Eelysium

[lion king]

Really, interesting…
Mines 18” but very plump and I’ve seen two others and they were also quite rotund even a 6". I’m confused by snake eels though. The banded at my LFS has the same proportions as mine except it’s head is at least twice the size.

Shoot, I don’t need another cyanide death at the moment. So I’ll definitely look for an Aussie.

And speaking of cyanide and eels my LFS was trying to talk me into an “African” variant ribbon eel in the male form; apparently its a different shade of blue but I haven't seen enough to know. Very tempting but I think I have enough eel stress at the moment. He did say he'd try and start selling live feeders though.

You would definitely have your hands full with the 2 snake eels and a ribbon. I'm not sure about the cyanide, it's just kind of curious, but there's alot of unexpected death all around these days. I did mention the internal parasites, I'm still so frustrated that so many people don't address this and let their fish die. Tusk have always been notorious for having internal parasites.

 

[Slocke]

 

[Slocke]

Pre bathroom break:

Post bathroom break:

Whoops...
Luckily it escaped into the tank and is devouring the algae pellets the foxface is supposed to eat.

Anyway... I got moray eels!
A tiny snowflake and an even tinier chainlink!
Also a blue throat trigger to hopefully give the fox a swimming companion.

 

[Slocke]

 

[Slocke]

I was worried about the engineers but they seem happy to share their burrows. No aggression issues other than a little when going after the same bits of food.

Early observation:
I know morays are supposed to have bad eyesight but they're eyesight is so much better than snake eels. I'm not sure snakes have any eyesight beyond basic brightness. Its nice having eels that see the food rather than smell and feel for it. Makes feeding so much easier.

 

[NanoJHB]

Love the new eels ! Would love to see a pic of the trigger too once it's settled

 

[Slocke]

Its a female so not as pretty though the bright blue eyes are great. The foxface has been a wimp but I think is looking more confident with another fish swimming around.

 

[Slocke]

Better video:

 

[Slocke]

The banded looks like he is doing really well. I was going to tell you, I saw a good looking goldspotted at the lfs I get my ghosties at today. It was probably 2' but really skinny, so still a juvi. If you can swing at, try and get an aussie tusk. I think the Indo ones are being collected with cyanide or something else has been going on, there has been an unusually high mortality rate lately. They also seem to come in with internal parasites frequently so I would plan to put them in observation.

Harlequin Tuskfish

Choerodon fasciatus - The Harlequin tuskfish is a beautiful member of the wrasse family. These colorful and personality filled fish often become quick aquarium favorites for their outgoing behaviors. These are currently juveniles and will end up growing to a size of up to 10" so they require a...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

New addition from biota. Well this could solve the cyanide/mortality issue but do I want to spend 425$ on a fish that may not be big enough for my tank for a long time?

 

[lion king]

Harlequin Tuskfish

Choerodon fasciatus - The Harlequin tuskfish is a beautiful member of the wrasse family. These colorful and personality filled fish often become quick aquarium favorites for their outgoing behaviors. These are currently juveniles and will end up growing to a size of up to 10" so they require a...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

New addition from biota. Well this could solve the cyanide/mortality issue but do I want to spend 425$ on a fish that may not be big enough for my tank for a long time?

Ime they do grow slowly, ay 2" it likely won't be ready for your tank for at least 2 years.

 

[Slocke]

Ime they do grow slowly, ay 2" it likely won't be ready for your tank for at least 2 years.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I like supporting biota but maybe I should just spend 10,000 on a "yurple tang" that is less attractive than both the purple and the yellow tang instead.

