# snowflake eel



## spawnie9600 (Nov 15, 2004)

i am starting to look at these fish i have some questions

what size tank?

what can they go with? lionfish? jawfish? puffer?

also this will be my first salt so is this a good fish to start with?

do you have to get the bacteria cycle started in salts before introducing eel? if so what fish do i use?

any info will help?


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## spawnie9600 (Nov 15, 2004)

plz anything


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## -=BOB=- (Mar 6, 2003)

30 minimum, but it would be nice if you would provide at least 50...

You can house it with most fishes (besides really small ones such as dwarf gobies and so, ) cause their natural diet consist mostly of crustaceans. However don't house it with small fishes that can fit into its mouth... Look that you have good attached LR cause it can topple it... Provide nice cave work for it to hide and so....

I'll tell you a secret, it's one of the hardiest fishes in hobby, some lame LFSs prefer to sell only them cause they have really small mortality rate...

*do you have to get the bacteria cycle started in salts...... *

damn! sure you do (probably it would survive cycling but thats nasty to do to your pet), before you introduce eel you need to fill yor tank with water too..


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## Guest (Feb 8, 2005)

I'm looking at doing the same. I am setting up a 48*15*18 with a large, yet to be finalized, sump. I like the Snowflake Morays too but I considered this tank a little small for one. You think a 50 will do then Bob?? I guess they are always wrapped round and are not so active. The one in the LFS I work rarely moves about, just hides in caves. Thinking of maybe a dwarf Lion in there too.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

i have a snowflake, hes in a 72 gallon bow front with a trigger a wrasse and two damsels..

they grow really fast! ive had mine about 6 months, when i first got him it was the thickness of a pen and alittle longer, now its about as fat as a hot dog and a foot and a half long..

feeding, i have always hand fed, ive been bitten a bunch of times but it never really hurts, but its teeth are getting bigger and it can squeeze harder. im using a feeder stick now and feeding triiger formula frozen cubes (defrosted).. i also feed fresh shrimp, squid, clam.. sometimes he will go for a few days and not be interested in food other times he will want to eat for two or three days in a row.. the main thing is that they do find a spot in the tank and hang out there most of the time and swim around when there hungry so there not really active most of the time..

they are definately cool but they do get large, ive seen them about three feet long.. i would definately suggest atleast 60 plus gallons depending on the number of tank mates, i dont think you will be able to keep any shrimp they will get eaten, its kind of tricky with an eel, they can eat anything that fits in there mouth, but they can see very well so they arent the greatest hunters..


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## redbellypacu (Sep 21, 2003)

spawnie9600 said:


> i am starting to look at these fish i have some questions
> 
> what size tank?at least a 50
> 
> ...


The Snowflake Eel, also known as the Snowflake Moray Eel, Clouded Moray, or Starry Moray, is one of the most beautiful morays, and inhabits caves and crevices throughout the Indo-Pacific reefs. In the wild, it can grow to 39 inches; most captive specimens will not exceed 24 inches.
This is a very hardy eel, but an escape artist. A 50 gallon or larger aquarium with plenty of live rock and a tightly fit canopy is ideal. Most of the eels that are lost in an aquarium are due to poorly sealed tanks. The Snowflake Eel is safe to house with any fish it cannot easily swallow. It can be housed with some invertebrates, like anemones and corals, but not crustaceans.
The wild Snowflake Eel is a nocturnal predator, ambushing fish and crustaceans. In the tank, it will take frozen or freeze-dried krill, fish, shrimp, and most meaty foods. It can be taught to hand feed, although this should be done with caution, as it can inflict a painful bite.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

spawnie9600 said:


> i am starting to look at these fish i have some questions
> 
> what size tank?
> 
> ...


you should pick a slat mix and stay with it, ocianic is pretty popular, i use red sea salt.. i would suggest picking a salt that is always available so you dont switch.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

[snapback]883244[/snapback]​[/quote]

This is a very hardy eel, but an escape artist. A 50 gallon or larger aquarium with plenty of live rock and a tightly fit canopy is ideal. Most of the eels that are lost in an aquarium are due to poorly sealed tanks. 
[snapback]883550[/snapback]​[/quote]

generally tehy will not escape as long as tehy are well fed, when mine is hungry its swims around the top perimeter of the tank and trys to poke his head out, as long as i keep him well fed he doesnt go near the top of the tank looking for food..


