Aquatic acrobat in your aquarium: Have you ever kept an eel?

[Timfish]

Got this guy in 2015. He's really a cool dwarf moray.

 

[rhitee93]

I'm a fairly new eel parent. I got this snowflake about 3 months ago. It found and ate my pistol shrimp within the first 60 seconds of being in my tank. However, it has not bothered anything since. It is a fan favorite in my office. People stop by just to see how it is doing.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Currently have a pair of Caribbean chestnut morays (Enchelycore carychroa) and a Berndt's moray (Gymnothorax berntdi)

 

[Surf City Corals]

Ed and Eduardo

Edit: some more of them, yes they both managed to get in squidwards house

so cool. love these. I have 3 zig zag eels, freshwater, no saltwater eels.... yet.

 

[Rp8]

Here is my snowflake, hoping to add another possibly zebra or ribbon in the future

 

[McPuff]

I used to have a G. tessellata about 20 years ago. It was very cool looking and very ill-tempered. Would be "fun" to have another gymnothorax some day but they really aren't that fun to watch. Perhaps a smaller species...

 

[Popeye]

I used to have a snowflake eel but he was eating my cuc. Would like to have another one but don't know of one that won't nip at my corals or eat cuc.

 

[Freenow54]

I was in my favorite coral shop the other day. I have had no experience with eels in captivity. The friend of the owner showed me one. Very active. He told me someone left a crack of an opening on the cover. He found it hanging out of the tank in the morning. So much for free willie

 

[WizardOfAAAHHHs]

One of my tanks that I'm currently building ( 3 / 20 / '24 ) will be a 210 gal. (I'm picking it up this Saturday! ) FOWLR tank set up as a peninsula in my living room of my 1900 built home! I'm researching the possible issues of the load on my floor ! I'm setting it over what should be an old beam that was once the front of the house before the porch was enclosed to expand the living room, so I THINK I'm alright, but I'm going to be careful & I'm looking into reinforcing it!
Anyway, I never used to think I wanted anything to do with a creature that looked like a SSSSSSNAKE! I want NOTHING to do with ANYTHING that starts with a HISS! LOL! But I have a FB buddy who has a fairly large Snowflake Eel & he's winning me over! I'm NOW INTERESTED in getting one - species TBA ! . . . & I already have a NAME for "him" . . .Eelijah! LOL! ( Don't be STEALIN' my NAMES now! ) . I prefer one that won't get TOO big! Ms. VOODOO in my buddy's tank is getting pretty long!

 

[Hhaynie]

If they came in smaller sizes, I would love to have one, but I just don't have the space or anywhere to put a larger tank.

They do! Golden pencil morays are the size of their namesake. Nano eel

 

[Esox]

Currently have a pair of Caribbean chestnut morays (Enchelycore carychroa) and a Berndt's moray (Gymnothorax berntdi)

Do you think a full-grown ocellaris clown would be on the menu for a chestnut moray?

 

[Goaway]

Very much love my ribbon eel
A+ model citizen.

 

[AtlantiCat]

They do! Golden pencil morays are the size of their namesake. Nano eel

Sadly still a bit large for a 40 cube(ish). But thanks for the tip. If I ever convert my 75G, I might have to pick one up.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Do you think a full-grown ocellaris clown would be on the menu for a chestnut moray?

Doubtful. The more doubtful thing would you being able to source one, honestly.

 

[Tactical Combat Damsel]

I have a very nooby Chainlink Moray Eel from Reefbeauties. Pattern looks a bit like a zebra, only ever wants to eat clam meat from the local Safeway grocery store.

They're an echidnata genus Eel like Snowflakes but from the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike the ones posted online mine ate a Blood Fire cleaner shrimp immediately on minute 1 of being released that was hiding under the rocks for almost 6 months just to come out and sway at the worst possible timing :S

After that never again. I feel like there's possibly localities going on with this species but Idk that's just based on briefly looking at iNaturalist observations and mine turning out to look more color contrasted and 'stripey'.

Feeding the eel has been a death knell for most of the small Colonies of LPS corals that were mostly donated to me earlier on into the tanks life cycle.

A more disciplined person could feed them a bit more meticulously and ask a retailer to help clarify any questions on locality, color morph, and sizing.

They almost remind me of aquatic corn/king/milk snakes and mine doesn't look too far removed from a California Kingsnake.

 

[Chrisv.]

Very much love my ribbon eel
A+ model citizen.

Beautiful. How long have you had him?

 

[Goaway]

Beautiful. How long have you had him?

July will be 2 years. She was yellow when I got her. After adding her to the reef, she turned back to black.

 

[Chrisv.]

July will be 2 years. She was yellow when I got her. After adding her to the reef, she turned back to black.

It's always wonderful to hear about long term success with this species. I still vividly remember the first time I saw one in 1991. I've always wanted to give one a try. Do you think there is any specific key to your success?

 

[Goaway]

It's always wonderful to hear about long term success with this species. I still vividly remember the first time I saw one in 1991. I've always wanted to give one a try. Do you think there is any specific key to your success?

A vendor who knows they aren't captured with cyanide, quarantine by themselves for a couple weeks to a month. They are very timid fish. You want to get them fattened up before they go into the display. They don't really get that fat though.
I like my room dark with weak aquarium lighting to get them comfortable. I have had a total of 3. What worked was dark room, low aquarium light, frozen shrimp.
Mine instantly fed on frozen shrimp, all 3 i had. Current one loves red /silver mollys