Golden Dwarf Moral Eel Questions?

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to add a pair of Golden Dwarf Moral Eels to my current 120 gallon mixed reef tank. Before I take the plunge I want to make sure that everything will work out as peaceful as possible and not have any dire consequences down the road.

First of all, the eels were caught together as a pair so they are relatively established. Now currently I have the following fish:

1 x 4 inch Hippo tang
2 x Oscellaris clowns (3 inch and 2 inch respectively)
1 x Diamond Goby (3 inches)
1 x Target Mandarin (1.5 inches)

The GDM's in question are 5-7 inches, so still relatively small. In my 120 I have roughly 90-100 lbs of live rock with nice caves and holes for them to hide, and it has a 40 breeder sump filled with live rock rubble and chaeto. They are made into two sturdy islands with the middle of the tank open. I have a mesh screen top on the top of the tank that I will weigh down to ensure no eels jump out of the tank.

For flow I have a Mag 24 return, 2 Vortech MP40 W ES and 1 Vortech MP10 W ES. I have a Tek 6 bulb T5 lighting system (heavy on the blues), and run a Vertex 170 alpha skimmer. I also am able to run Carbon in a TLF media reactor if it is suggested.

My questions are as follows:

I am able to get a great deal for both eels, would they be a viable fit in my tank?
They are relatively newly caught (less than 3 days out of the ocean), is this an issue?
If I purchase them, should I QT them? If so, with what?
Since they are small, what should I offer to feed?
Do I need more than 1-2 inches of sand for them in my DT?
Are they reef safe in terms of corals? I have a ton of LPS and some SPS. There are some scolys and welsos on the sand bed.

If anyone has any first hand experience with them please chime in! I would like to place my order for these soon if they are a viable fit...I have been looking for a nice GDM for over 4 months and now have the opportunity to get 2!

Thanks in advance,

Robert

 

I don't have experience with those specific eels but i have a snowflake eel and here's what I've learned...
Don't put them in a tank where there are fish small enough to fit in their mouth
Be careful with small shrimp they may try to snack on them
Make sure there's plenty of hiding places eels like to move through the rocks rather than cone out to swim freely
I feed him silversides and krill but since yours are wild you may have to start with live food and gradually get to frozen
Feed often (online says 3-5 times a week but if mine isnt fed everyday he gets anxious and starts looking for another food source and im afraid hel think the clownfish look tastey)
I've never had a problem with any of my coral but they can be clumsy and knock stuff over
Sorry I couldn't be more specific to your situation hope this helps a little bit.

 

Thanks for the reply!

I don't have any shrimp anymore so that's not a big deal to me. I was told that the ones I am looking at getting are roughly the same thickness as a pencil right now so have very little mouths. With that being said, I have been doing research over the months and have read that even when fully grown they are still quite small and may have a very hard time fitting a nice, fat mandarin in it.

I will need to make sure that all my rock is completely stable. I don't want anything toppling over!

 

Just came across this link Poseidon's Realm Golden Dwarf Moray. Says they stay small, like 8"-10" and slightly thicker than a pen.

 

Thanks for the link. I have been looking for one because of their relatively small size and the fact that nobody in my local area ever gets any of these in. I really want to try something new.

 

Hey Bran,

If you are looking to add an eel to a reef system this would certainly be the safest route you can go, as you already know they stay relatively small and due to their small mouths your fish should be ok, CUC in the other hand might be at risk.. The only downfall you would have to take into account is that eels are messy eaters hence you better have a good filtration in place if you want to maintain the water quality SPS corals like.

 

I have read that they are messy, and think that with the 3 vortechs, mag 24 and relatively nice skimmer I should be ok. I already feed my tank very minimally and am going to be adding some GFO online once I can find a decent deal on some.

I don't really have any CUC...got rid of them a while ago as they agitated my LPS when being target fed.

Thanks for the input...it's much appreciated.

 

Any updates in this? Did you take the plunge?

 

I placed my order for the pair and they will be arriving on Tuesday! I will update the thread once they arrive.

 

I had one in my 70 and fed it freezer burned lobster shrimp and fish and it was an angel a foot long and did not mess with my baby clown hope this helps