usually usually accomplished in fowlrs with regular water changes.

Thank you for the input. I do soak all the eels food in selcon and vitachem. I buy the shelled uncooked whole grocery store shrimp for my lionfish and the eel does eat it sometimes but it is not his favorite. The things he really loves are clams and squid. I wasnt aware I could feed him salmon. I thought you weren't supposed to feed them any freshwater fish as the fats from them weren't good for them. Is that not true? Salmon would be really easy for me to prep for him so I would be down for trying that.

He is pretty fat. Here's a video that has him in it so you can see how he looks.

tank 3/14/23

youtube.com

 

[lion king]

Thank you for the input. I do soak all the eels food in selcon and vitachem. I buy the shelled uncooked whole grocery store shrimp for my lionfish and the eel does eat it sometimes but it is not his favorite. The things he really loves are clams and squid. I wasnt aware I could feed him salmon. I thought you weren't supposed to feed them any freshwater fish as the fats from them weren't good for them. Is that not true? Salmon would be really easy for me to prep for him so I would be down for trying that.

He is pretty fat. Here's a video that has him in it so you can see how he looks.

tank 3/14/23

youtube.com

Wild sockeye salmon comes from the Pacific Ocean then travels into the rivers, their fat content is in balance with the needs of predatory fish, including lionfish. All the eels I have had love salmon. Clams are good for being high in protein and vitamin C, vitamin C is great for the immune system. Feeding too often can lead to fatty liver disease, this can also be true for lionfish, adult lions are good for eating a couple times a week. Same gorge technique with smaller food items, they will refuse when full. You want your preds to get active a bit before immediately offering them food when they start cruising around. If my lions eat light I may feed them again a couple of days later, but usually every 3 days.

Nice collection of fish!

 

[Ev8siveaz]

Wild sockeye salmon comes from the Pacific Ocean then travels into the rivers, their fat content is in balance with the needs of predatory fish, including lionfish. All the eels I have had love salmon. Clams are good for being high in protein and vitamin C, vitamin C is great for the immune system. Feeding too often can lead to fatty liver disease, this can also be true for lionfish, adult lions are good for eating a couple times a week. Same gorge technique with smaller food items, they will refuse when full. You want your preds to get active a bit before immediately offering them food when they start cruising around. If my lions eat light I may feed them again a couple of days later, but usually every 3 days.

Nice collection of fish!

Thanks! As you can tell I like things a little more on the aggressive side. Haha. I have been experimenting with how many larger semi aggressive wrasse I can keep together and so far so good.

Thank you for the info. That makes sense. There was a point when he was younger where I tried to feed him silversides. He ate them for a little bit but then began to regurgitate them. I stopped. Haven't tried other fish since then. Just shellfish. I also had some people tell me that it was better to not feed them actual fish as it may cause them to want to hunt the fish in there. I honestly have never seen him look at another fish. The only thing he took down about a year ago was my resident cleaner shrimp. They were best friends for awhile then one day he just took him out. I know the white eyed is a more.mild mannered fang tooth so needing fish would make sense to me.

My lion has been another model citizen. I've had him for a little over a year. I basically let him tell me when he's hungry. He gets fed a little when he comes up to the left corner of the tank. I feel we have a good system with that so far.

 

[lion king]

Thanks! As you can tell I like things a little more on the aggressive side. Haha. I have been experimenting with how many larger semi aggressive wrasse I can keep together and so far so good.

Thank you for the info. That makes sense. There was a point when he was younger where I tried to feed him silversides. He ate them for a little bit but then began to regurgitate them. I stopped. Haven't tried other fish since then. Just shellfish. I also had some people tell me that it was better to not feed them actual fish as it may cause them to want to hunt the fish in there. I honestly have never seen him look at another fish. The only thing he took down about a year ago was my resident cleaner shrimp. They were best friends for awhile then one day he just took him out. I know the white eyed is a more.mild mannered fang tooth so needing fish would make sense to me.

My lion has been another model citizen. I've had him for a little over a year. I basically let him tell me when he's hungry. He gets fed a little when he comes up to the left corner of the tank. I feel we have a good system with that so far.

Eels and lions will both do best being fed in their natural feeding cycle, a fast/gorge feeding cycle. Small frequent meals is a recipe for fatty liver disease. Their metabolism and lifestyle require time between feeding to digest meals, fast. They are good to be fed their full on feeding days, gorge.

You think if someone slipped some cut up dead human flesh into a meal they fed you, that would start attacking live walking humans down the street. That is just another absurd repeating folklore narrative. All fish eat live food in the wild, even herbivores, they eat live algaes. I don't know of any scavengers. We feed all the other fish in our tanks fish, why don't we have a tank full of cannibals. If you do not include a fatty fish in their it will dramatically decrease their lifespan in captivity, it is an absolute necessary nutritional ingredient. Jeez, they are fang tooth eels, their natural diet is fish.

The white eyed is a milder fang tooth eel, you do want to make sure his tank mates are not fish he can grab and destroy. Be careful of your wrasse choices, their body type is very appetizing. Some eels may also stalk out their sleeping spots and grab them while emerging from their slumber.

EDIT: They may stop eating something they previously ate as well as refuse something they may eat in the future. Offer a variety and try later down the line to see if they will accept food they previously refused. Just as with humans.

