reef safe eel?

[leveldrummer]

just curious, is there an eel that stays small enough for a 46 gallon tank, that would be a peacful communtiy fish? or would any of them hunt and kill all of my inverts and fish?

[Fly Guy]

Originally Posted by leveldrummer

just curious, is there an eel that stays small enough for a 46 gallon tank, that would be a peacful communtiy fish? or would any of them hunt and kill all of my inverts and fish?

a snowflake could be fine IMO

i had one in a 46 for about a year....if you dont have a lift of some kind or other means to stabilize your rock be careful how you stack........he can create catastrophes if you dont pay attention to his tunnels and what they are doing to the stability of your rock

[leveldrummer]

he wont eat smaller fish like a gramma or cardinal? or a firefish maybe??

[Fly Guy]

Originally Posted by leveldrummer

he wont eat smaller fish like a gramma or cardinal? or a firefish maybe??

I said he was REEF safe.

If he can fit it partially into his mouth he will eat it and/or tear it apart. His tendency to do so greatly increased by how hungry he is.

I did have a 3 inch six line in with him that he never bothered (that i SAW)but the sixline was much quicker and the eel never was without food. Im sure it didnt do the sixline any favors in concern to his stress level though.

Actually i didnt read your post very well now that i look at it.

So now that i DID...the INVERTS are safe.

[smeese]

A zebra moray would be a good choice as they are very docile.....most ignore tankmates completely.

[ccso139]

Moray eels will eat fish and inverts..... Unless I just happened upon a mean one. Within 5 minutes of putting him in my tank, he eat my yellow watchman goby (saw it happen) and 2 of the 3 peppermint shrimp that I put in the other day w/in a few minutes. I also watched him stalk and eat a hermit crab..... I have cut back on my feedings because of an algae problem, so maybe he is just hungry...... But, I wouldn't trade him for all the fish and shrimp that he eats, they are awsome to watch swimming in and out of the rock.....

[Hardhead Cat]

I love eels too but finally gave them up because they were eating fish/inverts in the tank on whims. I never could trust them! I like large engineer gobies, they look like eels but are sand sifters - and when they reach about 6 inches they get fat and very speckled, nice!

HHC

[Caoineag]

The Zebra and the Snowflake are usually safe with fish because they are invertebrate eaters (no teeth, just solid bone mass). That said, a Zebra really gets too big for the 46 and neither of these eels have read the same books as you. Your safest bet is to try a snowflake. If you want to have cleaner shrimp, the shrimp must be there before the snowflake. All critters have personalities but by going with an invertebrate eater you at least give your fish a fighting chance. Anything with teeth can probably decimate a tank in no time flat, fish and invertebrates.

Personally I want a zebra but plan on housing him in a 125g.

[Geoff]

the golden moray is pretty much reef safe. it only grows to about 7" in length so as long as the critters in the tank are big enough will not be a problem. of course the critters in the tank can not be so big that they will eat the moray. this could be bad since this is a $250 eel.

G~

[pauliewalnuts]

id also say go with a snowflake! ive had mine for almost 2 years now and he is the coolest thing in the tank...i go nuts whenever i see him swim...i feed him squid and shrimp and he tears it up! i have never seen or suspected him of eating anything in my tank...in fact i have one cleaner shrimp that rides around on him and will only clean him.

[ccso139]

Originally Posted by ccso139

Moray eels will eat fish and inverts..... Unless I just happened upon a mean one. Within 5 minutes of putting him in my tank, he eat my yellow watchman goby (saw it happen) and 2 of the 3 peppermint shrimp that I put in the other day w/in a few minutes. I also watched him stalk and eat a hermit crab..... I have cut back on my feedings because of an algae problem, so maybe he is just hungry...... But, I wouldn't trade him for all the fish and shrimp that he eats, they are awsome to watch swimming in and out of the rock.....

I admit to being new to this saltwater world, however, this blunder is unexcuseable.......I do not nor have I ever had a moray eel......I do have a snowflake though......Now, take everything that I said and put in mind w/ a snowflake eel not a moray.... Don't know what I was thinking. Long days at work and no sleep are finally catching up w/ me.....

[Fly Guy]

Originally Posted by ccso139

I admit to being new to this saltwater world, however, this blunder is unexcuseable.......I do not nor have I ever had a moray eel......I do have a snowflake though......Now, take everything that I said and put in mind w/ a snowflake eel not a moray.... Don't know what I was thinking. Long days at work and no sleep are finally catching up w/ me.....

The snowflake IS a moray.....so dont be so hard on yourself...YOU WERE RIGHT...even if only by default!!!!

[know-it-all]

I loved my banded snake eel (i traded it in for a cuttlefish, which was way cooler)
reef safe, yes
invert safe, no
small fish safe, no

stays relatively small compared to snowflakes

now, the cool eel to get would be a pair of Hawaiian dragon morays
(check smeese avatar)

[Tim224DT]

I "had" a snowflake eel......Got him when he was 8" long he grew to 24" in 10months!! Well he started eating my fish. I had a rainbow wrasee that he ate and then he was going after my Tomato clown. That is when i had to get rid of him at $20 a meal i couldnt afford that! He was well feed daily.


Tim

[Fly Guy]

Originally Posted by know-it-all

now, the cool eel to get would be a pair of Hawaiian dragon morays

I agree......they are sweet. But for $1300 a piece(if its the ones im thinking of) they should come with a new reef ready tank!!!