Eel selection

[rnelson]

I'm looking to get an eel for my 240 FOWLR....no fish in it yet.....I have a PVC cave built for the eel but can't decide what kind to buy......was looking for some advice from eel keepers.....the ones I am considering are:

Goldentail
Jeweled
Snowflake
Tessalata

I've done some research on them but would like some real-world advice, so any comments would be appreciated, especially concerning activity and aggression level.

Thanks!

[Patchy]

Snowflakes are always nice, its alot safer keeping other fish with them, they are commonly availible and you can get them a tiny sizes and watch them grow.
and im not scared to put my hand in my tank unlike some of them other eels ;-)

[Petstorejunkie]

stay as far away from the tesselata as possible, unless you want to devote the entire tank to him, there is no other way to keep them. period, end of deliberation. the goldentail or the snowflake would be my top picks

[rnelson]

I've read that the SFE is probably the safest.....I kind of like the looks of the Goldentail better though.....I guess, since they are both relatively small, I could do both the SFE and the Goldentail.....

Does the Goldentail get in the open area much or does it stay hidden?

[Patchy]

my friends goldentail hides alot and wont tolerate any other eels. his tried both a wolf and SFE. may just be his eel though

[NorthFace]

I'd go with the Jeweled of Goldentail. Both will stay relatively small, and arent too aggressive.

[bigdee65]

I had a jeweled moray in my 135g for over a year and a half and loved it. He would get a bit aggressive at times and most of my fish wouldn't go near his cave.

If you are planning to keep only big fish then I would suggest the jeweled but if you are going to have smaller fish the SFE would be your best bet.

Oh and my jeweled was never shy and ate everything. I would be feeding the tank and he would come up to the top and grab some krill (or whatever he could get) and the drop back down to the bottom of the tank.

[rnelson]

The smallest fish will be my 5" Red Coris Wrasse which is in my reef tank right now, but shouldn't be. He regularly dines on my smaller snails....so he's going to get moved to the FOWLR. The other fish will be a large angel, a trigger, and a tang.

[SW1TCH]

What about a Zebra and a Goldentail? The zebra is a very docile eel.

[bigdee65]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6436132#post6436132 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rnelson
The smallest fish will be my 5" Red Coris Wrasse which is in my reef tank right now, but shouldn't be. He regularly dines on my smaller snails....so he's going to get moved to the FOWLR. The other fish will be a large angel, a trigger, and a tang.

I think the Jeweled would do great in that tank. they are awsome creatures and I not as common as some of the other eels.

[LUCASM3]

I would say Zebra. Especially if you like the Tessalata. Similar patterns but a lot more docile.

[johno4]

I agree with Lucasm3 and harley dude, the zebra has cool patterns and just like the sfe it feeds mainly on crustateans so your fish would be the safe.

I am going to add one to my tank soon.

[andynyc]

Or you can try the Banana Eel. I swear has to be one of the nicest eels I've ever seen. My LFS has one in stock now for $250 and its about a foot and a half long. I wish I had a tank for it.

[Confooseld]

Banana Eels are a color morph of golden tail eels.

[Petstorejunkie]

and they are awesome! they are one of my fav eels, if you are willing to shell out the $ for one

[rnelson]

Good suggestions all......I'm leaning toward the Goldentail......just concerned about the aggressiveness to tankmates.....it seems like everyone has a Snowflake, and I'd just like something different....no knock on the Snowflake though....

Don't the Zebras and Jeweled get pretty large?

[Dubbin1]

If you want a mellow, cool looking eel that everyone doesn't have then you may want to take a look at a spotted snake eel. Mine is completely harmless to anything in the tank including inverts and corals.
Here are some pictures of Mr Eel :) Hes about 30" long.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/dubbin1/PICT2160.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/dubbin1/mreel.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/dubbin1/hello.jpg

[Patchy]

i wish i could get one of thouse snake eels here....
has ever attacked anything dubbin1?

[SW1TCH]

Nice looking eel Dubbin1 what does he eat?

rnelson: the zebra can get to about 4'10" but with the tank you are putting him in that would be plenty IMO. I also have read that people keep the golgentail and zebra in the same tank with no problems. I myself plan on keeping that combo as soon as i get my bigger tank. Although the eel that Dubbin1 has looks really cool and the color contrast along with the pattern would look great with the zebra as well as the goldentail. Now i have to re think my choices... Thanks Dubbin1... LOL

[pitt_prodigy]

Zebras do get pretty large....depending on how they are fed. BUT i can guarantee that they wont harm any of your fish. My heralds angel pushes mine away from the feeding clip with his tail (while swimming backwards) and the eel just lets him. If he wanted too he could easily swallow the angel in one gulp but he just doesnt have any interest in him at all. Put a clam in there and its a different story though!!

I like em because their super docile, reef safe (w/ caution due to the fact that they are clumsy and will knock rocks over that arent secured) and have the personality more of a dog than a fish. I set my tank up specifically for housing a zebra (pvc, lr cave though whole 9) but when he gets too big my parents have a 300g reef that is ready and waiting for him. Unless i get my bigger tank by then.

I dont think that jeweled get that large. I thought they usually run around 2'.... but i could be mistaken. Good luck.

[SW1TCH]

Hey Dubbin1 did you order your eel online ? if so where from or did you get him at a lfs in ohio?

[rnelson]

Dubbin1,

That is one awesome eel!!!!! I think it's the one I'll go for, at least in the looks department......I'll do some research on them, but they look great!

[Bret61081]

If you want something that stays small yet different and won;t harm anything in the tank...look in to a Ghost eel. They are a snake Moray. They look just like the ribbon eels but white and smaller. they stay just about 2'. I've had mine since may and it has never bothered anything in my tank. hardy too...he lived through 2 major hurricanes! Worth a look into...

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=7283

[rnelson]

Bret,

Nice eel also......looking for one with a little more color to it, but it's a good-looking eel......I like the fact that it is not much of a fish eater, relatively speaking.

[MBuck]

You might check into the banded eel also, alot like Dubbins, stays rather small, not aggressive, white with black bands around his girth, I can't post a pic right now, but if you PM with you email, i will send a pic!

[rnelson]

Well, I have a SFE in the tank right now, and I'm getting a Zebra to go in there with him.....

I made a really bad decision yesterday (first day in the tank for the SFE).....I put a 2.5" purple lobster in there with him.....acclimated them at noon yesterday.....when I came home, I went to the tank and was going to point out the lobster to my wife.....well I found him....in about 4 pieces.....his claws, head, and tail. The rest of him was gone. So I guess my SFE ate his first meal........I knew not to put shrimp or small crabs in there with him, but it never dawned on me not to put a lobster in there.....I feel really stupid.

What kind of scavengers would be safe in there with the eels, maybe a horseshoe crab?

[SW1TCH]

Cool choice on eels man. Sorry for the lose of the lobster. I have snails and hermit crabs in my tank with my zebra and trigger. Neither one of them have any intrest in them. but i do keep them well feed. Also i added them when lights are out. Hope this helps.