How to feed a juvenile skeletor eel

[PacsAdmin77]

I picked up a juvenile skeletor eel from the LFS and for the first two days, it’s eaten 4-5 PE mysis. I’d hoped it would eat more than that. On Day 1, I’ve chummed the tank with mysis and it ate 3 of them. On Day 2, I used a spot feeder to waft a few mysis in its face but it didn’t care for that. So I decided to chum the water again and then it ate 2. Is there a guaranteed way to entice it to eat more?

 

[tdileo]

Make sure he has lots of hiding places in the rock to feel comfortable. They’re a very shy animal. I would try tong feeding him chopped up clam, mussel, and table shrimp.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

Would chopped up clam, mussel, and shrimp be adequate for something that’s only 4-inches long and thick as a No. 2 pencil? Sorry I’m not doubting you. I’m wondering if I should stick with PE mysis for now or switch it up to something bigger?

 

[tdileo]

Would chopped up clam, mussel, and shrimp be adequate for something that’s only 4-inches long and thick as a No. 2 pencil? Sorry I’m not doubting you. I’m wondering if I should stick with PE mysis for now or switch it up to something bigger?

Wow he is tiiinnnyyy. Maybe diced clam or shrimp would work out, but it may just be easiest to go with mysis for now. I didn’t realize he was THAT small.

 

[SwiftStorm]

Very cool. My snowflake is older and bigger, eats like a horse so I don't worry about escaping. Titan (eel) loves octopus. Maybe you will have luck with chopping that up.

 

[lion king]

You do need to target feed him, what he will eat from the water column will not do. Trim pieces of squid, octopus, shrimp, other meaty foods to the appropriate size; you will feel out how big of chunks you need to prepare, you will be surprised what they will gulp down. Feed him until he doesn't want anymore, he'll let you know; then feed him about every other day until he gets larger; then every 3 days is good.. I use a feeding stick instead of tongs for a small specimen, it's less intimidating; I also have slender tongs that I would use for a small eel. The larger tongs may be too big to hold a smaller chunky meat item as well as being intimidating to the eel.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

The smallest feeding tongs that I’ve seen on-line and in-store are about 10-inches. Would that be too big for an eel that small? Does anyone know where I can find smaller feeding tongs? And by feeding stick, do you mean the spot feeder with the bulb, or is it an actual stick?

You do need to target feed him, what he will eat from the water column will not do. Trim pieces of squid, octopus, shrimp, other meaty foods to the appropriate size; you will feel out how big of chunks you need to prepare, you will be surprised what they will gulp down. Feed him until he doesn't want anymore, he'll let you know; then feed him about every other day until he gets larger; then every 3 days is good.. I use a feeding stick instead of tongs for a small specimen, it's less intimidating; I also have slender tongs that I would use for a small eel. The larger tongs may be too big to hold a smaller chunky meat item as well as being intimidating to the eel.

osf

 

[lion king]

The smallest feeding tongs that I’ve seen on-line and in-store are about 10-inches. Would that be too big for an eel that small? Does anyone know where I can find smaller feeding tongs? And by feeding stick, do you mean the spot feeder with the bulb, or is it an actual stick?

osf

It's more about them being slender, I got these and they've worked well for my timid ribbon eel: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EFYG5HS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 get the 18.9" pair
and a feeding stick can be made with a rigid airline from any lfs, you can cut and angle to form a spear to stick through the food and gently bend it if need be to maneuver.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

So I’ve gotten it to eat 2-3 PE mysis for 4 consecutive days but then for the next 3 days, it wouldn’t touch the mysis. When it’s not eating, it’s chasing its reflection in the QT. Is it normal for small morays to fast between meals? When should I start worrying about it not eating?

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Use a high test fishing string and work the food like a jig. Tongs can be intimidating while the string is near invisible.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

So aside from trying out various feeding methods, is there a best time to feed the Skeletor eel? Is it during the day, or at night when the lights are out?

 

[Fishnut]

In the beginning I use to feed my eel with tongs while at the same time feeding the rest of the fish at the opposite end of the tank. I had a purple tang that would always try to steal the eels food. Fed 3x per week. Time of day didn't matter. As soon as he could smell the other fish eating he would get active and search the tank for left overs. He eventually learned to eat from my fingers in the upper corner of the tank. Then race back to his cave.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

It's more about them being slender, I got these and they've worked well for my timid ribbon eel: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EFYG5HS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 get the 18.9" pair
and a feeding stick can be made with a rigid airline from any lfs, you can cut and angle to form a spear to stick through the food and gently bend it if need be to maneuver.

I’ve purchased the 18 inch feeding tong and it was delivered yesterday. Holy cow, it’s freaking huge! It’s half the length of my arm! I’m pretty sure that my eel would find it way too intimidating to be fed with.

 

[PacsAdmin77]

In the beginning I use to feed my eel with tongs while at the same time feeding the rest of the fish at the opposite end of the tank. I had a purple tang that would always try to steal the eels food. Fed 3x per week. Time of day didn't matter. As soon as he could smell the other fish eating he would get active and search the tank for left overs. He eventually learned to eat from my fingers in the upper corner of the tank. Then race back to his cave.

Yeah, I haven’t quite developed a repertoire with my moray eel yet. I’ve tried various feeding methods and none of them seem to work. I’ve resorted to just leaving the food in front of him and in various places of the tank floor and hoping for the best that it would eventually sniff them out and eat the food.

 

[Fishnut]

Just remember that the eels eye sight is poor and the main way they locate food is scent. He will soon associate the tongs as a food bearer and will look forward to them. A client of mine uses LFS Fish Frenzy chunk style to feed her eels. She said the smell travels through the water better than shrimp. IDK.