View Full Version : New Moray
rgentry123
03/19/2012, 09:07 AM
So i picked up a skeletor from DD and it was delivered on saturday. Doing well and active during acclimation and now after putting him in my tank he has disappeared into the rockwork and I haven't seen him since. This is my first eel so just want to make sure I'm not freaking out for no reason but do they normally stay hidden for a few days after the initial introduction? He was a fairly tiny eel at 6 1/2" so it has me concerned that he's not getting fed. I would assume a smaller eel needs to be fed more often but I could be wrong in this assumtion as well.
DoubleM 10
03/19/2012, 12:07 PM
well IME eels usually do not like a new enviorment much untill the find a spot in the tank that is comfortable for them.
Also since you mentioned that you got yours from DD(as i did and mine will be here tomorrow) the box they come in is pitch black. what i would suggest and what i am going to do is make sure the lights are off. the lights would be extremely bright if it hasent seen light for 24 hours.
also you could entice the fish to eat with ghist shrimp. after that try frozen delights
LisaD
03/19/2012, 02:48 PM
sorry duplicate post with the one below
LisaD
03/19/2012, 02:48 PM
+1 on Matt's post. Also, make sure you don't have anything in the tank that could eat it, and be sure the tank is covered pretty well. I don't have any experience with skeletors and haven't heard about them leaving their tanks, but early on is a time I think an eel might take off if not yet adjusted to a new environment.
rgentry123
03/19/2012, 06:47 PM
i honestly dont know if its even big enough to eat a live ghost shrimp. i have a feeling what has happened is that its gotten inside of my pvc pipe structure for my live rock and hasnt come out. im hoping it will come out soon. All my params were on point so it should be ok im just hoping it's getting some stray food floating around in the tank wherever its hiding at.
rgentry123
03/19/2012, 08:16 PM
whoooo hoooo!!!! so i turned off the lights a little early tonight to see if he would come out at night and sure enough i found the little sucker in a rock cave. so, i feel good knowing he is still alive in there but i guess my problem of feeding him still comes up. if he only comes out when it's pitch black how am i supposed to feed him? he's definitely to small for ghost shrimp\. is there any alternative? i have thousands of pods and other critters in the tank that come out at night, will it eat those?
anaya
03/19/2012, 10:26 PM
I would imagine it would eat the night critters. Try to leave a very dim light on as ambient lighting after you turn off the other lights for a night, then the next night do the same but about an hour after the lighting change, try feeding?
LisaD
03/20/2012, 12:17 AM
DD should be able to tell you exactly what they were feeding, and the size. The eel may be okay with small ghost shrimp, some eels will tear them apart first. You could also try offering appropriate sized pieces of raw table shrimp, squid, clam. As suggested, you could try feeding at night under dim lighting. Alternatively, you could leave them outside the cave at night in a small feeding dish so if they aren't eaten, you can siphon up the left over the next day. I'm not sure if live saltwater mysis shrimp would be too small, but you could also source some of these and introduce to the tank.
DoubleM 10
03/20/2012, 11:20 AM
whoooo hoooo!!!! so i turned off the lights a little early tonight to see if he would come out at night and sure enough i found the little sucker in a rock cave. so, i feel good knowing he is still alive in there but i guess my problem of feeding him still comes up. if he only comes out when it's pitch black how am i supposed to feed him? he's definitely to small for ghost shrimp\. is there any alternative? i have thousands of pods and other critters in the tank that come out at night, will it eat those?
I would try small silver sides. They seem to be my go to when it comes to eels. All of my eels have rated them. Even the famed tough to keep black ribbon eels eats them with concerning aggression
rgentry123
03/20/2012, 11:45 AM
DD should be able to tell you exactly what they were feeding, and the size. The eel may be okay with small ghost shrimp, some eels will tear them apart first. You could also try offering appropriate sized pieces of raw table shrimp, squid, clam. As suggested, you could try feeding at night under dim lighting. Alternatively, you could leave them outside the cave at night in a small feeding dish so if they aren't eaten, you can siphon up the left over the next day. I'm not sure if live saltwater mysis shrimp would be too small, but you could also source some of these and introduce to the tank.
sounds good. ill try and give LA a call after work today and what they were feeding him. now that i have some idea of where he is hanging out in the tank ill try dropping some shrimp or silverside near the opening of the cave at lights out if he isnt poking his head out today. I'm still thinking hes hiding out in the PVC structure for my LR thought during the day. Is it possible that the other fish in the tank are possibly intimidating him? they all seemed to completely ignore him when he went in the tank but i dont know if because of his small size he thinks he's going to be attacked or somthing. Tankmates are a CB butterfly, melanurus wrasse, Occ. clownfish, a mandarin & a kole tang.
rgentry123
03/22/2012, 08:28 PM
FINALLY!!!! He came out tonight and stayed out enough for me to feed him! He ate PE mysis and some frozen mussels as well. I'm stoked that he's eating so well, but I don't want to over feed him, I know morays don't need to eat as often as other fish, is every other day to much?
