help with my eel!!!

[freewilly2]

four days ago my eel jumped out of the tank. after much flopping around i got him back in and he has been hiding in the rockwork ever since. he doesnt comeout when i feed them anymore. he used to always come out when i dropped food in. is this normal or is this something i should be worried about.

[RBU1]

Well in my opinion it is not normal that he left your tank. I have 2 eels in my 300 that have plenty of places to hide in rock. I think that is the key. If they have an environment they like they will not leave the tank.

Now to the questions you asked. My white eye moray will stay in the rock sometimes for over a week. Sometimes they come out when I feed the tank and sometimes they don't. I read that eels can go for a month or more without eating. I would give it some time and see what happens.

[LisaD]

give it some time. eels are pretty tough. make sure water quality is good, and that nothing is picking on it. if it is still alive, it will probably make a full recovery.

what kind of eel, and how long have you had it?

[DamnPepShrimp]

Eels go on hunger strikes for long periods of time. I have heard of some eels going well over a month without eating! If I re-aquascape my tank, my eel will get nervous and won't eat for a few days. He has never tried to jump out though. He will get used to everything again and be fine. What kind of eel is it and how was it before it jumped? Wonder if it was getting picked on?

[Grouperhead]

I've had two eels that went carpet surfing, and were out of the tank for 3-4hrs +. Both came back around after a few weeks. Make sure you keep your params in check the next two weeks or so.

[saltyguy51]

He will be fine, I have had eels sent from Hawaii and have been in a bag for 2 days in shipping and are fine in the tank, there are real hardy.

[freewilly2]

i have a 15 inch snowflake eel that ive had for bout 2 years and no one has been picking on him. and i saw him poking his head out earier today so i thinkn its all good now. he jumped while he was trying to get the meat out of the clam i was feeding him. he grabs it and shakes it violently. so while he was shaking he just popped right out the top.

[LisaD]

glad he's doing well. snowflakes are the worst for leaving the tank.

[freewilly2]

why?

[anbosu]

Some fish are just more likely to jump out of an aquarium, I'm not really sure anyone can provide a valid reason. Snowflakes are worse than other kinds of eels from what I have read, however. I had one jump about a year ago and unfortunately by the time I got home it was beyond saving. I only had a small gap in my canopy but somehow he fit through.

[LisaD]

I'm not sure why, but I've seen them moving across land/very shallow water from tidal pool to tidal pool in Hawaii. Maybe it's part of how they hunt, but instead of another pool of water, they find carpet.

For whatever reason, the eel most likely to leave a tank, IME, are snowflake eels. I have kept two, and both escaped covered tanks. On the other hand, I kept my zebra moray in an open tank for about 5-6 years, and it never walked, or tried. (BTW, it is now in a pretty well covered tank.)

[sean48183]

I think the smaller the eel the more likely it is to leave. Like Lisad said they eat in tidal pools when young and will travel pretty far across land to get to them. Tidal pools are full of all kinds of yummy little critters that have no escape really. As they get older they need big critters which they mostly won't find in tidal pools but out in the sea. I have a larger snowflake eel that hasn't tried escape since he was a tiny fellow and there are plenty of openings in my eggcrate lid.

[LisaD]

FWIW, I saw pretty big snowflakes moving around from pool to pool, at least 24-30".

[anbosu]

The one I had jump out of my tank was 18" or so at the time of his death.