i have a freshwater snowflake eel i need help!!!?

Question

ok so i got thiss Freshwater Snowflake eel about 3 days ago and i bought silvertabs to feed it as that is what they sugested i feed it. except when i wiggle it around him he ignores it and ges away. What should i feed it i dont want want it to starve!!! and yes it is freshwater eels in case anyone is asking.

lol it is freshwater.... but ok there is a saltwater and a freshwater...

and i state again it is not the saltwater snowflake eel.....

it looks like the last person found a link to my eel (Freshwater Snowflake Eel, Gymnothorax tile) that looks to be about it.

i do have a 20 gallon brackish water fish tank as well with about 6 puffers i could put it in but will it still eat thoes silver tabs?

Answer 1

Before you jump all over me, there is NO SUCH thing as a fresh water Snowflake Moray eel. NONE. NO FRESH water moray's period. What the store sold you was something else. What gets me is if they don't know what it is, how are you suposed to know how to care for it?

Did your fish store provide a scientific or species name for the Eel they were selling? Chances are they did not. If the Eel that is being sold is not identified, then how do you know exactly what it is? And, without this information how are you supposed to care for it? Properly identifying an animal you are thinking of buying is essential to its well being. So, how do you identify a saltwater VS freshwater Snowflake Eel? The Echidna nebulosa is a saltwater Snowflake Moray Eel and cannot and will not convert to live in fresh water. If you see this name attached to an Eel being sold as a "Freshwater Snowflake", it's most likely not one. It has either been grossly misrepresented or misidentified, and if in fact it is the saltwater species being kept in freshwater, how sad! Saltwater fish can tolerate the lowering of salinity for short periods of time, which is often done for treating saltwater Ich by means of O.S.T. (Osmotic Shock Therapy), but they cannot remain permanently in these conditions without eventually perishing.

To further help clear up the confusion between saltwater and so-called freshwater Eels

It looked vaguely like a Snowflake Eel, and the pet shop had a big sign on it "Freshwater Snowflake". In reality it was a Spiny Eel, Mastocembelus armatus, which is not a true Eel at all. For your info, all true freshwater Eels belong to the Family Anguillidae. There is only one freshwater Eel indigenous to the United States - Anguilla rostrata, or American Eel (unique name, huh?) What I've seen most often in shops are fish that are called Eels, but in reality they are not from the Eel Family at all. Among them are "Fire Eels" (Mastacembelus erythrotaenia), "Tiretrack Eels" (Mastacembelus argus), or "Peacock Eels" (Macrognathus aculeatus). None of these fish are true Eels, and they are definitely not from the saltwater Moray Eel Family."
Like with many common name references, species identification can sometimes be difficult. To assist with the identification of freshwater Eels, as not to confuse them with saltwater species.

Back to your question: SInce you obviously have a spiny eel you are going to have to change what you are feeding it. Try a chunk of shrimp or raw fish, calamari or I hate to say it a live fish.

They are meat eaters. Some will only eat what they see swimming. You can even go as far as using aquarium tongs or a skewer poke the piece of fish or shrimp on the end and move it in front of him. If not, allow it to lay in the tank for about an hour. When he is hungry, he will eat. Sometimes they won't eat for a few days at a time. Not to worry.

Now that you know what Kind of eel you have, now you can learn to care for it. I have raised many eels in my day, specifically snowflakes.

Feel free to email me with any questions you have.

Answer 2

Freshwater Moray Eel

Answer 3

Snowflake Eel

Answer 4

There is such thing as freshwater snowflake eels. I went to school for wildlife biology and law to become a conservation officer. I have been in the hobby since I was very young. I have had freshwater and brackish fish that I have even bred. After hours of research and identification I found that the "snowflake eels" that are sold in the pet store really are not snowflake eels but are just labeled as such. The real name for them is Indian Mud Moray. They can live in freshwater, brackish, or full marine. This is where things get tricky and some argue about. These eels CAN live in full freshwater. It you test the tap water salinity it will be around 1.002 or 1.003 SP most of the time. If you are using RO water you will have to add MARINE SALT. You can add aquarium salt but marine salt is much better for them and can also be used with almost all other freshwater species. These Indian Mud Morays are just like marine snowflake eels in every other way besides appearance. I keep mine at 1.008 to 1.010 SP. if freshwater they tend to get sick with an exterior fungus that looks like white cotton balls that are fuzzy on its skin. To get rid of this you need to raise the salinity to around 1.008. This must be done through a water change. You can never add marine salt directly into the tank. Some will argue that it must be a slow integration but in fact it does not have to be. We tend to baby our fish which can be good but not needed. A brackish eel or fish in the wild experiences rapid salinity changes very often from high tide to low tide with freshwater mixing in. You CAN raise the salinity 5 to 8 points easily without much stress (one point is .001SP). For the record they can be kept in freshwater but brackish is what I recommend. any questions just ask me. Providing a link for additional information

