FW Moray

[ineedabox]

Thanks alot Seaman, you've been a great help.

I have a question though, I talked to the owner of the best fish store around here about them, and she says:

-all the ones she gets are in FW and only FW, not brackish
-if it cant fit in the eels mouth, the eel wont mess with it
-they seem to do just fine in all FW as long as there are plenty of places to hide, (plenty of caves)
-I could handfeed it the kind of shrimp that you can buy from a store
-the eel could live in a 29, since it doesnt swim around very much

Now, I want your input on this, and do you think she's just telling me this because she wants me to buy it, because they are people like that out there...
Do you think that she just thinks that the eels do OK in FW because she only has them in there for a few days before people buy them all?

.......im so confused..

 

[Oddball~]

Shes saying that so you would buy it.

1- Yea, right. There are NO real freshwater morays. There are FW eels, but not morays.
2- I doubt it, most fish never eat things in one bite anyways.
3- See #1
4- Yes, but not the cocktail shrimps, they must be uncooked, unseasoned and whatever, freeze them when you get home, wait 24 hrs, then feed them. Though, HANDfeeding directly to a large moray eel is a ridiculous idea. Think about it. Would you do that in the real ocean without the chainmail diving suits or any protection? I think not.
5- Umm, no.

She really thinks so, because she is probably misinformed. My LFS thinks the Figure 8 puffers grow to 8-9 inches, they grow to measly 3-4 inches.

Just get a nice 75 gallon tank or larger, preferably breeder since it has a larger footprint. IF possible, go 85-125 gallons. See here: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Tanks/mytank3.htm

That guy has like 21 tanks and made his own tankhouse.. wow.

 

[ineedabox]

Look , I mean im not a complete idiot. I know plenty about fish and ive been at this for a long time, but ive just never done the whole brackish thing for too long. Ive also never had a FW moray before. I have common fish sense, but I mean....the lady that said that....she is reeeeally smart about these things. She's been a dealer for over 25 years, and she's never failed me so far. Im not saying you're wrong, but I mean...****, NOBODY has given me the same story here and I havent a clue as to who is right...or if more than one person is right. You know, I've heard some people say that they cant thrive in FW...but ive never heard them say that they've tried it.

 

[Oddball~]

Umm, ok, if you want a test, stick a yellow tang in freshwater and see how it "thrives". Not to be condescending or mean or anything, but I think 55 is minimum. PERIOD.

 

[ineedabox]

look, ive kept saltwater before. ive had yellow tangs before.
never in my life have i seen one housed in a freshwater tank.
seriously, im not a complete jackass, and thanks for your input, but have you ever seen a moray in FW? I have, and i just wanted to know if it could be in there long term...maybe you're right. but brackish wouldnt be hard to accomplish, and im sure it'd be worth it. ****, ill have to get rid of some beloved fish though. o well.

 

[TKOS]

Many eels are migratory and can spend parts of their life in various water conditons. I am by no means an eel expert, but I live on a freshwater lake. In the early summer we see eels (what kind I do not know) in the lake. They are always gone by mid to late summer. They get into our lake via rivers that lead from the ocean. Best I can figure they come to feed and breed and then take off (hence baby eels sold are generally freshwater). I doubt they can live thier whole live in the freshwater or they would. The trip to get to a lake is very hard and many don't make it. So their must be a reason they head back to sea.

Almost any fish can survive in brackish for a period of time, even tetras could for probably months on end. But the stress on their system would ultimatley kill them.

The most important thing for you to do is to find out excatly what species of eel this is. Then why not contact an aquarium, or do research in marine biologiy/zoology text books or on line. The info is out there. MOst fish stores go by what their distributers tell them and what direct experience tells them. But it is rare that a fish store employee is going to have held onto all of the fish they sell for more than a few months at a time.

Like I said, just try and find a biology source on the fish you are looking for and not necessarily an aquarist's information. You should take all sources of info with a grain of salt (no pun) and come to the most informed disicion.

 

[ineedabox]

I mean, I'm sure you guys are right, but I really want one and my dumbass brain is almost trying to convice itself that it would be alright to have one in all FW, but I'm not gonna do it. I guess Ill just clean out the ol 55 and brackis it up, if u know what i mean. ****, that's another month lost to cycling again. Oh well, worth the wait if you ask me.

 

[Jtd724]

there is no freshwater moray eel, repeat, there is no freshwater moray eel. repeat there is no freshwater moray eel. I happen to live near Clifton, which holds North America's best retail fish store, Absolutely fish, check out there website, every employee is going to college for this stuff, and they all say HTERE IS NO FRESHWATER MORAY EEL.


EDIT: oh and your LFS woman is conning you, the business she runs is about moving product, which in her case is fish. Kinda like one of those used car salesman guys who tells you the 86 LeBaron runs like brand new until 3 weeks later when you need a new trans.

 

[ineedabox]

calm down. i get the point.

 

[Jtd724]

sorry if I sound "excited" but from the posts it seemed you were confused on what to believe. So I was just reinforcing the truth. Oh and always remember your LFS will usually have a biased opinion, one which is usually aiming at getting you to buy what it is your looking at.