who has a blue ribbon eel?

johnvu713 · 02/05/2006, 02:52 PM

im thinking about getting one. I know theyre difficult to keep and most would only eat live food but few can be trained to eat frozen.Please share your experience.

The_Nexis_One · 02/05/2006, 03:14 PM

IMHO, all can be trained... it's a simple matter of hunger. :-/

I was planning on getting one of these for a very long time. The issue I had with them was that after I setup my reef, I realized that they are not going to do well with any other fish (save maybe other eels). Even fish that are too large for them to eat tend to live very nervous lives and are therefore more suseptible to disease or will pick on the eel.

The other issue is that they are beautiful... and long... but spend 99.999% of their time hiding everything except their head. I spent many days at the LFS watching/feeding the blue ribbon that I was going to buy and it never came out unless you moved the rock it was under. Granted - this was at a LFS, but it had been there for months.

Instead, I purchased a Snowflake Moray and have really appreciated him ever since. He comes out frequently, he'll come out of his hiding places when I approach the tank (and hide when others do). I trained my Moray to be hand fed (although I would recommend using a feeding stick) in less than 2 weeks. Once he understood that the food 'is supposed to dangle into the water from my hand' rather than swim/crawl by like when he lived in the ocean... He began taking food regularly. Once he was eating and comfortable, I slowly cut him back to feeding only on the weekends. He eats once a week until he's full, spends a couple days lounging around and the rest of the week becoming more and more active. He's grown from about 12" to 19" and appears very healthy. He has even healed a large scar from a midnight carpet dive where I found him crusty and near death in the morning... the scar is about 60% back to normal with even his coloration returning slowly to this area.

Eels' are great, you just have to do lots and lots of reading before you get one so you know what you are getting into and how to give them the most out of their lives with you.

John.

johnvu713 · 02/07/2006, 01:18 AM

well i picked one up today and was told he eat live ghost shrimp. But hasnt done so when i put him in my tank. I suppose he's not use to his new home. I will impale some dead shrimp on a stick (skewned) and see how that'd go. Thanks

BillyFSU · 02/07/2006, 01:32 AM

I used to gut load my ghost shrimp with flake food before I fed them to my snowflake. I kept the shrimp in one of those small 1/10 gallon containers in my sump and let them gorge on flake food until their stomachs were red and they were ready to go.

moosejac · 02/07/2006, 01:32 AM

No offense, but i really doubt he was eating ghost shrimp. I'm sure there are exceptions, but these things NEVER eat in captivity. Although, I have known of someone who kept one for over 2 years, but he swears that he never saw the thing eat the whole time! Filter feeder? That could make sense, considering the nostrils...

johnvu713 · 02/07/2006, 01:55 AM

yeah i too heard that they filter feed? or was it some other type of eels

digitalsteve · 02/07/2006, 06:40 AM

dude, i know of a few people that have kept these fish with a very successful rate feeding a variety of seafoods. keep up on your params and watch for signs of stress cause by other fish and you'll be fine...

Machine is Organic · 02/07/2006, 07:16 AM

I had a blue ribbon eel a number of years ago and the problem wasn't getting him to eat--it was getting him to stay in the tank!

I had him for a few months before he took his first dive, but turst me, it wasn't his last! One time he flew out of the tank right into my roomates hands-no joke!

I urge you to seal the top of the tank. We had an opening just big enough for the cords to for various items and he must have eyed that thing for weeks because one morning we came into the living room and he had been carpet surfing all night.

The_Nexis_One is also right-- they rarely come out, but they sure are beautiful when they do.

Good Luck!
Callie

02/05/2006, 02:52 PM	#1
johnvu713 Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: houston Posts: 732	who has a blue ribbon eel? im thinking about getting one. I know theyre difficult to keep and most would only eat live food but few can be trained to eat frozen.Please share your experience.

