Looking for some help with a blue ribbon eel

[Icky Nicky]

Hello, I recently got a blue ribbon eel 2 weeks ago, he's happy and healthy and eating, live mollies is what he's being fed at the moment. My only concern is that he's gone from a brilliant blue when I got him to a very dark blue/almost black now. some areas are still the original blue color but with some black spots on them (area around his gills) and his mouth also is starting to turn slightly black/spotty black.

I heard that this is just stress from him adjusting to captivity and being in the smaller quarantine tank where he couldn't completely hide his body (he's in a much larger tank with a PVC pipe system now) and that he should revert back to the original blue color within a few weeks, just wanted to see if anyone had similar experience and knows if what I've been told is the case, please let me know!

I can provide pictures if needed.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Hello, I recently got a blue ribbon eel 2 weeks ago, he's happy and healthy and eating, live mollies is what he's being fed at the moment. My only concern is that he's gone from a brilliant blue when I got him to a very dark blue/almost black now. some areas are still the original blue color but with some black spots on them (area around his gills) and his mouth also is starting to turn slightly black/spotty black.

I heard that this is just stress from him adjusting to captivity and being in the smaller quarantine tank where he couldn't completely hide his body (he's in a much larger tank with a PVC pipe system now) and that he should revert back to the original blue color within a few weeks, just wanted to see if anyone had similar experience and knows if what I've been told is the case, please let me know!

I can provide pictures if needed.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I’m afraid I can’t answer your question myself, but hopefully someone who can will chime in for you. Maybe @lion king has some thoughts?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello, I recently got a blue ribbon eel 2 weeks ago, he's happy and healthy and eating, live mollies is what he's being fed at the moment. My only concern is that he's gone from a brilliant blue when I got him to a very dark blue/almost black now. some areas are still the original blue color but with some black spots on them (area around his gills) and his mouth also is starting to turn slightly black/spotty black.

I heard that this is just stress from him adjusting to captivity and being in the smaller quarantine tank where he couldn't completely hide his body (he's in a much larger tank with a PVC pipe system now) and that he should revert back to the original blue color within a few weeks, just wanted to see if anyone had similar experience and knows if what I've been told is the case, please let me know!

I can provide pictures if needed.

I dont favor live feeders for eels as at times they carry disease and also cause liver issues.
Often when Not eating, nitrates may be high or something off like salinity, ph, etc. and even lights too bright.
Good news is once you get them to eat, they eat. Silversides is a good alternative to mollies as is live ghost shrimp and once eating ghost shrimp, go to frozen krill.

 

[Icky Nicky]

I dont favor live feeders for eels as at times they carry disease and also cause liver issues.
Often when Not eating, nitrates may be high or something off like salinity, ph, etc. and even lights too bright.
Good news is once you get them to eat, they eat. Silversides is a good alternative to mollies as is live ghost shrimp and once eating ghost shrimp, go to frozen krill.

I'd like to switch him to frozen, been working on it, try to feed him frozen once a week, he won't have it. also tried live ghost shrimp, didn't care for them, the only things he's eaten are mollies, platies, and damsels, nitrates aren't high and salinity is 1.024 last i checked, lights aren't overly bright but I could turn them down a bit if needed. I'm not concerned that he's got a disease or something, I'm just concerned that he's reverted to a darker color, that's the problem I'm trying to figure out

 

[lion king]

1st off the ribbon eel will likely not do well long term if live food is not included in their diet, and mollies would be the food of choice. I have kept this eel and many predators for a decade and more feeding live mollies, so I'm not sure where the negative info comes from. I presently have 4 lions that eat a couple mollies a week and a rhino for more than 4 years exclusively eating mollies. I'd like to hear direct experience seen with your own eyes, rather than internet folklore passed around.

How big is the eel, the black color is also the juvenile phase, it could be a sub adult flashing back to the juvenile color phase. The maturation rate is stimulated not only by size and age, but also biological demand. Without all these factors the color could just be a reflection of these factors. If he is eating, then stress levels are least tolerable.

 

[Icky Nicky]

1st off the ribbon eel will likely not do well long term if live food is not included in their diet, and mollies would be the food of choice. I have kept this eel and many predators for a decade and more feeding live mollies, so I'm not sure where the negative info comes from. I presently have 4 lions that eat a couple mollies a week and a rhino for more than 4 years exclusively eating mollies. I'd like to hear direct experience seen with your own eyes, rather than internet folklore passed around.

How big is the eel, the black color is also the juvenile phase, it could be a sub adult flashing back to the juvenile color phase. The maturation rate is stimulated not only by size and age, but also biological demand. Without all these factors the color could just be a reflection of these factors. If he is eating, then stress levels are least tolerable.

