White ribbon eel feeding

Perpetual Novice · Jun 3, 2019

I got a white ribbon eel from the LFS about two weeks ago. After a week and a half in quarantine without eating, I finally decided to cut quarantine short and introduce it to my display. The next day I was able to entice it to eat frozen shrimp from a stick. So I tried another chunk and he took it. And another chunk. And another. I thought that must be enough.

The next day I went to see if it was still hungry and with little fuss it wolfed down several more chunks.

I’m so glad to see it eating. But should I just feed it until it stops responding to food? He’s eaten an awful lot and I’m not sure if it’s possible to over feed a white ribbon eel.

lion king · Jun 3, 2019

Yes overfeeding is 2nd to escape in the detriment to eels. Feed him until he is content at each feeding, as much as he wants, he'll just stop when he's full. Then give about 3 days between feedings. This has worked well for me and my eels, I have black/blue ribbon, been turning blue for so loooong.

Perpetual Novice · Jun 3, 2019

That’s awesome! And good to know. Before I got out of the hobby about 10 years ago I had another white ribbon eel and it would stop eating when full and I fead it on the same schedule you described.

This one must have been starving because so far it has taken as much as I will feed it in one sitting.

Since you have a blue ribbon eel I’m really excited to ask you a few questions

It has always been my dream to keep a blue/black ribbon eel (sane thing right?) but I’ve always been afraid they would starve. I’ve heard that competition can inspire them to eat so my plan is to get a white ribbon eel to eat then add a blue ribbon eel and hopefully the example of the white eel helps it to eat. I heard white ribbon eels are a little easier to feed so I started with that one to see if I could even feed the easier eel. I am very encouraged by the results and I want to add a blue ribbon eel soon before the whole ribbon eel becomes territorial. I have a 100 gallon tank with a TOOON of live rock and good flow to the bottom specially for these eels.

Do you think that’s a good plan?
Also how easy was it to get yours to eat? Did you buy it online or at your LFS? Was it eating when you bought it? Did you buy it as a juvenile or an adult and which is better to introduce? Also how did you quarantine it? I’ve heard they should skip quarantine because they won’t eat without a comfortable environment.

lion king · Jun 3, 2019

I got my black ribbon as a 12" juvi, I've had him over 2 years now, and he's been turning blue for what seems like a year now at about 30". Even after all this time he is still a challenge to feed, they are just not attackers, he is still flinchy and somewhat timid to take food. I have to feed him slivers of food about the width of his mouth. He will eat a variety of foods; silversides, squid, octopus, silver fish. Strips of foods rather than chunks, he also gets live guppies and live mollies.

I qt'd him in a 40B and treated with prazi pro. I put some live mollies and live ghosties in the tank to live with him and let him feed at his leisure. After a couple of weeks I started with tong feeding dead food and quickly figured out the thin sliver approach. Sometimes after teasing him a bit, let the piece go for him to chase it down. Funny thing is is when it comes to a live fish, he'll snatch one right from mouth of one of my lions, he's is a 90g with 3 lions.

I find qting difficult to feed fish even more important. If you put a fish like this in a dt and he doesn't eat, it may be impossible to give him the direct personal care they need. If you have to resort to feeding live food to get him eating, a more aggressive eater in a dt won't give him a chance to catch the food.

The ghost eel is perhaps a bit more of an aggressive feeder, they should get along fine.