Dwarf golden moray with jawfish ?

ekovalsky · 06-02-2008, 03:57 PM

I'm fighting temptation to buy a gorgeous dwarf golden moray eel (gymnothorax meleatrus) that is available at a LFS at a good price. They are piscivorous but only grow to 8-10", smallest of all moray eels, and thus aren't capable of eating fish other than the really tiny ones.

My bluespot is pretty big, at least 4", and pretty fat now that he eats almost as much krill as my dwarf fuzzy lionfish. The pearly jawfish are a bit smaller. More so than other small fish, I would worry about these in the presence of the eel since they have a not dissimilar body configuration.

Anyone here ever try to keep a dwarf eel and jawfish together ? It would be a great addition to my tank, kind of like having a big jawfish with lots of personality living in the rocks, but I obviously don't want to put the jawfish (particularly the bluespot) in any mortal danger.

I've had no problem with an existing predator in the tank, a dwarf fuzzy lionfish, who has not even bothered a tiny neon goby. He's not full grown yet, but he's not small by any means. I do keep him well fed with silversides and krill

lcstorc · 06-02-2008, 04:00 PM

I wouldn't risk it particularly with a blue.
I keep my blue in my very non agressive tank and not even in my regular reef.

AQTCJAK · 06-03-2008, 11:51 AM

I have seen golden moray eat entire silver sides so that should help with you decision

BigAl07 · 06-03-2008, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekovalsky

I'm fighting temptation to buy a gorgeous dwarf golden moray eel (gymnothorax meleatrus) that is available at a LFS at a good price. They are piscivorous but only grow to 8-10", smallest of all moray eels, and thus aren't capable of eating fish other than the really tiny ones.

My bluespot is pretty big, at least 4", and pretty fat now that he eats almost as much krill as my dwarf fuzzy lionfish. The pearly jawfish are a bit smaller. More so than other small fish, I would worry about these in the presence of the eel since they have a not dissimilar body configuration.

Anyone here ever try to keep a dwarf eel and jawfish together ? It would be a great addition to my tank, kind of like having a big jawfish with lots of personality living in the rocks, but I obviously don't want to put the jawfish (particularly the bluespot) in any mortal danger.

I've had no problem with an existing predator in the tank, a dwarf fuzzy lionfish, who has not even bothered a tiny neon goby. He's not full grown yet, but he's not small by any means. I do keep him well fed with silversides and krill

#1 your icon/logo isn't coming over from Reef Central. We're getting an error message. You may want to look into that.

#2 Even though it "Seems" safe I wouldn't try it. Even though it may not be able to eat it wholly in one bite I would suspect it may try to take it out and eat it bite by bite. That's just the nature of that eel. Not worth the risk.

SeahorseBT · 06-04-2008, 01:53 PM

looks like you need another tank, theres the excuse right there.

Witfull · 06-04-2008, 01:59 PM

it will eat any fish it can get its mouth around

BigAl07 · 06-04-2008, 02:05 PM

or even THINK it can!! Ever seen a fish with a BITE taken out of it? I have

ekovalsky · 06-04-2008, 04:35 PM

Okay, no eel for my tank.

I went back to see him, really cute little guy and his mouth looked pretty tiny (even wide open) but I know it can be deceiving. He wouldn't eat frozen food, which made the decision real easy. Being about 8" he was obviously used to live fare and I don't want my jawfish on his menu! Had he readily accepted the frozen I may have decided differently, since I'd be confident of keeping him well fed on krill, silversides, etc and thus uninterested in his tankmates. This has worked very well with the lionfish, who has gotten large enough to eat various fish in the tank but refuses anything but small pieces of silversides and krill. My bluespot will actually eat bigger pieces of krill than the lionfish! I got him when he was tiny and it took a few weeks to get him off ghost shrimp, but once weaned he has been very easy to keep well fed. I do feed him everyday which is appropriate for a dwarf.

There is a diver in Hawaii who catches the dwarf golden morays and sells direct at a good price. If he ever gets a baby one, 6" or less, I may reconsider. The one at the LFS was about 8" -- nearly full grown -- and obviously accustomed to live fare.

I do need a larger tank. Once the kids outgrow their playroom, I may go big league (700-1000g with fish room)... until then I will have to deal with overstocking!

BayAreaReefer · 09-10-2008, 04:15 AM

Hello Ecovalsky,

This is a late reply, but I'd like to answer your question. I currently have a golden dwarf moray in my reef tank and I have several small gobies in including a couple of jawfishes and firefishes. For one thing, if you train your moray to eat frozen silverslides, shrimps and squid, they're more likely to eat that than try and hunt a live goby or jawfish. If you feed them regularly 2-3 times a week then you are okay.

Never say never but its not a common thing that they will eat jawfishes. They are too quick and morays don't have good eyesight but has a high sense of smell. Silverslides have a very fishy smell that is why when you dip it into the water the moray goes crazy. So you don't need to worry too much about jawfishes getting eaten.

