To Snowflake Eel Owners....

[dreamcatcherr9]

I am seriously considering a Snowflake Eel. I have never owned an eel. I have been researching and educating myself on care, habitat, diet, etc.

Any Cons? Advise or helpful info anyone would like to share? Anregrets?

Left field question, when comes time to move (from tank to tank, moving, etc); how do you catch them? Net? Are they hard to chase down?

Any info anyone would like to share would be greatly appreciated.....

 

[vetteguy53081]

Escape artists
Finicky at first

feed mussel, squid, krill and silversides. A feeding tong works great

 

[smlarson72]

I LOVE my snowflake eel! He is very easy to care for. One of the things to be careful with is that they are escape artists! Make sure any openings in your tank are covered. Bob escaped when I was out of town and my son was feeding for me. We found him a week later down in the sump. Don’t be too concerned if they don’t eat right away. It took Bob a good 2 weeks before he would come out and eat.

 

[nereefpat]

Any Cons?

Pros would be: They would be a good eel for someone who hasn't kept eels before. They are hardy, cheap, not terribly aggressive, and stay a modest size.

Cons: Still an eel, so they get big and messy. They can escape. They *could damage tank mates, or potentially eat small fish or inverts. It isn't a huge risk, since they are pretty docile and have terrible eyesite, but I have seen one eat feeder goldfish.

Left field question, when comes time to move (from tank to tank, moving, etc); how do you catch them? Net? Are they hard to chase down?

Moving one won't be fun, so it's bet to plan to keep it forever. They are strong and slippery.

A big net with fine mesh would work when small. Chasing the eel into a container, or, better yet, a piece of pipe would work better.

 

[56cbr600rr]

They are super cool. Had one many years ago and back in the day we fed them GoldFish.

Also, neat story. Could not find the eel in the tank after work one day. Found him between my wall and the refrigerator. Caked in dust. Shrunk up, and VERY dry. How long he was down there I'd guess was easily several hours. Dead as hell, or so it seemed... Anyways, I was like shoot, I'll throw him in the tank and see what happens. After a while I saw movement and over the next few hours he came too.. Even sloughed off a layer of slime with all the filth and debris that was attached to him. He was fine after that. So.. Long story short, if you find your eel on the ground all dried up throw him back in the tank!

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

Escape artists
Finicky at first

feed mussel, squid, krill and silversides. A feeding tong works great

Thank you! Feeding tong great suggestion. I’m shopping for one now.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

I LOVE my snowflake eel! He is very easy to care for. One of the things to be careful with is that they are escape artists! Make sure any openings in your tank are covered. Bob escaped when I was out of town and my son was feeding for me. We found him a week later down in the sump. Don’t be too concerned if they don’t eat right away. It took Bob a good 2 weeks before he would come out and eat.

Thanks for the pic! How did it get in the sump? Through overflow? That’s one I think about. I have glass lids now, debated switching to screen top, but the glass lids now are heavy. But the overflow to the sump is another question. I’ve lost a few small fish in that manner.... thanks again!

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

Pros would be: They would be a good eel for someone who hasn't kept eels before. They are hardy, cheap, not terribly aggressive, and stay a modest size.

Cons: Still an eel, so they get big and messy. They can escape. They *could damage tank mates, or potentially eat small fish or inverts. It isn't a huge risk, since they are pretty docile and have terrible eyesite, but I have seen one eat feeder goldfish.



Moving one won't be fun, so it's bet to plan to keep it forever. They are strong and slippery.

A big net with fine mesh would work when small. Chasing the eel into a container, or, better yet, a piece of pipe would work better.

Thanks for the great info! I planned to keep long term. But I asked plan on moving (houses) in about 2-3 years. Thinking ahead, I was picturing he would not be fun to catch!!

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

They are super cool. Had one many years ago and back in the day we fed them GoldFish.

Also, neat story. Could not find the eel in the tank after work one day. Found him between my wall and the refrigerator. Caked in dust. Shrunk up, and VERY dry. How long he was down there I'd guess was easily several hours. Dead as hell, or so it seemed... Anyways, I was like shoot, I'll throw him in the tank and see what happens. After a while I saw movement and over the next few hours he came too.. Even sloughed off a layer of slime with all the filth and debris that was attached to him. He was fine after that. So.. Long story short, if you find your eel on the ground all dried up throw him back in the tank!

Great story! I have read before. Escaping does concern me. Any idea how he got out on you?

 

[56cbr600rr]

Great story! I have read before. Escaping does concern me. Any idea how he got out on you?

Hard to say, was a long time ago. I think it was one of the small-ish old Eclipse Systems.

 

[smlarson72]

Thanks for the pic! How did it get in the sump? Through overflow? That’s one I think about. I have glass lids now, debated switching to screen top, but the glass lids now are heavy. But the overflow to the sump is another question. I’ve lost a few small fish in that manner.... thanks again!

He went through the overflow and did it one more time before we cut a piece of plexi glass and placed it over the top so he could not get into it again. The second time it took us a couple of hours to catch him and put him back into the tank. Like @nereefpat said, they are strong and slippery! Lol. You will love yours if you decide to get one. Mine is definitely the “star” of my tank.

 

[Saltwaterfish011]

I am seriously considering a Snowflake Eel. I have never owned an eel. I have been researching and educating myself on care, habitat, diet, etc.

Any Cons? Advise or helpful info anyone would like to share? Anregrets?

Left field question, when comes time to move (from tank to tank, moving, etc); how do you catch them? Net? Are they hard to chase down?

Any info anyone would like to share would be greatly appreciated.....

I recommend the Snowflake eel! They are the easiest and cheapest eels and they are great for people who aren’t super knowledgeable about eels. I had my first one for about 3-5 months, when he ate a crab and died . I wouldn’t recommend putting crabs in there, because stuff like that will happen... Good luck!