 

[Ev8siveaz]

Eels and lions will both do best being fed in their natural feeding cycle, a fast/gorge feeding cycle. Small frequent meals is a recipe for fatty liver disease. Their metabolism and lifestyle require time between feeding to digest meals, fast. They are good to be fed their full on feeding days, gorge.

You think if someone slipped some cut up dead human flesh into a meal they fed you, that would start attacking live walking humans down the street. That is just another absurd repeating folklore narrative. All fish eat live food in the wild, even herbivores, they eat live algaes. I don't know of any scavengers. We feed all the other fish in our tanks fish, why don't we have a tank full of cannibals. If you do not include a fatty fish in their it will dramatically decrease their lifespan in captivity, it is an absolute necessary nutritional ingredient. Jeez, they are fang tooth eels, their natural diet is fish.

The white eyed is a milder fang tooth eel, you do want to make sure his tank mates are not fish he can grab and destroy. Be careful of your wrasse choices, their body type is very appetizing. Some eels may also stalk out their sleeping spots and grab them while emerging from their slumber.

EDIT: They may stop eating something they previously ate as well as refuse something they may eat in the future. Offer a variety and try later down the line to see if they will accept food they previously refused. Just as with humans.

Haha. I get it and I agree with you.

He has been like that with food since I got him. He eats one thing and then gets sick of it and then I go to another and then he gets sick of it and sometimes you go back to the first thing or try something else. Pretty typical behavior for him since he was really small.

I noticed him swimming around a bunch today so I went and got some sockeye from the store. I feel that when they do that they are hungry. I cut it up into slivers with the skin still on. He went right for it and ate a lot. He then came around a corner and threw up 2 of those pieces. He went back ate one and then I removed the last one he regurgitated but didnt eat. He did this before with silversides too but never did it with squid/clams/shrimp. Is this from him being full?

I will start the new weekly feedings as you have suggested. I feel that may work out better. I didnt think he was big enough to be on a once a week schedule but it seems like the right idea to try out. I caught a video of him swimming and you get an idea of his full size.

eel swimming

youtube.com

 

[lion king]

Haha. I get it and I agree with you.

He has been like that with food since I got him. He eats one thing and then gets sick of it and then I go to another and then he gets sick of it and sometimes you go back to the first thing or try something else. Pretty typical behavior for him since he was really small.

I noticed him swimming around a bunch today so I went and got some sockeye from the store. I feel that when they do that they are hungry. I cut it up into slivers with the skin still on. He went right for it and ate a lot. He then came around a corner and threw up 2 of those pieces. He went back ate one and then I removed the last one he regurgitated but didnt eat. He did this before with silversides too but never did it with squid/clams/shrimp. Is this from him being full?

I will start the new weekly feedings as you have suggested. I feel that may work out better. I didnt think he was big enough to be on a once a week schedule but it seems like the right idea to try out. I caught a video of him swimming and you get an idea of his full size.

eel swimming

youtube.com

If they eat too fast or pieces are too large they may regurgitate. He is already within the common size of this eel, at 1.5 years in captivity he should be at least close to mature. Most people list the max size for species at 24-25", this one will usually stay around 18-20" in captivity. Once a week is just average, each eel and circumstance will dictate, you'll jsut have to play it out. It's ok for them to cruise around for a day or so between feeding. They don't have food on demand in the ocean, sometimes they hunt for a while, then they gorge. Feeding every time they poke out of their den will literally train them to just keep tucked away and poke out just to eat. They will be more active overall if they are allowed to cruise for bit before feeding. you can always start a little longer between feedings and fatten him up, then expand time between feedings as you go, once a week is just a general rule of thumb. Some have actually gone to about every 10 days although once a week has been max for me. Younger eels do need to fed more often.

 

[Ev8siveaz]

If they eat too fast or pieces are too large they may regurgitate. He is already within the common size of this eel, at 1.5 years in captivity he should be at least close to mature. Most people list the max size for species at 24-25", this one will usually stay around 18-20" in captivity. Once a week is just average, each eel and circumstance will dictate, you'll jsut have to play it out. It's ok for them to cruise around for a day or so between feeding. They don't have food on demand in the ocean, sometimes they hunt for a while, then they gorge. Feeding every time they poke out of their den will literally train them to just keep tucked away and poke out just to eat. They will be more active overall if they are allowed to cruise for bit before feeding. you can always start a little longer between feedings and fatten him up, then expand time between feedings as you go, once a week is just a general rule of thumb. Some have actually gone to about every 10 days although once a week has been max for me. Younger eels do need to fed more often.

Good to know. He honestly is out all the time and I often wondered if he is hungry or just comfortable.

 

[Ev8siveaz]

@lion king

I have a question for you. My white eye has been good so far and he's been on a consistent schedule. I tend to feed him every 3 to 4 days or so. I've had him for about 2.5 years now and he's about 18 to 20 inches long.



Today is usually about time to feed. I got his salmon ready for the day and walked up to the tank. I then see him tussling with something and immediately go uh oh. I thought he finally went after a tank mate for the first time. I walk up to the tank and he has his tail in his mouth. He then let's go and proceeds to chase his tail for a minute or two. After that, he goes back into his cave and sticks his head out. I tried to see if he was hungry but he didnt take anything (which I thought he would be hungry today since he last ate on Sunday). He seems normal now. He did a little damage to his tail but nothing major. Have you ever seen anything like that before? I attached a couple vids of him doing his normal chilling after all was said and done. One you can see his tail has a chunk hanging off.