He's like.. foot and a half, maybe 2 feet, he's not completely black but just a very dark blue at this point, other than near his gills, will he revert back to a brighter blue? and how long would that take to happen?

 

[Thomas Jedlicka]

Please post a pic. Ribbon eels can change genders as they are hermaphroditic. Generally they start off black in coloration as a male. then turn into a blue male and in the final stage of life full yellow female

 

[Icky Nicky]

here are some pics, he's gotten even darker since the after pics, these were around a week ago while he was still in his quarantine tank.

Before:

 

[Icky Nicky]

After:

You can really see the contrast between his gills and the rest of his body in the third one, and you can see the black spotting on his mouth, good example of the rest of his body
@lion king hope you're able to gather some more info from these..

 

[Thomas Jedlicka]

I would say stress or reverting back to black. im sure it will fix itself over time

 

[Tcook]

Hope he does well. That is one beautiful eel.

 

[Icky Nicky]

I would say stress or reverting back to black. im sure it will fix itself over time

they revert back to black from blue? never heard of that

 

[Thomas Jedlicka]

they revert back to black from blue? never heard of that

kind of like taking 1 step back to take 2 steps forwards. color change is minimal so i think as time passes it will be better. not a lot is known about eels they are kinda confusing

 

[lion king]

He's like.. foot and a half, maybe 2 feet, he's not completely black but just a very dark blue at this point, other than near his gills, will he revert back to a brighter blue? and how long would that take to happen?

Yes that's actually still kind of small, it's likely as I eluded to, a sub adult flashing back to the juvenile color phase. The natural progression will be to turn to the blue phase, honestly there is no absolute timeline. I've seen this change take as long as a year to finally get to vibrant blue you would like, or it can happen quicker.

The only ribbon eels I've seen live longer than a year or so, included live fish in their diet. Mollies are a close reflection in protein and fat to their natural diet, and safer than feeding marine fish. Marine fish will definitely and ultimately spread disease. While some have warned of parasites from live mollies, I've included them in the diet of dozens of predators over 20 years, and have never seen it. The ribbon eel will accept dead food, but almost always starts to refuse to eat after a while on a dead only diet. Once they go on a hunger strike, a live feeding will usually jumpstart their feeding response, and they will go back to feeding as usual. Live food doesn't have to be every feeding, and I've seen it work as little as once a month. A dead diet must include fatty fish, I recommend wild caught salmon as it is readily available and reasonably priced.

 

[Icky Nicky]

Yes that's actually still kind of small, it's likely as I eluded to, a sub adult flashing back to the juvenile color phase. The natural progression will be to turn to the blue phase, honestly there is no absolute timeline. I've seen this change take as long as a year to finally get to vibrant blue you would like, or it can happen quicker.

The only ribbon eels I've seen live longer than a year or so, included live fish in their diet. Mollies are a close reflection in protein and fat to their natural diet, and safer than feeding marine fish. Marine fish will definitely and ultimately spread disease. While some have warned of parasites from live mollies, I've included them in the diet of dozens of predators over 20 years, and have never seen it. The ribbon eel will accept dead food, but almost always starts to refuse to eat after a while on a dead only diet. Once they go on a hunger strike, a live feeding will usually jumpstart their feeding response, and they will go back to feeding as usual. Live food doesn't have to be every feeding, and I've seen it work as little as once a month. A dead diet must include fatty fish, I recommend wild caught salmon as it is readily available and reasonably priced.

okay thank you for your help, will continue feeding live mollies, was just confused because he was a brilliant blue color when I got him, the LFS said they can get me another one in a week or so, so hopefully that helps him feel more at home.

 

[lion king]

After:

You can really see the contrast between his gills and the rest of his body in the third one, and you can see the black spotting on his mouth, good example of the rest of his body
@lion king hope you're able to gather some more info from these..

I think you may be overreacting, but under 2' is a sub adult and small to be that bright blue. I have seen them revert back much more drastically.

 

[Icky Nicky]

I think you may be overreacting, but under 2' is a sub adult and small to be that bright blue. I have seen them revert back much more drastically.

Yeah probably, was just worried that he'd go back to being fully black, thanks for all your help, will just give him time to grow and change back!

 

[vetteguy53081]

okay thank you for your help, will continue feeding live mollies, was just confused because he was a brilliant blue color when I got him, the LFS said they can get me another one in a week or so, so hopefully that helps him feel more at home.

My experience has been from acquisition and holding them until sold at my LFS.
I personally steer my confidence towards one who has raised them long term and if Lion King's experience shared is of that nature- I would go along with the recommenddations