Yurple Tang Hybrid

Zebrasoma flavescens x Zebrasoma xanthurum Hybrid This is one of the rarest tang in the world with around only a dozen produced in captivity and no chance of them meeting naturally in the wild. Each one is incredibly unique in coloration and the patterning and is truly a "Holy Grail" fish...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

 

[Slocke]

Funnyish observation:
Through the scientific method of letting my gold spot eel bite me I theorize that they have very few or no teeth. I've felt one dull spike when being bitten that seemed to come from the middle of the jaw (can't find any skeleton images online). Which may go to explain how my more than 2ft long banded snake eel just lost tug of war to a 6in chainlink. I was feeding the eels and I gave the snake a potentially too big piece of squid. While slowly trying to swallow it the chain grabbed it and thus began a tug of war. The snake eel was obviously stronger overall but not by much and it was the chain who kept hold of the squid presumably through better grip. I obviously don't encourage fighting over food but it was interesting and almost funny in how easily the Goliath was bested.
I spend a lot of time studying evolutionary biology and I think this eel maybe should join seahorses and tree sloths in the "how are you still around" category.

Saying that the gold-spotted, despite being shorter (18in), would probably have swallowed the squid and the chain without issue. Thus why he's still in my other tank.

 

[lion king]

Funny story, I was feeding my jeweled eel a hunk of shrimp, with tongs, they have real teeth. It was always a battle to get by the triggers, and especially the blueline. The blueline grabbed hold and I wasn't in the mood, a battle ensued, I literally picked the blueline up entirely out of the water and started shaking him., He would not let go, I finally succumbed. And on this day, the blueline won and he got his big hunk of shrimp.

 

[Slocke]

Accidentally dropped a big chunk in but wow did I get a show from it:

 

[Slocke]

Update:
Added a maroon clown and a red hairy legged hermit.

Its turning into a bit of a feeding frenzy at the moment with the 3 eels and the trigger all going after any bit of food I add with the tongs. The snowflake is a bit of a biter and though the teeth aren't enough to break the skin they're far sharper than the snakes and definitely has a more painful bite despite the size.

Funny story, I was feeding my jeweled eel a hunk of shrimp, with tongs, they have real teeth. It was always a battle to get by the triggers, and especially the blueline. The blueline grabbed hold and I wasn't in the mood, a battle ensued, I literally picked the blueline up entirely out of the water and started shaking him., He would not let go, I finally succumbed. And on this day, the blueline won and he got his big hunk of shrimp.

I can definitely see that happening now as even this little trigger is holding its own. I think superior vision really helps it. Hopefully it doesn't join in on the biting.

Removed the Magnificent foxface. It kept freaking out and eventually hurt itself. I don't know what was wrong as I got it from the LFS display tank which it was sharing with tangs, triggers, and other large fish. I hoped adding some other confident fish would calm it down but it seemed to do the opposite. Anyway it's in quarantine with a small scrape. Don't know what to do with it now.

 

[Slocke]

Added the Goldspotted today. Its very active unlike the banded. Weird observation is that the snowflake was following it around.





I've definitely confirmed these guys are not invert safe. I think I can say fish safe due to the guppies that are happily living along side them but this giant hermit is lucky to be alive.

 

[Sailaway]

the initial process always looks wonky but i can still see where you’re trying to take it. i’ve used the foam with my gecko tank

Same here! I love working with foam, my geckos love to climb the wall.

 

[Slocke]

Same here! I love working with foam, my geckos love to climb the wall.

Its working out quite well. There are a bunch of gaps in it that the gobies and morays are loving. And I assume the soft foam is better on their skin then rock.

 

[lion king]

Added the Goldspotted today. Its very active unlike the banded. Weird observation is that the snowflake was following it around.





I've definitely confirmed these guys are not invert safe. I think I can say fish safe due to the guppies that are happily living along side them but this giant hermit is lucky to be alive.

Yes if one of the eels can catch a foot of the hermit, they will shake him out of the shell and dine. Dspending on the hermit's home(in his shell straw or brick using a little pigs analogy) and the size and strength of the eel, they will crack open the shell to get to them.

 

[Slocke]

Yes if one of the eels can catch a foot of the hermit, they will shake him out of the shell and dine. Dspending on the hermit's home(in his shell straw or brick using a little pigs analogy) and the size and strength of the eel, they will crack open the shell to get to them.

I thought the crab was big enough to be safe, at least for now but the eel was on it within a couple minutes. I don't know how it survived that attack to be honest.