New Fish Some questions

[gnorts]

Ok so I have cycled my tank and gone through the whole process. About 2 weeks ago added clowns into my tank and they have been doing well, eating, swimming, and generally happy all around. Last night I decided to get my next fish/eel. I bought a snowflake eel and a bursa trigger. The trigger had no problem after about 20 minutes coming out and swimming even eating! Now the snowflake eel on the other hand had no problem swimming and going through the rocks and looking happy, but it dosnt seem he will eat. Now is this something I should be worried about? It only been 1 day just getting pre anxiety i guess. I tried feeding him Frozen Krill and Brine Shrimp and the trigger and clowns had no problem eating it all but the eel just kind of sat there and watched them.

Anything that the eel might like espeicially that I can entice him with?

[JVITAL55]

Are you hand feeding it? You must put the food right in front of it's face. Eels have very poor eyesight and will not find the food if you're just dumping it in the tank.

[gnorts]

What about live fish? There able to find them alright? Could I Feed him live guppies and such?

Thanks in advance sorry if these questions are dumb.

[JVITAL55]

They are not dumb questions, but no they will not be able to catch live fish. They are too slow. You can feed them pretty much any kind of frozen foods (or fresh) like silversides, squid, clams, cockle, etc. What you need to do is get a feeding stick or tongs, put the food on it, and put it right in front of the eel's face. It should grab it then. If it doesn't, I wouldn't be too worried. Eeels will eat when they want to. Sometimes they may go for a week without eating.

[EllieSuz]

A common mistake for Newbies is to add too many fish too fast. Adding the eel and the trigger at the same time may be a jolt to your system. I advise testing for ammonia a couple of times a day and keeping fresh seawater on the ready, just in case. An eel contributes a heavy bio-load to your tank. Depending on the size of the trigger, you may already be nearing capacity.

[gnorts]

yes im aware of the bio-load and have been testing the trigger and eel are both very small. The trigger being may 1.5" and the eel 6-7". Thanks for the advice though and I will monitor it frequently as possible.

good site quick responses thanks for the help.

[MrTuskfish]

I sure agree with all the above posts.
1.) Be patient! Many fish will go days (even longer) before they eat. 2.) Eels require special care, usually hand-feeding as mentioned above. 3.) Avoid the "impulse" buy. Do a lot of research & ask questions BEFORE you buy a new fish. There are many fish (especially juvis that look cute at the lfs, then grow up) that could be a disaster for your tank. The Bursa should be OK for now, but he can grow to 8"+ and will be quite aggressive. BTW; the only dumb question is one you don't ask. I sure wish these forums were around when I started; it would have saved a lot of fish and $$!

[gnorts]

yea I understand the Trigger will be aggresive and also 8"+ but I don't plan on staying in this tank for long run as I still live at home and plan on moving out. haha. 55 is as big as I can get in my current house when i move out My plans are much larger. Im using this as an experiment to get into the hobby. I have the outdoor aspect all down with my pond and now exploring the salt water hobby. Although money has been flying out the door I still love the hobby and that all that matters to me!!! THanks for all the help and patient I do understand haha

[MrTuskfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13838711#post13838711 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gnorts
yea I understand the Trigger will be aggresive and also 8"+ but I don't plan on staying in this tank for long run as I still live at home and plan on moving out. haha. 55 is as big as I can get in my current house when i move out My plans are much larger. Im using this as an experiment to get into the hobby. I have the outdoor aspect all down with my pond and now exploring the salt water hobby. Although money has been flying out the door I still love the hobby and that all that matters to me!!! THanks for all the help and patient I do understand haha
Realizing that money is flying out the door, and laughing about it , is one of the first signs of SW addiction. Enjoy! (and plan on a 2nd job.)

[gnorts]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13839141#post13839141 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrTuskfish
Realizing that money is flying out the door, and laughing about it , is one of the first signs of SW addiction. Enjoy! (and plan on a 2nd job.)

Ha thanks and I'm already aquare of the addiction thank you very much. I sat in front of the tank last night while my GF watch tv I watched my Tank, Is that bad? haha thanks for the help and for helping with future questions;) ;)

[Snapper66]

;) Dont Worry it Has Been only one Day When I first Got My SnowFlake He Did not Start Eating for Several Days.When He did it was a Shark Feeding Freenzy,Feed Him Chopped Food They Have Bad Eye Sight Get a Feeder Stick to Feed Him.:p

[gnorts]

thanks I am tomorrow going to get silver sides and a feeder stick. Thanks for the help everyone:)