06-02-2008, 03:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
ekovalsky Tubeworm Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Scottsdale Posts: 28 View Gallery Karma Komment	Dwarf golden moray with jawfish ? I'm fighting temptation to buy a gorgeous dwarf golden moray eel (gymnothorax meleatrus) that is available at a LFS at a good price. They are piscivorous but only grow to 8-10", smallest of all moray eels, and thus aren't capable of eating fish other than the really tiny ones. My bluespot is pretty big, at least 4", and pretty fat now that he eats almost as much krill as my dwarf fuzzy lionfish. The pearly jawfish are a bit smaller. More so than other small fish, I would worry about these in the presence of the eel since they have a not dissimilar body configuration. Anyone here ever try to keep a dwarf eel and jawfish together ? It would be a great addition to my tank, kind of like having a big jawfish with lots of personality living in the rocks, but I obviously don't want to put the jawfish (particularly the bluespot) in any mortal danger. I've had no problem with an existing predator in the tank, a dwarf fuzzy lionfish, who has not even bothered a tiny neon goby. He's not full grown yet, but he's not small by any means. I do keep him well fed with silversides and krill

06-02-2008, 04:00 PM	#2 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 26,433 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Dwarf golden moray with jawfish ? I wouldn't risk it particularly with a blue. I keep my blue in my very non agressive tank and not even in my regular reef. __________________ Peace LYNN Lynn and Franks saltwater adventure Lynn's 20g clown tank Lynn's 90g of sunshine Lynn's frag tank experiment A reef tank is like a race car. The faster you go the harder you crash.

06-03-2008, 11:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
AQTCJAK Tiger Shark Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 7,267 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Dwarf golden moray with jawfish ? I have seen golden moray eat entire silver sides so that should help with you decision __________________ A Wiseman once said build a stage add a pole & they will dance - Jack 2007 www.aquaticaggression.com

06-04-2008, 01:53 PM	#5 (permalink)
SeahorseBT Golden Moray Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Libertyville, IL Posts: 2,279 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Dwarf golden moray with jawfish ? looks like you need another tank, theres the excuse right there.

06-04-2008, 02:05 PM	#7 (permalink)
BigAl07 Do I look as lost as I am Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Waynesville, North Carolina Posts: 21,549 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Dwarf golden moray with jawfish ? or even THINK it can!! Ever seen a fish with a BITE taken out of it? I have __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Live Rock Rubble will do the SAME thing as Bio-Balls and is NOT a suitable replacement for BIO-BALLS in a Reef System! It's ALL gotta go!!* Nitrate (NO3) reduction is directly proportional to percentage of Water Change. Allen's home-made formula...currentNO3-((%WC.01)currentNO3)=finalNO3 (thanks Luukosian) This means if you change 50% of your total water volume (That's EVERYTHING) you'll get a net reduction of (NO3) somewhere around 50%. Ask me about how to increase your REEF budget without going without FOOD!!* Big Al's 10g Julie's (BigAl's Gal) 6g NanoCube Gone but not forgotten BigAl's Slow 90g Tank Chronicle Allens OFFICE 12g Nano-Reef

06-04-2008, 04:35 PM	#8 (permalink)
ekovalsky Tubeworm Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Scottsdale Posts: 28 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Dwarf golden moray with jawfish ? Okay, no eel for my tank. I went back to see him, really cute little guy and his mouth looked pretty tiny (even wide open) but I know it can be deceiving. He wouldn't eat frozen food, which made the decision real easy. Being about 8" he was obviously used to live fare and I don't want my jawfish on his menu! Had he readily accepted the frozen I may have decided differently, since I'd be confident of keeping him well fed on krill, silversides, etc and thus uninterested in his tankmates. This has worked very well with the lionfish, who has gotten large enough to eat various fish in the tank but refuses anything but small pieces of silversides and krill. My bluespot will actually eat bigger pieces of krill than the lionfish! I got him when he was tiny and it took a few weeks to get him off ghost shrimp, but once weaned he has been very easy to keep well fed. I do feed him everyday which is appropriate for a dwarf. There is a diver in Hawaii who catches the dwarf golden morays and sells direct at a good price. If he ever gets a baby one, 6" or less, I may reconsider. The one at the LFS was about 8" -- nearly full grown -- and obviously accustomed to live fare. I do need a larger tank. Once the kids outgrow their playroom, I may go big league (700-1000g with fish room)... until then I will have to deal with overstocking!

09-10-2008, 04:15 AM	#9 (permalink)
BayAreaReefer Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Dwarf golden moray with jawfish ? Hello Ecovalsky, This is a late reply, but I'd like to answer your question. I currently have a golden dwarf moray in my reef tank and I have several small gobies in including a couple of jawfishes and firefishes. For one thing, if you train your moray to eat frozen silverslides, shrimps and squid, they're more likely to eat that than try and hunt a live goby or jawfish. If you feed them regularly 2-3 times a week then you are okay. Never say never but its not a common thing that they will eat jawfishes. They are too quick and morays don't have good eyesight but has a high sense of smell. Silverslides have a very fishy smell that is why when you dip it into the water the moray goes crazy. So you don't need to worry too much about jawfishes getting eaten.

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