earl the eels diet

[BeelzeBob]

so i have a gymnothorax tile (BW Moray)
when i got him his was about the length of a pencil, and about twice as thick. he ate cocktail shrimp (and other shrimps) crab, goldies, guppies and ghost shrimp.

Now he really shows no intrest for the thawed frozen food on a stick, and will only eat ghost shrimp, guppies and my baby mollies.

i've tried squid and octopus, but he showed no real intrest in that shiz.

i really need to diversify homies diet, but dont know how

so i'm really lookin for some one to help a hippy out and holla back with some helpfull hints as to what i can offer him, and how to respark his intrests in food thats already dead

[BeelzeBob]

Any Thoughts??????????????????????????????

[BeelzeBob]

man, anyway i can divert anyone's attention away from mudskippers and bumblebees for a second to give me moray eel advice?

[plah831]

check out this thread about a guy trying to feed his fire eel that also wouldn't eat much besides certain live foods
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79022

hope that helps. try the garlic thing, it'll stimulate appetite. i had a SW snowflake moray eel that liked feeder goldfish and freeze-dried krill, also ate a bunch of my damsels. i just got lucky, somehow he liked the smell of the krill or something.

i'm having the same problem with baby dwarf puffers that won't eat anything but live worms and snails. i also want them to get variety for nutrition. i'm gonna try the garlic thing soon as my Tubifex worms run out.

[BeelzeBob]

thanx, so iguess i gotta do a little culinary experimentation.

what about earthworms? i've heard mixed info, and i worry bout a marine animal eating earthworms?!?

[Toirtis]

I havenever tried earthworms on a marine animal, but do not see a potential problem with it.

Have you tried mussel or scallop?

[fishcatch22]

cockles are great food, too.

[travis]

feeding saltwater animals things that live in freshwater causes liver damage over time, i know that. i would think that an earthworm is mainly freshwater (compared to a saltwater fish or invertebrate) and therefore bad for a marine animal because its chemistry (mainly salt content, i would think) is different. i would stay away from earthworms for a marine eel.

[reiverix]

To get my arrowhead puffer on dead food I took a silverside and tied it to a piece of black thread. Then I just dangled and jerked it around in front of it's face. Worked for me. Now it comes to the surface and takes them out of my hand.

[BeelzeBob]

WTF is a cockle?

[Toirtis]

WTF is a cockle?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockle ....I hear that Mary quite contrary has a few...;)

[BeelzeBob]

no way....
is that something they naturally persue?
or just what someone found to be a good source of nutrition?
can you get live ones?

[perek]

Dead Fish & crustaceons + Wooden Skewer = Eel Feeding

[BeelzeBob]

still no love.

wouldn't even touch a cockle, just looked at the worm.

see it worries me cause im running out of mollies, and if he eats to many fresh water critters, i worry about malnutrition (travis' liver concern)

im at a loss

[iamgodhahahah]

I feed my eel mainly krill, but occassionally I'll toss him a Goldfish or 2.

[FreddytheFish]

Hunger strikes are not uncommon in eels.

I suggest not feeding live to him anymore (at least not until the problem's solved), sometimes fish that used to take frozen will only take live after the keeper gives him some. Only feed him live when you are sure he is starving to a point that it is dangerous to his health.

Just keep trying, using the feeding stick method and the string method rev suggested. He'll take some eventually.

[BeelzeBob]

the only krill i can find are the frozen cubes, can you get fresh ones at like king soopers or what?

i just dont think earl would eat a frozen cube,

speaking of health....

i've noticed color changes now and again. i feel like when he's happy anf fed, his color is very dark.

However, when i feel he hasn't eaten (lack of GS, guppies etc) that his color lightens dramatically. this worries me when it happens to the point that ill drop $30 on guppies GS and whatever else i can get live.

am i wrong to assume that these color changes are related to how hungry my eel is?

[iamgodhahahah]

What I use is basicly a "slab" of krill. By that I mean a frozen sheet of frozen krill that I brake off a little bit and feed to my eel. I sparingly feed him live, though, because it worries me that he may not go back to frozen.
When my eel is hungry he leaves his little "cave" area and will start swimming all over the tank. I've never noticed any color changes, but then again, my Eel isn't that old.

And I noticed you have Bumblebee Gobies and the eel in the same tank. The eel doesn't eat them or anything? I was really thinking about getting 2-3 of them, but in the end decided I didn't want to see the eel gulp them down in 5 seconds.

Edit: I actually just noticed this, but my Eel is a little lighter in color (he hasn't eaten in a bit). So yeah, that's probably the reason.

[BeelzeBob]

my gobies actually hang out around the rim of his cave, right in front of him.
its like they got him figured out, to the point that they use him for protection