Open up and say "Ahhhhh"

[Delphinus]

I don't mind the wee little snakes.. I don't think I could handle the feeding aspect though. An eel will do.

It was the most stressful period for the first month that he wasn't eating. Squid was what finally won over this guy. Not the stuff I bought initially from the supermarket, but I eventually bought some from an LFS that is a sort of shredded squid in frozen cubes. Since then he's eaten with gusto the squid, and then clams, mussels and oysters on the half shell. (I buy them at T&T anyhow for the sake of my CBB, I freeze them then slice them in half when I take them out .. well I guess the oysters I more technically just "smash with a hammer"). He's also had some cut prawn but he doesn't seem to like it as much.

I've made up some glass covers for the tank. I initially had an eggcrate cover but I think he could fit through eggcrate if he wanted so I went with glass. I also had to put gutter guard on the overflow as I found him in the sump on day 3.

I had some browning out in the zoanthids because until I had the glass covers cut right, I used cargo netting tied over the tank. It turns out this tank isn't quite as square as I thought it was .. so I had to get the edges of the covers ground down to match the slight trapezoidal effect going on in there. I have it in 3 sections - one in the front with a cabinet knob I can lift to feed or access the tank, a middle section that is about 1mm too wide still so a very snug fit, and then the back I had to make out of acrylic to work around the locline return and the air valve in the Stockman overflow. I didn't realize how bad the acrylic would sag so I had to make a sort of stepping piece so that the acrylic can rest on top of the glass. I actually wanted to have a glass piece cut but apparently just to get a piece of glass on the CnC table would cost $250 so .. um yeah I kinda needed to find a "more better economical" way.

Think the latin on this guy is actually G.melatremus. I think G. miliaris is yellower and not a dwarf (max size around 70cm?). This guy is tiny.

[fishoholic]

Glad to hear he's eating Out of curiosity what is the smallest size tank suitable for this eel?

[justinl]

ahh, yes G. melatremus. The eyes should have been a dead giveaway. and you're right, yes, melatremus is usually paler overall with less yellow.

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

Glad to hear he's eating Out of curiosity what is the smallest size tank suitable for this eel?

Hard to say. I've heard two schools of thought on this: big or small. Big because they'll have more room and be comfortable sooner. Small because you might never see them in a bigger tank. Who knows.

This guy is in a 20g for now .. but .. my intention has always been to move him into a bigger tank when the tank is ready. He's in there by himself and I think I would see more of him if he had other tankmates to create movement in there. Plus, having to have a cover on top of the small tank has resulted in brownout in the majority of my zoanthids (this was originally just my zoanthid tank). Soooo .. in hindsight I'm not sure I'm crazy about the small tank suggestion. I guess it's OK if it's setup just for the eel but trying to make a tank service two goals like this .. I dunno, it's a little disappointing seeing all the wonderful hues of reds, pinks, blue, greens, yellows, orange ...etc .. all turn into less wonderful hues of brown, more brown, or brownest.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Hard to say. I've heard two schools of thought on this: big or small. Big because they'll have more room and be comfortable sooner. Small because you might never see them in a bigger tank. Who knows.

This guy is in a 20g for now .. but .. my intention has always been to move him into a bigger tank when the tank is ready. He's in there by himself and I think I would see more of him if he had other tankmates to create movement in there. Plus, having to have a cover on top of the small tank has resulted in brownout in the majority of my zoanthids (this was originally just my zoanthid tank). Soooo .. in hindsight I'm not sure I'm crazy about the small tank suggestion. I guess it's OK if it's setup just for the eel but trying to make a tank service two goals like this .. I dunno, it's a little disappointing seeing all the wonderful hues of reds, pinks, blue, greens, yellows, orange ...etc .. all turn into less wonderful hues of brown, more brown, or brownest.

What you don't love brown fugly zoos?! What type of fish would you put in with your eel? Basically (if my boyfriend approves) I would plumb in a 40(ish)g (long) fully covered fowlr tank into my 90g sump into one of the pumps that runs one of our 2 230g tanks. I would use PC lights (I have 3 24" ones) to light it. I would also make a small mesh screen lid/cover for the tank. It would be set up for the eel, however if adding a few fish would help....Hummmm......

[Delphinus]

They say anything that won't fit in their mouths should be OK. So smaller nano type fish are a no-no, and I would imagine ornamental shrimp would be at risk. I have 3 or 4 emerald crabs in the tank and they seem to be still there and fully intact so far. Mine doesn't seem to be a huge eater though. I can only feed him 2 times a week, any more often than that and the food is just ignored.

I'm no expert by any means but your layout sounds to me like it should work well..

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

They say anything that won't fit in their mouths should be OK. So smaller nano type fish are a no-no, and I would imagine ornamental shrimp would be at risk. I have 3 or 4 emerald crabs in the tank and they seem to be still there and fully intact so far. Mine doesn't seem to be a huge eater though. I can only feed him 2 times a week, any more often than that and the food is just ignored.

I'm no expert by any means but your layout sounds to me like it should work well..

Cool, thanks. I got reading the eel thread in the lounge and now I can't help but wonder if one would be ok in my 230g, even though it is an open top.

[Delphinus]

Could you build a fence maybe (ie, sort of a canopy without a top) - stays with the open-top concept, but might help encourage keeping escape artists on the inside?