Zebra moray eel (What info)

[fishoholic]

Does anyone have a zebra moray eel? I was reading that they will swim around (once comfortable in the tank) in the open while the lights are on. They are not escape artists like other eels, and they leave small tank mates alone.

This is just what I read from a few websites, just wondering if anyone knows if this info. is correct or anything.

[fishoholic]

No one on here knows about zebra eels or has one? Any thoughts anyone?

[levi1803]

When I worked in a pet store 15 years ago we would always get them in and had a few that did excape (out of maybe 30) They always ate feeder goldfish (back in the early 90's that's what was fed to lions, groupers and eels) that were at least an inch long (the eels themselves about 8 inches or so) So I don't know if I would really trust them with anything to small. For the most part they seemed pretty docile but anything that fit in there mouth would still be food I would think. From my experiences they always seemed pretty willing to take food well.

[justinl]

if well fed, they are simply much more likely to leave smaller tankmates alone. The dental work of eels tells you a bit about eel diets. Sharp toothed eels like tesselata, dragon, green, etc are largely piscivores but will eat just about anything. Pebble toothed eels like golden, zebra, snowflake etc are largely crutacean predators and will likely eat small benthic fish as well. They are also generally smaller and better tempered than their sharp toothed cousins. So keep a zebra well fed and it "shouldn't" eat your smaller tankmates... individual by indivdual basis. Don't stock with anything you would be crushed to lose.

all eels are escape artists and NEED a lid with no holes larger than half their own body width (arbitrary ratio but probably safe). no exceptions. what site said that zebras are less likely to escape?

[sphelps]

I had one for about a year before I sold the tank and all its contents.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Picture005-1.jpg

It did swim around in the day on occasion but not very often although I don't think it was all that active at night either. It could always be be seen though, sticking its head out of the rock. It did seem to leave smaller fish alone, but I've found all eels I've kept to be the same. They have poor vision and seem to relay on smell, and they can definitely detect stressed out fish. If a fish is dying the eel would find it quickly and eat it. If a fish was healthy, it was like it wasn't even there to the eel. Even feeding frozen was difficult as it took so long for the eel find it or grab it from tongs, but they could often catch live freshwater feeder fish.

[EmilyB]

Zebra morays are crustacean eaters, not fish eaters. I just love them. I had one once, and yes he was very visible. I bought crab legs to feed him.

Then one day, he disappeared, and a bit of stripped skin floated by. He had wormed his way through the overflow and ended up in the sump pump. :cry:

[fishoholic]

The one at the LFS is eating frozen krill but knowing that there is a strong possibility that one day he'll be found dead in the sump or on the floor, we decided against buying him.

justinl, I read through a lot of web info I can't remember which site said what, but I thought two of them said that out of all the types of eels, zebras were less likely to escape then some of the others.

Thank-you everyone for your reply's.