Getting a snowflake eel to eat

[Jukas]

I have a small 10 - 12" snowflake in my quarantine tank. He was feeding before I got him but won't eat for me.

He has plenty of hiding spots and at night I find him out what appears to be actively foraging. I've tried offering him chunks of scalop and shrimp with or without Garlic Extreme and he always retreats from them.

I've tried feeing him with the lights on, I've tried after the lights out cycle. As soon as I introduce the hemostats holding the food into the aquarium he books for a hide and doesn't want anything to do with it.

Anyone have any tips or tricks?

 

[BigJay]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

Wow. I had 2 snowflakes and they were absolute beggars. Have you tried dropping a piece of food on the bottom with the lights out and checking on it after about 10 minutes? They are excellent at smelling out food.
He might just be having acclimation issues and need some time to get used to the new tank. Once he's settled he should take food right from your hand.

 

[SoccerBum474]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

i dont trust my snowflake with eating out of my hand...he gets very close to my fingers...freaks me out...try freezed dried krill...my snowflake loved that stuff when i first got him, he kinda grew out of it though.

 

[Wolfgang8810]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

would snowflakes be considered a reef compatibly eel?

 

[tippMANn98]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

JUKAS:
To answer your question. Try this, instead of using hemostats, get a "feeding prong" its a thing clear acrylic rod with a point on the end. Also, it doesnt say if you are feeding the food frozen or thawed. If frozen, he will not go for it, because its soooo cold, its not food to him. Try a thawed piece of krill on the end of the feeding prong. I had one in my little reef 6 years ago, he was a BEAST, I could put my hand in there without him thinking it was feeding time.

Yes compatible in the reef considering you dont have any shrimps or small fish.

 

[Jukas]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

BigJay: I'll try leaving food on the bottom for him and see if that works. Thanks for the suggestion.

Tippman: I thought the hemo's might be freaking him out, but I couldn't think of any better alternative. I'll swing by a tap plastics and get a quarter inch acrylic rod to try.

 

[tippMANn98]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

if you can, get even thinner......these feeding prongs are thin thin thin, like 1/8 maybe even 1/16th

 

[ramjet33]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

im using a shish kabob skewer. seems to work well, except mine wont eat either.

 

[tippMANn98]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

Really? I have NEVER seen a snowflake not eat. Maybe those banded eels that they catch and sell, they just die, but never a snowflake.

 

[BEELZEBOB]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

what foods are you offering?

my old G.tile would eat deli shrimps, crab meat, oysters etc. all soaked in seclone as well.

ive also heard of lightly cookin or just seasoning the meat with a lil garlic


also keep in mind, sometimes, a moray just wont eat for like a month.

 

[BigJay]

Re: Getting a snowflake to eat

im using a shish kabob skewer. seems to work well, except mine wont eat either.

Is yours at least coming to smell the morsal at the end? He may have trouble removing it or try to bite and feel the prong and back off but they should at least be inspecting it. If hes a new add I'd just give him some time if he looks generally healthy. What are you feeding? Is it defrosted enough to give off a good odor? Their eyesite is not very good so they rely on smell.

 

[Jukas]

I've been offering mine chunks of shimp purchased at the local market as well as chunks of fresh scalop. I've tried soaking it in Garlic Extreme or Selcon before hand and if he doesn't see the hemostats he will come and at least investigate it.

So I'm thinking partially that the hemos are freakin him out and I need to try something less obvious.

I'm also wondering if I'm offering him too big of a piece. I've been cutting the shrimp into chunks approximately 1/2" long by maybe 1/4" think but he's a smaller eel and I'd say his head is only about 1/2" wide.

 

[Irishrose302]

I've been offering mine chunks of shimp purchased at the local market as well as chunks of fresh scalop. I've tried soaking it in Garlic Extreme or Selcon before hand and if he doesn't see the hemostats he will come and at least investigate it.

So I'm thinking partially that the hemos are freakin him out and I need to try something less obvious.

I'm also wondering if I'm offering him too big of a piece. I've been cutting the shrimp into chunks approximately 1/2" long by maybe 1/4" think but he's a smaller eel and I'd say his head is only about 1/2" wide.

very good so far.

also keep in mind that some eels when introduced into a new environment will fast and that can last from days, couple weeks and I even had a zebra moray that didn't eat for a month. He still resides in my 150g display and is 4 yars old.

How long have you had him? How long has he been in the current tank he is in? Is thre other fish in there with him that may be scaring him?

You can also try ghost shrimp, I used them to get both my ribbon eel and banana eel to eat.

 

[Irishrose302]

I also use reef plus and/or combisan soaked krill. You definately need to get the clear feeding prong, I use it and it works great. I have used other tongs but felt that the eels viewed them as another predator eel and wouldn't go near it.

 

[BigJay]

any update?

 

[Jukas]

Thanks for the info Irishrose. He's in a 12 gallon QT tank at the moment. No other fish, just some live rock and pvc tubing. He will smell at the food, just not take it off the tongs. Next feeding attempt I will try putting some of the shrimp on the bottom of the tank and leaving it for 10 - 20 minutes and see if he finds it there.

BigJay: Not yet. I haven't attempted to feed him again yet. My experience at least with herps is that the more stressed out they are the less likely they are to eat, so I've been leaving him alone other than to check on the water parameters.

I'll try and feed him again either tonight or tomorrow night after lights out.

 

[tippMANn98]

They usually should pick stuff that is laying on the bottom too, maybe that will work, maybe he doesnt want to be FED, maybe he wants to hunt?