02/05/2006, 03:14 PM	#2
The_Nexis_One Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 416	IMHO, all can be trained... it's a simple matter of hunger. :-/ I was planning on getting one of these for a very long time. The issue I had with them was that after I setup my reef, I realized that they are not going to do well with any other fish (save maybe other eels). Even fish that are too large for them to eat tend to live very nervous lives and are therefore more suseptible to disease or will pick on the eel. The other issue is that they are beautiful... and long... but spend 99.999% of their time hiding everything except their head. I spent many days at the LFS watching/feeding the blue ribbon that I was going to buy and it never came out unless you moved the rock it was under. Granted - this was at a LFS, but it had been there for months. Instead, I purchased a Snowflake Moray and have really appreciated him ever since. He comes out frequently, he'll come out of his hiding places when I approach the tank (and hide when others do). I trained my Moray to be hand fed (although I would recommend using a feeding stick) in less than 2 weeks. Once he understood that the food 'is supposed to dangle into the water from my hand' rather than swim/crawl by like when he lived in the ocean... He began taking food regularly. Once he was eating and comfortable, I slowly cut him back to feeding only on the weekends. He eats once a week until he's full, spends a couple days lounging around and the rest of the week becoming more and more active. He's grown from about 12" to 19" and appears very healthy. He has even healed a large scar from a midnight carpet dive where I found him crusty and near death in the morning... the scar is about 60% back to normal with even his coloration returning slowly to this area. Eels' are great, you just have to do lots and lots of reading before you get one so you know what you are getting into and how to give them the most out of their lives with you. John. __________________ Killing is easy, Keeping things alive is a Challenge Current Tank Info: 40B Display, 27g Lagoon, 12g Rock Box....

02/07/2006, 01:32 AM	#5
moosejac Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Wichita, Ks. Posts: 232	No offense, but i really doubt he was eating ghost shrimp. I'm sure there are exceptions, but these things NEVER eat in captivity. Although, I have known of someone who kept one for over 2 years, but he swears that he never saw the thing eat the whole time! Filter feeder? That could make sense, considering the nostrils... __________________ Karate is still the best way to acquire a home loan...

02/07/2006, 07:16 AM	#8
Machine is Organic Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 83	I had a blue ribbon eel a number of years ago and the problem wasn't getting him to eat--it was getting him to stay in the tank! I had him for a few months before he took his first dive, but turst me, it wasn't his last! One time he flew out of the tank right into my roomates hands-no joke! I urge you to seal the top of the tank. We had an opening just big enough for the cords to for various items and he must have eyed that thing for weeks because one morning we came into the living room and he had been carpet surfing all night. The_Nexis_One is also right-- they rarely come out, but they sure are beautiful when they do. Good Luck! Callie __________________ The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent not of passion . . . Beets are deadly serious. Current Tank Info: 75 gallon AGA RR w/ ~30 gallon sump/fuge, 2 x 250w AB 10k MH, 2 x 55w T5 Actinics, EuroReef CS6-2, 2 x Tunze 6000

02/07/2006, 01:18 AM	#3
johnvu713 Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: houston Posts: 732	well i picked one up today and was told he eat live ghost shrimp. But hasnt done so when i put him in my tank. I suppose he's not use to his new home. I will impale some dead shrimp on a stick (skewned) and see how that'd go. Thanks

02/07/2006, 01:32 AM	#4
BillyFSU Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Tampa Posts: 514	I used to gut load my ghost shrimp with flake food before I fed them to my snowflake. I kept the shrimp in one of those small 1/10 gallon containers in my sump and let them gorge on flake food until their stomachs were red and they were ready to go.

02/07/2006, 01:55 AM	#6
johnvu713 Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: houston Posts: 732	yeah i too heard that they filter feed? or was it some other type of eels

02/07/2006, 06:40 AM	#7
digitalsteve Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 36	dude, i know of a few people that have kept these fish with a very successful rate feeding a variety of seafoods. keep up on your params and watch for signs of stress cause by other fish and you'll be fine...