Snowflake eels

jgordie · 08-24-2007, 07:44 PM

Can those of you out there share your experiences with these guys? We have bought a small one for our tank and he is doing fine. I have been feeding him krill off of a skewer stick...how much do they eat and I heard they are prone to jump. Can anyone share their experiences?

Geoff · 08-25-2007, 08:07 PM

they do not jump, they just escape.

they are one of the easiest eels to keep. they prefer to eat crustaceans, but will eat small fish given the chance. they do not need to be fed very often though. the more critters you have in the tank that you do not want the eel to eat the more you need to feed the eel. the more you feed the eel the more you have to clean the tank. they are very messy fish. they poo all over the place and can cause water problems if not taken care of every week.

G~

nobody · 08-31-2007, 12:43 PM

i had a snowflake eel in a 55g fish only tank for years. I bought him as a youngin at about 6". When I gave him up to a friend he was a bit more then 2'. He was very easy to take care of. I dont know if they are more dumb or blind but feeding is sometimes an issue. Make sure you have tongs.

jgordie · 08-31-2007, 04:35 PM

Yeah, mine is a baby..about 4 inches or so..He comes out at night and he eats well but I put the food right in front of him using a skewer stick sometimes and he bumps into a few times before he finally takes it...Did you have an issue with him jumping or escaping.I do not have alid on my tank

nelson · 09-02-2007, 08:42 AM

i had one in my 29g tank and jumping was never an issue for me

Sndwave80 · 09-15-2007, 12:36 AM

I have lost three over my years. The last one just last week. Had it for over a year and found him on the floor =-(

Sndwave80 · 09-15-2007, 12:36 AM

Was about 12inches

Boozeclues · 03-23-2009, 04:27 AM

I know this is an old post but once while moving i had one in a 5 gallon bucket and slipped on ice and fell, the Eel took off like a snake (go figure) across the ice. i ran over scooped him back into the bucket and he lived.... until about 5 months later when i woke up in the morning and he was on my kitchen floor dead. I had a cover on he must have went out by my intake. make sure there are no gaps. they are very smart. also yes make sure you have way to get food right in thier face because they have poor eyesight and if you have other fish in the tank they wont get any food

jmorgan315 · 03-24-2009, 02:33 PM

I had one for awhile and had no problems with him jumping. I simply covered the openings in the top of my tank with ceran wrap. I started feeding him pieces of shrimp with a skewer but before long i was able to feed him with my fingers. Unfortunately he randomly became ill and just hid for awhile until one day was dead on the bottom of my tank. Only had him as a little guy but he was definitely one of my favorite things ive had in my tank and have wanted a new one ever since

AB3 · 05-03-2009, 12:52 PM

Hey, I hav also been thinking about putting one in my 29g im starting up but I don't want him to be alone, I was thinking a flame angle or a small lionfish? has anybody had problems withthem together? any other tips would be a big help thanks

Siberman · 05-03-2009, 05:19 PM

Don't put a lion with anything small enough to fit in its mouth.

REEFEDOUT · 05-05-2009, 04:08 PM

29 seems small for a lion and a eel ,ive got a dwarf lion and snowflake in a 75 they dont care about each other ,niger trigger and hawian puffer in threre also. everybody gets along,well the eel seems to chase the puffer the most .keep them fed good and it shouldnt be a problem

Atv023 · 06-06-2009, 05:51 PM

I have owned a Snowflake and a White Cheek. While they do have tendency to escape, it is usually because they don't like your aquarium, or something is wrong and they are searching for something better, or they already could be sick. Watch the eels breathing rate. It is a good indicator of how he and your system is doing. If the eel is breathing very rapidly, something is wrong. Normal average is one breath every 2 to 3 seconds. If he is going 1 a second or shorter, for a few days, something is definately wrong, could be water quality or the eel itself. Mine breathes rapidly for a few hours after water changes or cleaning, but it subsides within a few hours.

Mine escaped into the overflow one time during feeding, but he rarely leaves the comfort of his cave.

Yes, they are one of the easiest eels to care for. To compliment who brought up crustaceans, yes, their main diet in the wild is crustaceans. I feed mine silversides and krill, some times mix up some squid. He seems to prefer the silversides. How much you feed them is going to depend on the size of the eel. Mine is about 18" and he eats 3, 2" silversides, every few days. When I first bought him at 8" I had to cut one silverside into pieces.

Yes also. The eye sight of the snowflakes is very poor. They can mostly only discern between lighter and darker. They rely on smell and vibrations for locations of food. The most dangerous time for the rest of your fish is during feeding, the eels can mistake them for food.

The fish I keep with the eel are a clown, scooterblenny, and a dottyback. The clown might not make it, he is kind of dumb, and his swimming pattern resembles a injured fish. The clown already attracts attention from the eel during feeding. The scooter blenny is poisonous (he puts up his faux eye fin and the eel stops in its tracks), and the dottyback hides in little caves very well, I'm not worried too much about those two. The dottyback is pretty mean to the scooterblenny though. From what I have read and been told, if the fish is too big to fit in the eels mouth, has some type of toxin, or is very nimble, then usually they will be OK. Someone else said, and I agree, it can also be mitigated by keeping them well fed.

I also have mine in a 75. 29 is way too small. 75 is also kind of small for a full grown snowflake.

You can see my Aiptasia problems in the pic.

ftwaynecollectables · 06-06-2009, 06:19 PM

you should see this 4ft green moray my local lfs has in their tank...has a big blue spotted grouper in it too! its pretty cool. I myself would go for a ghost eel if i were to get one....but eels really arnt my thing :P so i wont

aquariajunky · 06-08-2009, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ftwaynecollectables

you should see this 4ft green moray my local lfs has in their tank...has a big blue spotted grouper in it too! its pretty cool. I myself would go for a ghost eel if i were to get one....but eels really arnt my thing :P so i wont

at petware house? that one scared the hell out of my wife, lol

ive had a snowflake for a couple months in with my lion and huma huma, all is well and they have alot of personality