Eel in 65g mixed reef

Kirschy17 · Jun 15, 2018

Can i have a general oppinion on this?
Is it possible to keep an eel in a 65g mixed reef? I dont mind having to keep him fed for other tank mates to be safe but im worried about corals and waterparameters. Its an AIO tank. I have a small refugium and a skimmer. I succesfully keep softies lps sps and an anemone.

If so what eel would you recommend?

Thanks in advance

Dave Splain · Jun 15, 2018

First of all it is possible but I would not trust him around any Crustaceans especially small shrimp and crabs. Secondly eels are master escape artists so you'll have to have some kind of cover on the tank that they absolutely cannot sneak out of. I would definitely not have any kind of moray in a mix tank pretty much everything looks like food to them. I have kept many Hills in the past and I would not worry about him with an enemies corals or anything like that but anything that crawls or swims they're going to hit. I hope this helps

Utubereefer · Jun 15, 2018

I have a snowflake eel in my 65g mixed reef. He's a model citizen. Just gotta keep her fed so she don't eat the other fishes. I love seeing her poke her head outta the rock work waiting for food.

lion king · Jun 15, 2018

It can work but the main concern will be water quality. Eels produce alot of waste and can be messy eaters, your filtration will need to be optimum. What eels have peaked your interest? regardless of the species start with a small one, 8-9" nothing over 12". Feeding can be tricky if you don't get one already eating, so i like to start them out in a qt to train them. 2 or 3 cave openings at the bottom and enough covered space for a 2-3' eel.

Kirschy17 · Jun 16, 2018

Utubereefer said:
I have a snowflake eel in my 65g mixed reef. He's a model citizen. Just gotta keep her fed so she don't eat the other fishes. I love seeing her poke her head outta the rock work waiting for food.

If hes full grown he will be the length of the tank. Isnt that an issue? I thought id have to focus on dwarf species. Or will you upgrade in the future? Since i cant afford that for sure.

Kirschy17 · Jun 16, 2018

lion king said:
It can work but the main concern will be water quality. Eels produce alot of waste and can be messy eaters, your filtration will need to be optimum. What eels have peaked your interest? regardless of the species start with a small one, 8-9" nothing over 12". Feeding can be tricky if you don't get one already eating, so i like to start them out in a qt to train them. 2 or 3 cave openings at the bottom and enough covered space for a 2-3' eel.

I like all of them pretty much, well all morays. Im from europe tough so getting the eel will be an issue on its own. I would quarantine him. Im also worried that water quality couldnt keep up. Any species you would recommend?

lion king · Jun 16, 2018

I added an algae to my eel tanks, algae scrubbers are good also but I dont like them as much. You can also do carbon dosing, using something g like nopox. Your lips and softies likely won't mind the nutrients, but your spa and nem likely would. The thing about eels, if they are happy. Fed well. And healthy; they tend to just stay tucked into the rocks. They are likely not to need a huge for swimming, just filtering a smaller tank will be a challange.

Which eels do you available

Kirschy17 · Jun 16, 2018

I think snowflake is what ill get(if i go for it) Id like smaller species but it would be pure luck if i find one. Also i think i dont wanna pay 300$ for a dwarf hawaian. Any species you would recommend for whatever reason?

lion king · Jun 16, 2018

The snowflake is nice eel, very lovable(lol). The Hawaiian dwarf is not for me, frankly I find them boring. Personally I like the small fang tooths, I have a jeweled.

Utubereefer · Jun 17, 2018

Kirschy17 said:
If hes full grown he will be the length of the tank. Isnt that an issue? I thought id have to focus on dwarf species. Or will you upgrade in the future? Since i cant afford that for sure.

My 65 is a 3 foot tank and snowflakes are said to only grow up to 2 feet long. And it's not often that they stretch out completely they like to coil up under rocks and dart from one rock formation to the other. So far she seems happy but time will tell.

Utubereefer · Jun 17, 2018

Additionally I do plan on upgrading my reef tank to a 120g but I'm gonna keep my snowflake eel in the 65g and just make it a soft coral tank with extra rock work and hiding space from her

Elude82 · Jul 1, 2018

I just recently bought a Zebra Moray, and I can tell you worth every $. He is in my 90 Gallon now. He will eventually go in my 2019 Reef Build. As I have a IM 25 Lagoon currently, and it’s too small for it.
They are Reef safe as well, and have plenty of videos. Even with small shrimps and crabs.

Kirschy17 · Jul 1, 2018

How about it messing your water quality? Do you keep corals? Does he knockover vorals or cause trouble?

lion king · Jul 1, 2018

Kirschy17 said:
How about it messing your water quality? Do you keep corals? Does he knockover vorals or cause trouble?

If you are talking about the zebra, they need to be in a pretty big tank like a 180g. You do need to plan your filtration and maintenance to control the high nutrients produced by this big boy, they do pretty large. They will generally stay tucked into the rocks and don't free swim much to speak of, but need and enjoy cruising through the caverns of your rock structure. They will develop their own pathways, and any corals in this path will likely take a beating. This is usually the lower part of your rocks and the sand bed close to the rocks.