My local Petco has had a snowflake eel for going on 3 months now, they have him floating in a hamster ball so he doesn’t escape and eat all the fish. I have been going in randomly to see if he found a new home but nothing. I am considering rescuing this guy because I feel bad, but I want to know what kind of harm it could do to him being confined and not being able to swim. I would imagine being stuck in that little ball without being able to move would start do degrade his muscles.
Snowflake Eel
- Thread starter Coley88
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Jekyl
GSP is the devil and clowns are bad pets
Certainly not good for the fish. Just make sure you do your own homework first. They need a good sized and well secured tank. Rescuing animals from petco in the long run doesn't benefit anyone except petco.
Thalasstronaut
Community Member
Most of the snowflakes I’ve seen at stores have been confined in some way, usually in what looks like a little cricket carrier. The store where I got mine says they do that so they can easily remove the eel vs trying to net them in a big tank.
I haven’t had my snowflake for very long, just a few months, but my understanding (and my observation) is that they do very little “stretching.” Mine likes to thread through and around the rocks in his tank. The only time I see him out and about is when he’s hungry, and that’s usually my sign to feed him the next day.
What I’m getting at is that I don’t think the concern would be muscle degradation so much as just general poor health from being at a PetCo for so long.
I will say that of all the fish to not impulse buy, eels would be near the top for me. I did a ton of research before hand. At the very least you can’t bring an eel home to a tank that isn’t locked down. They also get fairly large. Pushing three feet at the high end and about as fat around as a man’s wrist.
I understand the impulse to “rescue” animals, but as Jekyl said, that only benefits the perpetrators of poor animal husbandry.
I haven’t had my snowflake for very long, just a few months, but my understanding (and my observation) is that they do very little “stretching.” Mine likes to thread through and around the rocks in his tank. The only time I see him out and about is when he’s hungry, and that’s usually my sign to feed him the next day.
What I’m getting at is that I don’t think the concern would be muscle degradation so much as just general poor health from being at a PetCo for so long.
I will say that of all the fish to not impulse buy, eels would be near the top for me. I did a ton of research before hand. At the very least you can’t bring an eel home to a tank that isn’t locked down. They also get fairly large. Pushing three feet at the high end and about as fat around as a man’s wrist.
I understand the impulse to “rescue” animals, but as Jekyl said, that only benefits the perpetrators of poor animal husbandry.
Naekuh
Valuable Member
When i had a snowflake eel, i never really saw it "swim".
It mostly sat there in a cave looking at me, asking me when its going to be fed calimari on tongs.
The only time it swam was when it decided to commit sepuku lift a 3 lb weight off a lid, and then try a free willy move only to find out the ocean requires a method of transportation on 2 or 4 wheels, and not a hop skip and jump away.
i am thinking that ball is simulating a cave for the eel.
The eel also never really ate its inhabitants, as long as it was fed and happy.
But this is my experience with that eel, and why i won't get another one.
I really had weights on this lid, and it easily toss'd the lid right off at the one time i went on a 3 day trip.
It mostly sat there in a cave looking at me, asking me when its going to be fed calimari on tongs.
The only time it swam was when it decided to commit sepuku lift a 3 lb weight off a lid, and then try a free willy move only to find out the ocean requires a method of transportation on 2 or 4 wheels, and not a hop skip and jump away.
i am thinking that ball is simulating a cave for the eel.
The eel also never really ate its inhabitants, as long as it was fed and happy.
But this is my experience with that eel, and why i won't get another one.
I really had weights on this lid, and it easily toss'd the lid right off at the one time i went on a 3 day trip.
Rifken
Community Member
My Snowflake resides in a 125 with a Sailfin Tang, a Naso Tang, a Blue Throat Trigger and a Lawnmower Blenny. At just under 2 feet, he is a pretty big guy but he doesn't bother the fish. Frosty mostly crawls around in the rocks, especially at feeding time.
He has been a very hardy eel and has survived a near complete fish die-off when a puffer died in the tank. He was the only one that made it.
You have to have the tank closed in. They do explore and many have crawled out of tanks. They are most active at night but he's always poking his head out of the rocks. You also need to be careful not to leave the lid up, especially when feeding. Some times they get a little "spazzy" and start swimming all excitedly looking for food. They do not have good eyesight and mostly search for food by smell. It's best to feed them with tongs.
Snowflake Morays are very cool and Frosty is responsible for getting us back into saltwater. We had freshwater setups until I saw him at the LFS. I knew then that I would be changing one of our tanks over to fresh water
Hope that helps somewhat,
-Bob
He has been a very hardy eel and has survived a near complete fish die-off when a puffer died in the tank. He was the only one that made it.
You have to have the tank closed in. They do explore and many have crawled out of tanks. They are most active at night but he's always poking his head out of the rocks. You also need to be careful not to leave the lid up, especially when feeding. Some times they get a little "spazzy" and start swimming all excitedly looking for food. They do not have good eyesight and mostly search for food by smell. It's best to feed them with tongs.
Snowflake Morays are very cool and Frosty is responsible for getting us back into saltwater. We had freshwater setups until I saw him at the LFS. I knew then that I would be changing one of our tanks over to fresh water
Hope that helps somewhat,
-Bob
