Shell on or off?

[Trevor Robertson]

Okay well I have made a new additon to my tank. (good ol birthday money)!

I have purchased a Zebra Moray Eal and when I purchased it I asked the LFS to show me that it eats and they did, he told me that you just take a shrimp and peel the shell off and feed away. Well I have done some reading and some simple thinking and wonder if you really need to remove the shell. I have been removing it (from the tiger prawn) that I have been feeding but I wonder why?

Wondering what some of you do, and other food suggestions.

Thanks for the tips, oh and I love this fish!

[Jack]

I would say off is best. Not sure how digestable the shell would be.

[Trevor Robertson]

Just wondering why that is though, would they not eat the shell in the wild?

[Buccaneer]

I feed my BTA tiger prawns with the shell on ... the shell is mostly calcium anyway and like you said they dont peel em first in the wild :razz:

Cheers

[TNTCanada]

I had one for about 4 years tell I got rid of him to go completly Reef. He was realy cool I wish I had room for another tank so I could of kept him. He loved krill, shrimp, prawns, clams, and small frozen fish I can't remember what they were called (Silver sides) maybe. I left the shells on everyhing, they don't remove the shells in the wild so I didn't. Never had a problem.

[monza]

I usually pull the skin off, sometimes I leave it on thinking a little roughage can't be so bad. When they eat fish in nature or in your tank it's bones and all so it can't hurt.

Dave

[monza]

Buk a neer

How big is your BTA that it eats prawns?

Dave

[Buccaneer]

All spread out the oral disk is prolly a foot wide ... it was retracted at the meet because we were cleaning the inside edge of the front glass the day before the meet.

Cheers

[Trevor Robertson]

well thanks for all the input, I guess I will just stay as I have been doing but every so often I think I will offer it some shell.

thanks again for the input.