Keeping an Eel

I've been considering getting an eel, and keeping it in an aggressive/pred tank. The only thing is, I'm not sure whats involved in the keeping of one. I'm used to mainly fishes who can just eat frozen mysis/brine and flakes ect.

My questions are what would a healthy diet consist of ? And any advice towards keeping them ?

 

Like anything else in this hobby, research before buying. Some eels can fit in small tanks and some need a bigger one and so on.


luna

 

Luna, I've had my snowflake now for 1-1/2 years. I love him !!!. He's in a FOWLR with no other fish. I do have snails and hermits, my eel does not bother them one bit. I feed mine Silversides, and a few times a year a goldfish, but he's not too thrilled about them. Probably due to the few times a year he eats them. I would recommend a large tank, mine often spends the evenings cruzing around my 135. He is awesome, has me trained. He thinks everytime i walk up to the tank he's gonna get fed, comes right out of the rocks straight up to the water surface. Back in the day he was occompanied by some tangs and chromids, he never bothered them one bit

Edit: Sorry 'bout that, I responded referencing Luna, ment to direct that to hender.

 

raw meat. my LFS feeds his squid chunks.

 

my snowflake has a hilarious attitude and does not bother any tank mates

 

thanks for the info guys... I was thinking a snowflake (or similar). Mainly because generally they are hardier than other eels (so i've heard/read) and well personally i think look sweet.

I'm planning on buying a small one - to fit the tank and to see it grow.
Will he/she be alright in a 38G for 12 months. Reason being, i'll be getting a larger one and returning this one to my sister when she returns from overseas.

EDIT: So they don't bother inverts - snails, crabs ect...

 

Hender,
From my experience, i would recommend a larger tank, for two reasons:
1. Based on the behavior of mine, he cruises alot, likes the room to swim. During the day he is pretty stagnate, but in the evenings he is very active, I also recommend lots of hiding places. Mine has two favorite spots where he has dug sand out from under two large rocks and hides during the day. He likes to be completely stealth when he hides, with the exception of his head poking out.

2. If you plan to keep one for 12 months, it's possible it could grow too large for a 38G.

I'm not saying its not possible to host one in a 38g, I would just recommend a larger tank. Maybe someone with experience hosting one in a similar size tank to a 38g will provide feedback.

It probably mostly will depend on the size of the eel though, since you plan to move to a larger tank later on.

-Good luck , cool to hear you've got an interest in eels.

 

Seems to prove that what I've read about them being nocturnal. Eel's never took my fancy until i saw a few at the LFS. I fell in love, mind you every other trip i see a fish I haven't seen/considered and absolutely have to have it. Some more K+ for the tips

 

I am pretty sure they are opportunistic hunters, eating whatever they can catch, although I don't have that much experience with them. I do know that they are mostly blind, so you might have to help him catch whatever you feed him, just food for thought

 

Thank you for the K+, much appreciated ;D
Please keep me (us) posted on if you get one or not. If you do, select a small one, keep him well fed with a consistent food source in the beginning stages. I personally feel it will train it to know its food source, may prevent it from scavenging on other tank mates. Like I said earlier, mine never bothered anything in my tank, but I cant speak for them all.

Here are some pics, enjoy !!