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## spawnie9600 (Nov 15, 2004)

but will a lionfish hurt the eel
will the eel hurt the jawfish

i think my 50 is to small for a puffer so forget that

what do i use to start the cycle


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## spawnie9600 (Nov 15, 2004)

plz anything


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## redbellypacu (Sep 21, 2003)

spawnie9600 said:


> but will a lionfish hurt the eel? no they will get along
> will the eel hurt the jawfish? he might it all depends on the size of the fish and how well feed they are
> 
> i think my 50 is to small for a puffer so forget that
> ...


Fish create waste. This waste produces ammonia, which is toxic to the fish at the pH level maintained in the marine tanks. This is why a biological filter is needed. Bacterium grow in the wet-dry filter to break down the ammonia into nitrite. Once this occurs, a second type of bacterium break down the nitrite into nitrate, which is relatively harmless to the fish at low concentrations. To create this cycle, hardy fish (usually inexpensive damsels) are added to the tank to start the ammonia cycle. Triggers, groupers and eels are hardy fish and can be used to cycle the tank. To begin, allow the tank to run for two days, then start adding the starter fish. One inch of fish should be added for every five gallons of water. (Slightly less with eels and triggers.) The other option is to use ammonium chloride rather than fish to create "the cycle" chemically. 
Cycling a tank generally takes six to ten weeks (four to six weeks chemically). This may be sped up by adding live rock or live sand to the tank. This does not replace the cycle, it merely speeds it up.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

i used damsels to cycle my tank but have since learned that you can use live rock (wont harm any fish) or another method i read about was to simply put a whole raw shrimp in the tank, it will start to rot and that will start the cycle eventually the shrimp will turn to a jelly like consistance and disintigrate, but it will create the desided amonia/bacteria cycle..

but use one or the other both methods are not necessary, if your going to have live rock you should add it before you get fish and use the rock to cycle the tank and cure the rock..

if your not going with live rock then throw in the raw shrimp.. it will smell alittle but so will live rock cycling. just use a small cocktail shrimp


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

be sure to cover any and all holes in the tank with mesh screen. eels are notarious to escape in the middle of the night.


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## bmpower007 (Feb 11, 2005)

illnino said:


> be sure to cover any and all holes in the tank with mesh screen. eels are notarious to escape in the middle of the night.
> [snapback]885286[/snapback]​


This is true I had a snowflake eel for about 2 years and one day I wake up and i see it in front of my tank and it was pretty dried up i quickly grabbed it and put it back in the tank it didnt eat for a while but then it started eating and it was perfect also if your going to get an ell get prepared for finding some fish missing and ells tend to like there rocks and gravel there own way so if you have sand it wil make himself a home under a rock and push all the sand out of that area. Good luck and there fun to keep around especially feeding time.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

redbellypacu said:


> spawnie9600 said:
> 
> 
> > i am starting to look at these fish i have some questions
> ...


http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di....cfm?pCatId=131


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## BigBursa T (Jan 3, 2005)

Yea great Eel to start off with, i have 2! 2! in a 55g. and their perfectly fine.







and to add on th escape artist thing. one day im looking and i only see one eel, so im like wtf did it go, somehow it got inside my EMPEROR 400. no idea seems impossible to me, but he was in their for a good 6 days and when i got him out he was still in perfect shape, very hardy.


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## TormenT (Apr 1, 2004)

BigBursa T said:


> Yea great Eel to start off with, i have 2! 2! in a 55g. and their perfectly fine.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


ahaha i remember that! "Hey chad wheres ur one eyed eel?"-me
"IN MY ASS"-you


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## BigBursa T (Jan 3, 2005)

hey joe (Torment)...... Suck a 8=====D ~~~~~


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