ZEBRA EEL BEHAVIOUR

[DOMINATOR]

So i just put my new eel in my tank yesterday...i know that itll take a couple of days to adjust but hes eally motionless. I have to stare really hard just to make sure hes breathing....sound normal? Anyone have similar patterns? Should i put a feeder fish in there or skewer one and wave it in front of him fore a while??? When should he start to eat??

[naesco]

So i just put my new eel in my tank yesterday...i know that itll take a couple of days to adjust but hes eally motionless. I have to stare really hard just to make sure hes breathing....sound normal? Anyone have similar patterns? Should i put a feeder fish in there or skewer one and wave it in front of him fore a while??? When should he start to eat??


Is it a new tank? How did you acclimate the eel?
It should have immediately scurried into the rockwork.

[DOMINATOR]

LFS told me to float him/her for 30 minutes and let it go...It did scurry right for the rocks but hes staying in one place...the tank is 90 gallon, maybe three months old

[monocus]

mine did the same thing-didn't eat for 4 days which is no big deal-they can go for weeks without eating.they are basically blind and go to food by smell.it will probably come out around feeding times and eat like a pig.mine will eat 4-5 clams,a couple of scallops,and a couple of prawns a day-cut them up for it as it will try to eat them whole and basically choke on them

[naesco]

LFS told me to float him/her for 30 minutes and let it go...It did scurry right for the rocks but hes staying in one place...the tank is 90 gallon, maybe three months old

Better change your LFS. If they are giving others the same advice they are killing fish. Go back there and give them a piece of your mind.

All floating the bag does is adjust the temperature in the bag to that of the tank water.

You have to adjust the salinity and the PH in the bag to that of the tank. You do that over an hour by dripping tank water in the bag.

Your eel suffered major stress but it is likely that she will survive. Good Luck

[dunl]

The more rockwork you have, the more you will also see your eel. I had a gymnothorax tile once...supposedly a very hard eel to feed. The problem, though, is that most people don't give enough cover for them, so then they are feeling very vulnerable and won't come out to eat. I saw my guy all the time.

Same with the snowflake I just got from Carmen...he's been eating since day 2 and is poking his head out here and there all the time. lol

[cale262]

So i just put my new eel in my tank yesterday...i know that itll take a couple of days to adjust but hes eally motionless. I have to stare really hard just to make sure hes breathing....sound normal? Anyone have similar patterns? Should i put a feeder fish in there or skewer one and wave it in front of him fore a while??? When should he start to eat??



When I first got mine, he went right into the rockwork and I didn't really see him for a couple days...Now He is out quite a bit, especially at feeding time. I've been feeding mine Silverside, he goes through cycles where he'll take 2-4 large ones for a few days in a row then he may go another 3-4 days without eating, everything I've read about them states this as normal. Their eyesite isn't the greatest, he'll come right to the surface looking for food and sometime I have to tap him on the nose before he see's it, once he does though, look out, almost like a dog, he grabs the silver side and shakes it back and forth as if he's trying to kill it...

[dunl]

Speaking of which....I consider anyone who hand feeds their eel to be, quite simply, an idiot taking a risky chance. There is no way to hold the food without getting the scent of it on you, and as they can't see well, it's just a matter of time....

[DOMINATOR]

So what is the best technique and best food to use?

[cale262]

So what is the best technique and best food to use?


I use 12" SS tweezers and feed silverside.

[DOMINATOR]

Some say it's good, others say it's bad....

[dunl]

I hate to say it, but I bought the $25 tool from Petland...comes with a blade for cutting freshwater plants to trim them as well.

I tend to give my eels whatever they would get in the wild. Usually something with a shell on it, like cocktail shrimp, shell on. I seriously doubt they peel them in the wild before eating them. ;)

[monocus]

i use a feeding prong to feed my eels.look up what they eat naturally in the wild and feed them the same thing.do not feed them cooked foods(like hotdogs and cocktail shrimp )i peel my prawns as i don't want exoskeletons littering my tank as eels are a bit messy .i also try to only feed organic or live shellfish as i don't want to add excess chemicals into my system

[dunl]

i use a feeding prong to feed my eels.look up what they eat naturally in the wild and feed them the same thing.do not feed them cooked foods(like hotdogs and cocktail shrimp )i peel my prawns as i don't want exoskeletons littering my tank as eels are a bit messy .i also try to only feed organic or live shellfish as i don't want to add excess chemicals into my system

I get the raw cocktail shrimp.

[monocus]

never seen a raw cocktail shrimp.they are all cooked here in vancouver; so they can easily remove the shells .it's even hard to get raw shrimp off the boats here

[targa81]

I feed mine raw, rinsed tiger prawns with shell removed using tongs. You can readily find raw prawns at most supermarkets.