Fresh/brackish water moray

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lucky_ducky

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I have had a pair of snowflake eel ( gymnothorax tile ) for almost a month. i have never seen them eating, and their condition shows that they are starving. i have tried to feed them with live brown worms but they refuse to take them. also i have put in small sized guppies small enough to fit their mouths. Even that has failed. I have limited food resources, shrimps and such things are not available with the pet stores.

The eels are about 10inches in size, my fish tank is 60in x 15in x 15in, planted and with places for hiding.

I've heard that these fish need proper conditions like, hiding places. They feed out at dark, so feeding them in dark etc or else they go without food for a couple of months and die.

And now one of my eels is in very bad condition, fallen on sides, rarely swims and has become thin. I need to feed it somehow but it just doesnt accept any food. Can somebody guide me through this ??
 

olaf

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Add salt?!
What is your SG?
What is your water chem?
If this does not work it might have parasites.
A few drops of garlic juice on their food (frozen Krill) will kill off parasites.
 

lucky_ducky

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olaf said:
Add salt?!
What is your SG?
What is your water chem?
If this does not work it might have parasites.
A few drops of garlic juice on their food (frozen Krill) will kill off parasites.

ya i do add salt. but how do i determine sg ? n how do i tell u abt water chem? and coming to the food, all i have is frozen tubifex worms, pellets, flaked sea food, pellets for arowana and i can get live worms to feed. and they dont just take that. do u want me to add garlic juice to these food items? but they dont just come out to eat. i have read that they eat live fish at night, which r smaller and closer to them they have poor eye sight.
 

olaf

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Your LFS probably can do a water chemistry test for you.
You measure your SG with a salt gravity meter which you can also get at your LFS.
Get ghost shrimp from your LFS and try that. If you can't get ghost shrimp go to your Local Bait Shop and see if they have crayfish ("softshell crabs") or any other crustation. (If they have pinchers break them off.) You will want something NO BIGGER than an inch long. Don't put them all in at once since crayfish are freshwater, ONLY put one in at a time.

Where are you located? Region only, example "midwest".
If you are some where near an ocean Alantic/Gulf/Pacific you are more likely to get stuff for your fish.

Summary:
Buy a SG meter
Get a Water Chemistry test
Buy 6 crustations (pinchers removed).
 

tricksterpup

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Does your guy look like this?
He is a saltwater fish and probably needing Salt only tank.


But they do eat crustations at this age, so you probably need to feed them krill and possibly live ghost shrimp if you can get them. Also if you live along the coast, as stated above you can get live bait that will work instead of the ghost shrimp.
 

lucky_ducky

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Mar 22, 2005
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olaf said:
Your LFS probably can do a water chemistry test for you.
You measure your SG with a salt gravity meter which you can also get at your LFS.
Get ghost shrimp from your LFS and try that. If you can't get ghost shrimp go to your Local Bait Shop and see if they have crayfish ("softshell crabs") or any other crustation. (If they have pinchers break them off.) You will want something NO BIGGER than an inch long. Don't put them all in at once since crayfish are freshwater, ONLY put one in at a time.

Where are you located? Region only, example "midwest".
If you are some where near an ocean Alantic/Gulf/Pacific you are more likely to get stuff for your fish.

Summary:
Buy a SG meter
Get a Water Chemistry test
Buy 6 crustations (pinchers removed).
.....well, no cray fish or shrimps are available at the pet shop. I think the eels were delivered at the pet store mistaking them for some common fresh water eel. My aquarist didnt even recognize what eels they are, when i took a look at them i thought that they were fresh water morays as they looked just like a different species of moray and got a pair home. Then i did a little bit of search work on the internet and found out what species they actually are and what are their requirements. And as such, i provided them with hiding places, and planted new plants. I added salt regularly once in 5-6 days. As i was told that brackish is a mixture of fresh as well as salt water. But i couldnt find anything to feed it at the pet store. I am from southern part of India, and i do not live in a coastal region. So, it is difficult to get any of above mentioned sea food. In the first week of May i will be going to Bombay and there i expect to get some frozen food as it is a coastal region. Till then, is there anything else i can offer them to prevent starvation ??
 

lucky_ducky

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Mar 22, 2005
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Ya its just like the one u showed in the picture but its brownish/olive green with yellowish spots.
As i do not live along a coastal area its difficult to find krills, crustaceans.. but there may b some fisheries, or some place where i can get them, so i will have to gather some information and check out with their dealers.
 

tricksterpup

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Lucky, you might be able to find frozen foods but I am not sure if they will work at this point. The problem here is that these fish are not really brackish but salt water fish. Here is a link to a website that has more information on the snowflake eel. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/snowflakemoray.htm
HEre is a bit of recommendation before buying any fish that you are unsure of do your research before buying them. To many fish/Pets perish every day do to the lack of their owner doing the proper reading on those animals.
 

lucky_ducky

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Thx for ur advice, i have had one ghastly experience and i m not going to forget it. next time i will make sure not to risk a poor creature's life.
 
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