P.S. They do contain venom within their mouth and can have a great effect on humans that are bit while fighting infection or illness but generally will just make you hand or arm go numb or a few days.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
i have a freshwater snowflake eel i need help!!!?
ok so i got thiss Freshwater Snowflake eel about 3 days ago and i bought silvertabs to feed it as that is what they sugested i feed it. except when i wiggle it around him he ignores it and ges away. What should i feed it i dont want want it to starve!!! and yes it is freshwater eels in case...

Answer 6

First, let me apologize for some of the previous answers. There is no need to be rude to people asking the questions - they are here for information, usually because they've been GIVEN misinformation!

Snowflake morays are often misrepresented in the aquarium trade - so can most eels, actually, because they can move between different levels of salinity for a short time. Some can be acclimated to freshwater with a minimal amount of salt, just as freshwater fish such as guppies and mollies can be acclimated to saltwater.

First, you need to be certain that what you have isn't a true snowflake - these are a true saltwater species, as you may have guessed from the other responses, but can survive for a short time in fresh water. See this article which has a photo of a snowflake and info on the misrepresentation of different species and conditions: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/eelprofilesindex/a/aa082901.htm

The websites below will give you info on the more common freshwater eels; the first is for a species often sold under the name of "snowflake moray", even though it's a different species altogether. This is one of the problems encountered using common rather than scientific names - they vary with region. I'm thinking this may be what you have, and even they appreciate some salt added to the water, but the level is such that it wouldn't harm your other freshwater fish.

Other eels for freshwater tanks:
http://www.petsolutions.com/Freshwater+Snowflake+Eel-I-59400-I-C-40001812-C-.aspx
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=836

ADDITION: another photo of the one I think this is: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fish/gymnothoraxtile.php

ADDITION 2: I stand by my answer as given above - all anyone has to do is look at the source that is provided. If there are doubts as to the accuracy of the info, all one needs to do is do a google search on the scientific name of this fish (provided in the website) and you will find that any source you see calls this species FRESHWATER.

In the interest of providing askers with accurate information, if anyone has a source to the contrary, they may post it in their answer and let their information speak for itself.

If anyone on the forum has a personal complaint regarding the nature of the information, or with me, they should contact me via email and keep it off this forum. If they are able to dispute my information with a credible source, I will revise or retract any previous statements with an edit.

Also note that I counted TWO people above me who dispute the information given - repeatedly - by the asker that the species in question is freshwater.

Answer 7

You likely have the same eel i have which is shown in this link along with all of the information about it (Indian Mud Moray (commonly called freshwater moray or freshwater snowflake eel): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_mud_moray_eel

Answer 8

Copperhead, I don't think DanielleZ was being trying to be rude, just mentioning a fact about the adamacy of the asker that it is a fresh not salt water eel. And she is correct. There are no fresh water moray eels. You more than not were sold a spiny eel. Try feeding it shrimp or feeder fish.

Answer 9

Wow all this talk about what it is or isn't is making my head spin. Just got ours 3 days ago. I have a 20 long with 2 angels, a rainbow and albino shark. How can I find out how much salt to put in? I tried feeder Guppies and it did not work out well. If I feed him pieces of meat does it have to be from a pet store? I also hear they like to get out of the tank. Do I need to close all the holes to the cover?
Thanks
Rich

Answer 10

i had one of those so called freshwater morrays and it did the same thing but geuss wat when i changed the water over from fresh to saltwater actually with a gravity reading of 1.023 the eel did way better and it ate like a pig i also kept it with a blue hamlet and a niger trigger and it did fine so maybe you should read alittle about your eel before you believe the label at the petshop. when i gave him away he was near 2ft. long and was eating 1 large scollope every third day