Snowflake eel in reef, good or bad idea?

[reef_doug]

Good or bad? Any experiences in a reef?
Inverts are 3 shrimp (2 skunk cleaner and 1 fire)

[usefulidiot213]

The risk is the eel eating your shrimp.. Not to much danager to corals, but eels are agressive, and do eat inverts...

[LukFox]

They're crustacean eaters... the shrimp are probably toast if you add one, and it's possible that any small fish are on the menu, too. Snowflakes are very unpredictable. Some are perfect inhabitants, and others eat everything.

[Opes]

My 8 in. Snowflake was a perfect citizen........until it ate one of my Clown fish!!

[sean48183]

Shrimp are goner within a couple of days of it being in there but mine never messes with fish or corals. Will climb on top of corals sometimes but never eat them. Feed them every 2 days a chunk of food the size of their head and they will be pretty laid back. Mine actually gets picked on by most of my fish even the small ones.

[anydarnthing]

I had one for 2 years I got him when he was 9" long and I got rid of him because the bio-load was high and needed some room for more fairy wrasses. Mine actually hung out with cleaner shrimp and a Circus goby in his hole but that was mine you might get one like him or you could get a "Freddy Krueger" fish. Mine got about 2foot long and would only eat mysis or krill he wouldn't even eat a wrasse that my Scott's fairy wrasse killed and I found the body near his hole. Needless to say my Scott's killed more fishes then my eel he was in the tank with Peppermint and Skunk cleaners 10 Peps and 6 Cleaners in a 240.

[fisher84]

One big problem I have seen with having an eel is once they get big they start knocking over rocks. This is the only bad thing about them with coral. Like sean48183 said if you feed them enough they usually leave their tank mates alone no matter what they are.

[gunnwong]

I think snowflake eel will sure eat shrimp. How about try Golden Morey, I think his max size is around 7". If the money is not a problem. I have one golden eel in my 60g tank with pepermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp with no problem.

[rottbo]

I have one in my 76 reef and he is a model citizen he actually shares a cave with a mated pair of yellow watchman gobys and a pistol shrimp.... its quite funny the first time I saw his head hanging out of their cave I thought that he had taken them out till I saw all three of them come out later that night now they hang out together.. the only aggression issue that I have is from a yellow tail blue damsel that always wants to beat the eel up when he comes out he bats him in the face with his tail til he goes back in a cave.... he is almost 12" he started in the reef as a 4" baby he has never attempted to harm any fish at all or any shrimp clam snail or crab he is a model citizen... lets hope he stays that way its kinda cool having him in there

[latazyo]

mine is a model citizen, but I learned the hard way about keeping him well fed

I had a yellow coris wrasse that had some fin nip and fin trauma...almost like the fin had been attempted to be pulled off (like an eel catching it and it thrashing around)

I didnt see the encounter, so I can't blame the eel, but the only other fish in my tank is a tiny pink skunk clownfish

so now I keep the eel well fed to avoid any further fish losses (the coris is deceased)

[reef_doug]

Thanks for all the replies.

I'm going to pass on adding one, would hate to lose a true percula pair and rearrange frags all the time.