Garden Eel

[SurfTrack]

I just had an idea that I thought would be cool. Let me know if this is even possible.

I thought it would be cool to put a couple garden eels in my new 88 gallon RSR. The only other fish are a yellow tang and two small clownfish. I know they need deep sand beds so I was thinking I could try to dedicate a side of my tank for them, with a deeper sloping sand bed. I was already planning on a minimalistic look, so it won't be hard to find the space.

Again. this was PURELY an idea and I wouldn't even move forward unless multiple people say its possible. I know feeding can be an issue, I just wanted to hear some peoples opinions.

Thanks

 

[SurfTrack]

Bump

 

[Billdogg]

If you can provide them 6"+ of fine sand and a really good escape proof lid. They are very timid feeders so any competition will cause issues

 

[SurfTrack]

If you can provide them 6"+ of fine sand and a really good escape proof lid. They are very timid feeders so any competition will cause issues

What food? I know they are filter feeders and feed only from the water column. Mysis?

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Multiple daily feedings of frozen cyclopeeze or the like. Large mysid such as PE will frighten them back into the sand. A dedicated tank is the best option with very timid tank mates. They need strong flow to keep food suspended which will likely even out the sandbed across the tank. Not a great beginner choice.

 

[andrewkw]

I kept garden eels for several years. A couple of thoughts. Sloping sand beds don't work forever. I had the sand on one side of my tank 10" and about 6" on the other with all flow going in one direction. Over time it still mostly leveled out. Not sure the exact height of the red sea reefer you have but 24" tall is more ideal from an aesthetic point of view.

You can keep garden eels with fish and eventually they will even eat things like PE Mysis, however it takes months of conditioning. As already mentioned they are afraid of everything including their own shadow / food. The flow pattern in their tanks also have to ensure food passes over them as if they can't reach it they won't eat it. While they do move from time to time they prefer to stay in the same place.

It would be so much easier to start a tank for garden eels then add them to an existing reef. If you can remove your fish first you will have a much higher chance of success. You would also have to consider removing most corals - the problem with the corals is when you are just feeding the garden eels nutrient levels are going to increase. Later having the fish actually helps as food that passes by them is eaten instead of rotting away. After some time your deep sand bed will also work great for filtration but again this does not happen overnight.

Finally they are a joy to watch and keep. I had them for years and always enjoyed looking at them. Once I figured out their needs and knew the limitations of the tank I really enjoyed having them. Initially the tank had cyano, algae ect but over time the deep sandbed really took over the filtration. The only reason I don't keep them now is I had to give them away when I moved long distance which included moving 2 other reef tanks and 6 weeks of limbo without a house. No way I could move the eels and the 100s of lbs of a deep sand bed as well.