A few weeks ago, we set up a 30 gallon saltwater tank (first SW, lots and lots of experience with FW and BW). After running it for a week at 1.25 SG and 76*, with just a simple HOB filter, we went to the fish store to pick out a fish - the intention was for it to be a small fish only tank, with a few cardinalfish or clownfish, or possibly a fuzzy dwarf.
Well, what we ended up coming home with was a rescue snowflake moray. It's about ten inches long, and had been turned in by someone who didn't want it anymore - we don't know why. Our problem is that the poor thing isn't eating. We've tried frozen silversides, krill, and mysis, and live ghost shrimp and both adult and young guppies - acclimated to the saltwater enough that they survived a few days. I even tried frozen brine and bloodworms, in the hopes that it would snap at SOMETHING. With the frozen foods, we tried both leaving them in the tank and offering them with tongs.
The fish store owner told us the eel was eating silversides and had been there for a month. No, I did not ask to see it eat. It was in a 20 gallon tank with a small Trigger who was picking on it. We said something about the eel and he offered to let us have it for free, so we said yes (so the store owner didn't make a profit on it - if he had been making a profit, I would've been more hesitant).
We've now had the eel for two weeks. Every few days we offer it some more food. Several of the ghost shrimp are still in there, so it could eat them if it wanted to. It seems healthy enough. During the day it stays in its cave with its head hanging out. Its mouth is open to breathe but it doesn't seem to be gasping - from what I've seen of eels, the open-mouth posture is normal, right? At night it slithers around the tank, swimming in and out of the caves and around the filter (absolutely nowhere for it to escape from). We've done two 20% water changes so far - one each week that it's been here.
It seems the eel must have eaten something at some point, or it wouldn't have grown to the size it is. I'm starting to fear it'll starve itself to death. The pet store told us it will eat anything when it gets hungry enough - is this true? Can anyone help me?
(PS. We have both a 65 hex and a 75 long available to us when the eel has outgrown this tank, so the eventual size of this guy - 2' plus - isn't an issue.)
Well, what we ended up coming home with was a rescue snowflake moray. It's about ten inches long, and had been turned in by someone who didn't want it anymore - we don't know why. Our problem is that the poor thing isn't eating. We've tried frozen silversides, krill, and mysis, and live ghost shrimp and both adult and young guppies - acclimated to the saltwater enough that they survived a few days. I even tried frozen brine and bloodworms, in the hopes that it would snap at SOMETHING. With the frozen foods, we tried both leaving them in the tank and offering them with tongs.
The fish store owner told us the eel was eating silversides and had been there for a month. No, I did not ask to see it eat. It was in a 20 gallon tank with a small Trigger who was picking on it. We said something about the eel and he offered to let us have it for free, so we said yes (so the store owner didn't make a profit on it - if he had been making a profit, I would've been more hesitant).
We've now had the eel for two weeks. Every few days we offer it some more food. Several of the ghost shrimp are still in there, so it could eat them if it wanted to. It seems healthy enough. During the day it stays in its cave with its head hanging out. Its mouth is open to breathe but it doesn't seem to be gasping - from what I've seen of eels, the open-mouth posture is normal, right? At night it slithers around the tank, swimming in and out of the caves and around the filter (absolutely nowhere for it to escape from). We've done two 20% water changes so far - one each week that it's been here.
It seems the eel must have eaten something at some point, or it wouldn't have grown to the size it is. I'm starting to fear it'll starve itself to death. The pet store told us it will eat anything when it gets hungry enough - is this true? Can anyone help me?
(PS. We have both a 65 hex and a 75 long available to us when the eel has outgrown this tank, so the eventual size of this guy - 2' plus - isn't an issue.)
