My new eels wont eat, expertise please.

[BugXprt]

Hi, i have a tank with newly purchased Brazillian banana eel and zebra eel. Both are 12 inch. The zebra has hidden and not come out and the banana eel comes out, but niether shower interest in food. Infact the banana eel shakes his head when i get the food to close.. He shows no interest. Ive tried silversides, shrimp, krill, live ghost shrimp, squid. Ive had for 7 days now. I have heard they may take weeks to settle. I'm just worried they will starve and die. They were air shipped from californiato my LFS. Where I picked up same day they came in. Anybody have expertise on this subject.. Should i be worried, to soon.. Water parameters are good. They are not showing any signs of distress.. Also, ive had a zebra eel before; he ate great and never had any issues. This tank really has no fish , just two damsels and two cardinals, so there b is not much food floating around. My other past tank with zebra, had triggers and puffers, lots of food floating around. These eels, aside from live ghost shrimp moving about, i have used a skewer with the fish, etc, on the tip.. Thanks

 

[ca1ore]

My current zebra eel went almost a full month before it would eat anything. Even now, a year later, it will only eat cooked cocktail shrimp.

 

[Fliper]

Hi, i have a tank with newly purchased Brazillian banana eel and zebra eel. Both are 12 inch. The zebra has hidden and not come out and the banana eel comes out, but niether shower interest in food. Infact the banana eel shakes his head when i get the food to close.. He shows no interest. Ive tried silversides, shrimp, krill, live ghost shrimp, squid. Ive had for 7 days now. I have heard they may take weeks to settle. I'm just worried they will starve and die. They were air shipped from californiato my LFS. Where I picked up same day they came in. Anybody have expertise on this subject.. Should i be worried, to soon.. Water parameters are good. They are not showing any signs of distress.. Also, ive had a zebra eel before; he ate great and never had any issues. This tank really has no fish , just two damsels and two cardinals, so there b is not much food floating around. My other past tank with zebra, had triggers and puffers, lots of food floating around. These eels, aside from live ghost shrimp moving about, i have used a skewer with the fish, etc, on the tip.. Thanks

My snowflake eel went 2.5 months without eating (I’m not joking). Eels can go a really long time without food. Don’t worry. Just keep trying to feed it every few days (don’t annoy it everyday) and eventually, when it’s hungry, it will eat. Seriously, don’t stress out it’s ok.

 

[Fliper]

My current zebra eel went almost a full month before it would eat anything. Even now, a year later, it will only eat cooked cocktail shrimp.

You shouldn’t feed your eel cooked shrimp. It lacks all the nutrients that have been cooked out. Also, they need krill, silversides, claims, muscles, squid, and crab (as a treat). Their diet is complex.

 

[ca1ore]

I'm well aware of what I 'should' do, but at some point the animal must also co-operate. It ignores everything except cooked shrimp. I tried raw clam, noop. Silversides, noop. Raw shrimp, noop. Chunks of raw fish, noop.

 

[Fliper]

I'm well aware of what I 'should' do, but at some point the animal must also co-operate. It ignores everything except cooked shrimp. I tried raw clam, noop. Silversides, noop. Raw shrimp, noop. Chunks of raw fish, noop.

Have you tried garlic? Also, if you don’t feed it for awhile it will eventually eat what you give it - when it’s hungry. I don’t know why you would have ever tried cooked shrimp tho. I’m curious where you heard that was a good idea. I agree the animal must cooperate lol. I don’t know how many years are going to be shaved off it’s life with it’s diet being limited to cooked shrimp? Try not feeding and then using something a little more nutritious.

 

[ca1ore]

I don't do garlic, ever. That's a great way to not have your fish live a long life LOL, and completely unecessary. I do try other stuff periodically so maybe at some point it'll work.

 

[Fliper]

You sure know more than me. I’ve been using garlic everyday for 12 years and I’ve had my eel 10 of those years. I’m going to say that feeding your eel nothing but cooked shrimp is more of a problem than garlic. Can you please site your source for why garlic is bad? I’d like to read that article.

 

[Fliper]

I don't do garlic, ever. That's a great way to not have your fish live a long life LOL, and completely unecessary. I do try other stuff periodically so maybe at some point it'll work.

