Blue Ribbon Eel help needed

[kerem]

Hi people,

I need your urgent help!

I have a blue ribbon eel and a snowflakes eel in my 250 gallons fish only aquarium besides many fish.

The blue ribbon eel is the latest one I added to the tank. Its been 2 days since I added, but I could not manage to make it eat anything.

I would be glad if you could let me know your experiences and knowledge about how to feed the blue ribbon eel.

Thanks in advance.

Kerem

[Ranzan]

very very very baddddd idea blue ribbons have a very very very low survival rate and should not be purchased. The problem you are having is typical new to hobby sees nice eel decides to get it. before you do anything like that DO RESEARCH im sorry to tell you but your blue ribbon most likely will die soon you could try direct feeding with tongs or feeding stick (silver sides krill ect.)they are really nice eels but i dont think they should be kept in home aquariums.. The white ribbon eel is very nice to and they do alot better in captivity. Hope this helps and good luck with the eel

[billsreef]

I split your post out into it's own thread. You'll get better help this way ;)

Ribbon eels are very difficult to get eating as Ranzan mentioned. The best way to get them started is to keep them in a small (20 to 30 gallon) tank by themselves. Provide plenty of cover, PVC pipe can be creatively used to provide ready made burrows/caves. The cover is important, as they need to feel secure and safe. The next part is actually feeding them. I find salt water acclimated mollies are good as both dither fish and food. The small swimming fish help provide the eel a sense of security and some natural hunting. Once the eel as settled in and is starting to pick of those fish, it's time to start introducing it silversides on a feeding stick. Once you've gotten it to reliably eat from a feeding stick the eel will likely do well.

[danorth]

Guy at a local shop uses string, ping pong ball and some meat on the string and lets it bob around.....he has kept many ribbons alive with this method from what I've heard.

[kerem]

Hi People,

I would like to thank you all for your replies.

Later

Kerem

[ipodhommie]

on the advanced topics forum there is a thread about blue ribbon eels maybe around last march,

but the point he made is that people usually isolate the eel in a tank and try to feed it, but the success of the eel eating was based on having a food frenzy with tons of food everywhere and fish eating all over the place he said this got the eel to eat a small fish.

i'll try to find the link

[mikey3165]

any pics it is pretty cool looking

[techigirl78]

I agree with ipod - the thread is very detailed. Here's a post on a different forum from the same person: http://thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95765

Basically, setting up a pipe system for the eel and putting it in a tank with active fish seems to work. First, get a couple of PVC tubes in there for the eel to hide if you don't already have them. Then, start a feeding frenzy in your tank with your other fish. This should intrigue the eel, then try giving it live ghost shrimp or live feeder guppies, preferably from a feeder tongs/stick. Once its use to you, you can try feeding it different frozen foods.

This worked for me as well. When I tried to QT the eel for a short time, it had the typical dazed look and was not interested in food. Once I put it in with some active fish and created a feeding frenzy, the eel seemed to perk up and now eats about every other day - a variety of frozen foods.

[OnoIgotICH]

Im sorry but you are wrong for the person who said it was very low survival rate. In my LFS, they had a blue ribbon eel for at least 3 months in a time in just one of their 20 gallon tanks and a pipe.

It ate like a champ.

He sold it about 3-4 weeks ago.

Look, there something I believe, We are all humans, Asian, Black, White, we are classified into our own categories such as fish, angels, etc etc, and to go deeper such as flame angels, but yet we all have different personalities. There was a school of green chromi i had, about 10 of them and only 1 would be alone hiding in the rocks while the rest of them we're schooled. I had a yellow tang that would nip at my soft corals. Basically what you are doing with these fish are stereotyping. Not all fish are the same. Some adapt to aquarium life better then others.

[Pea-brain]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10857105#post10857105 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by OnoIgotICH
Im sorry but you are wrong for the person who said it was very low survival rate.

uhhhh huh.....okay.....Now lets look at the actual survival rate. It is ridiculously low. Period. He was right. Maybe the one your talking about did well. ONE. Most of them starve to death. That one didn't. their are exceptions to every rule. It makes sense to classify fish. A stereotypical jawfish burrows in sand. If you looked hard enough long enough you might find one that prefers to swim out in the open and not burrow. It still makes sense to classify them as burrowers. Occasionally a peaceful fish may go bad and kill the other fish. Doesn't mean the majority aren't peaceful , does it? Therefore, if the majority of these eels refuse to eat and die of starvation, I'd say they have a low survival rate.

Dan

[Ranzan]

1 eel is not enough to base anything off of its like saying blue spotted rays dont have a low survival rate because 1 person had one survive and 3 months is not long

[techigirl78]

I agree with pea-brain. Even as a person who owns a black ribbon eel, I definitely don't make suggestions to people to buy ribbon eels as they do have a dismal track record in captivity. For instance, mine eats good, but occassional my eel does get uncomfortable (for instance, the eel gets bothered by my coris wrasse hovering too close during feeding) and will not eat that night. Luckily, he will usually come out the next night to get his food, but he is much more touchy then my other fish, excluding my scorpionfish which is also a finicky eater.

Also, I don't believe the other examples, like the one out chromis and yellow tang nipping at corals, are that far off from the sterotypes. For chromis, I believe the weakest of the group gets beat on till it dies, up until its death becoming a recluse. This seems to go on until only 1 or 2 are left. I could be wrong though. I also have a blue tang that nips xenia, but the difference is tangs and even rabbitfish typically don't decimate a coral population, they nip sometimes as they forage for food.

[Malster1]

I've never had a problem with mine eating silversides until recently. Now it keeps gulping for what look's like air, and won't eat anymore. He has been tong feed for month's and then poof, he doesn't want to eat anymore.

Any idea's on what I can do to improve his health? Still moves around the tank and doesn't seem to have any noticeable diseases. Othe fish in tank: Grouper, Fuzzy Lion fish (which has stopped eating as well, but look's fine) Grouper eat's with the best of them.

[LukFox]

What does your water test at? Since two of your fish have stopped eating, I'd guess they're connected.

Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, sg, temperature?

[Malster1]

Tanks in my office. I'll need to bring down my test kit. Let you know shortly. Temp is 79

[Doc Holiday]

There are numerous fish available to hobbyists that have similar track records like Morish Idols, Regal Angels, etc. The statistics would probably be better if these were being bought by experienced and educated hobbyists who understands the dietary requirements of these fish and knows how to get them to eat. Unfortunetly they are mainly being bought by the novice and placed in inappropriate systems thus leading to their bad reps.

[stealthbimmer]

lfs has had one for ovr a year now....and eel is huge and thriving

[Doc Holiday]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11036695#post11036695 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LukFox
What does your water test at? Since two of your fish have stopped eating, I'd guess they're connected.

Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, sg, temperature?

Probably some sort of pathogen. Newly introduced fish can equal disease.

[Malster1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11042697#post11042697 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kalel1976
Probably some sort of pathogen. Newly introduced fish can equal disease.

Nope no new fish. All were introduced at the same time about 6 month's ago now.

[Doc Holiday]

Silversides can also introduce bacterial infections as they have a tendancy to spoil or you can sometime get sold a bad batch.

[Malster1]

That could be it then!

[cubano2480]

the best way to make a Blue Ribbon Eel eat is with live food they feed on small fish in the wild,Malster1 what else do u feed u eel silversides only is not good unless u add some vitamins,good luck with urs blue {black}ribbon eel, BTW I have seen many many of those eel eating but is true very low survival rate.........