How is your eel? We need an update!
rgentry123
04/05/2012, 06:55 PM
really well up until yesterday actually. he had been coming out every night at feeding time and would swim around the tank. i fed him quite a bit on monday and tuesday night and he didnt come out either last night or tonight but i've heard eel's will sometimes go on hunger strikes so im trying to not get to worried just yet.
Great! He hasnt bothered any of the fish?
I really wouldn't worry about him not eating for a few days. They can go without food for a few weeks.
Dragon moray ki
04/05/2012, 08:02 PM
I fed mine small pieces of shrimp. Make sure you have a tight cover that's how mine died.
rgentry123
04/06/2012, 06:19 AM
Great! He hasnt bothered any of the fish?
I really wouldn't worry about him not eating for a few days. They can go without food for a few weeks.
no,but the fish are all also quite a bit bigger than he is. he's only about 6 1/2". i'll see if i can snap a pic of him if he comes out this weekend. He's absolutely my favorite purchase to date.
rgentry123
04/06/2012, 06:22 AM
I fed mine small pieces of shrimp. Make sure you have a tight cover that's how mine died.
I've got it covered pretty well, so far I've been feeding him PE mysis as that's about the only food he's really taken with gusto. I have gotten him eating small pieces of scallop but his mouth is so small it's to get small enough pieces. Plus a lot of times he will spit it back out and wait for the mysis :lmao:
SDguy
04/06/2012, 06:36 AM
Try small pieces of jumbo shrimp from the grocery store. He should go for that. I have a small Echidna polyzona, and he definitely prefers shrimp to scallop, but will eat both. I also just let him tell me when he's hungry by coming out of his rock, rather than trying to feed him daily.
rgentry123
04/06/2012, 08:18 AM
Ok, good advice. i'll try it that way and wait until he comes out for food. dont have much of a choice since he's not coming out at all right now anyway :lolspin:
collegeman
04/06/2012, 08:53 AM
I purchased a skeletor from DD this week. I have to say it is also my favorite purchase. Mines started to eat as i was acclimating him to my tank. This was the first fish that started to eat within minutes of being released from the shipping bag. He has been in the tank for almost one day and is very active. He also came out to eat last night when I feed the fish in the tank. Mines is eating small pieces of table shrimp.
The trick is to make sure the pieces are small so he doesn't have to do much work. Also take the shell of the shrimp. Pieces that i fed him with the shell on he did not eat. Maybe its too hard for them to eat since they are so small.
Try small pieces of jumbo shrimp from the grocery store. He should go for that. I have a small Echidna polyzona, and he definitely prefers shrimp to scallop, but will eat both. I also just let him tell me when he's hungry by coming out of his rock, rather than trying to feed him daily.
Is he in your reef tank?
SDguy
04/06/2012, 01:56 PM
No, my QT right now. Desined for the FOWLR.
LisaD
04/07/2012, 10:06 AM
you asked several posts ago how much to feed. Smaller eels are growing so I would offer food daily, but not too much at a time. With juvie fishes, frequent, smaller feedings are advisable, IMO.
rgentry123
04/09/2012, 08:35 AM
well, i have unfortunate news. i didnt seal up everything as well as i had thought and i've lost him. He slipped into my overflow overnight and went down through my plumbing and got caught in my skimmers pump. Thats the reason i hadnt seen him for a few days. Really bummed me out but a lesson learned I think. I will probably get another in the future but get one either a little bigger or if I get another small one I'll put him in my 20 gallon QT(that has no overflow and it much easier to seal all the way around) and keep him there until he gets some size.
collegeman
04/09/2012, 09:00 AM
Sorry for your lost. I glued 1/4 in netting over my overflow to keep mines out. I also covered the entire tank with 1/4 netting. Hopefully that keeps mines from getting out.
SDguy
04/09/2012, 09:21 AM
So sorry to hear. :(
rgentry123
04/09/2012, 10:00 AM
yeah, it really is a shame but i guess it is my own fault and a learning experience. really loved that little guy. I made sure he couldnt get out of the top to actually jump but it hadnt really even crossed my mind put netting over the overflow inlets to keep him out of there.
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