You certainly know more than me. Garlic is bad and feeding an eel nothing but cooked shrimp is good - got it!

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

@Bob Loblaw, @tyler1503 either of you guys got some advice? #reefsquad

 

[Fliper]

@Bob Loblaw, @tyler1503 either of you guys got some advice?

My advice is to feed your eel as diverse as a diet as possible. Also, using garlic as an appetite stimulant is good advice.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

@BugXprt, not sure if you've seen this link already, but it might be of help too: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/eel-care-guide.190769/

 

[Fliper]

My advice is to feed your eel as diverse as a diet as possible. Also, using garlic as an appetite stimulant is good advice.

@BugXprt, not sure if you've seen this link already, but it might be of help too: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/eel-care-guide.190769/

Fantastic article. No, I had not read it before now but I did do my homework before I bought my friend and I’ve done my absolute best over the years to provide great water quality (which I have) and a complex diet of fresh seafood (Asian market) as well as krill and silversides. I’ve never fed any of my fish cooked food tho. The author of this article claims not to be an expert but I’d say they certainly know enough to be considered one. I learned more about eels than I already knew reading this article - thanks for sharing it. I love learning.

 

[ca1ore]

You sure know more than me. I’ve been using garlic everyday for 12 years and I’ve had my eel 10 of those years. I’m going to say that feeding your eel nothing but cooked shrimp is more of a problem than garlic. Can you please site your source for why garlic is bad? I’d like to read that article.

That's probably true ..... LOL

Not sure if I can link this here ... http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2213228

See post #14. Ultimately, you decide and do what you think is right YMMV. I decided years ago that garlic was pointless, possibly damaging, and correlations mistaken as causation. So I don't think it actually is good advice, though certainly oft-parroted advice.

 

[Fliper]

That's probably true ..... LOL

Not sure if I can link this here ... http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2213228

See post #14. Ultimately, you decide and do what you think is right YMMV.

What you sent me is a bunch of people (like yourself) that claim to know everything. Garlic is not a cure for ich (I know that). That’s pretty much all I got from your link. You know it all so why are you on reef2reef? What is there to learn? You are already a brilliant fish keeper (cooked food). I’m going to ignore you now. You can have the last word - I’m sure you will. I was just trying to help you. Keep feeding cooked foods to your eel and refusing to use garlic to entice it to eat something more nutritious. Ignorance is not my problem.

 

[JaimeAdams]

Let's keep this thread on the discussion at hand.

@BugXprt It is very common for eels to go on hunger strikes, especially when acclimating to a new tank. Eels can go several months without eating and not be bothered by it. A varied diet is sound advice. As mentioned just try to feed them every few days. Don't really be concerned more than likely the eels will be fine long term.

Gorgeous Banana Eel btw!

 

[Kremis]

I fed my snowflake eel cooked shrimp for a few months that were extra from my lunch, he seemed to like them. I also fed krill and clams. OP I would try clams, otherwise just give them time they are only a week in the tank my snowflake took 3 weeks to accept any sort of food

 

[Bob Loblaw]

I've had eels go for six months w/o eating and be fine. I wouldn't worry and chalk it up to getting acclimated. I would ditch the silversides. They're high in thiaminase and are frozen whole with guts in place. If they thaw at some point in transit they may spoil. I'd recommend offering squid and octopus and see how they react. Both can be found at Asian specialty markets and Whole Food type stores.

ETA-- Took this dragon about 4 months to eat. Had tried squid strips from Whole foods. Picked up whole frozen squid from Asian market and success.

 

[Fliper]

I've had eels go for six months w/o eating and be fine. I wouldn't worry and chalk it up to getting acclimated. I would ditch the silversides. They're high in thiaminase and are frozen whole with guts in place. If they thaw at some point in transit they may spoil. I'd recommend offering squid and octopus and see how they react. Both can be found at Asian specialty markets and Whole Food type stores.

ETA-- Took this dragon about 4 months to eat. Had tried squid strips from Whole foods. Picked up whole frozen squid from Asian market and success.

I’ve heard that about silversides. Why would you say “ditch silversides” but not cooked shrimp? Is cooked shrimp cool? I’m closing my account.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

I wouldn't offer cooked shrimp either. I was trying to stay out of the garlic debate and all the other nonsense going on and strictly reply to the OP.