5 years with our Blue Ribbon Eel

SantaMonicaHelp

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5 years with our Blue Ribbon Eel

Here are some pics and vids of our Blue Ribbon Eel in our office. We got him in summer of 2006, and uploaded the pics and vids in 2007...










Vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qVOnLdz2n8



Here he is today...






Vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Qx_3g-t-A


He was bright blue for several years, then turned darker and spotted. He does not really like to eat anymore, but will. He does still eat small fish that come near his pipe. At first it took a while to get him eating, and he ate regularly for about 4 years. The trick is to always have a pvc pipe for him to hide in... he will not eat unless he is in a pipe because he knows he is long and can be seen easily. We feed him one frozen silverside per week, because they are shaped like his favorite food... firefish. There are a lot of ideas about getting one to eat if you google "my blue ribbon eel eats!" (too long to post here). But give yourself 2 weeks of daily dedicated time to do it.

Here is a pic of the pipe before it went in....




If you are going to use a pipe, don't do the turned-up ends like we did. It collects waste inside, and it rots and can't get out. Instead, raise the pipe off the bottom a bit and keep it straight so waste can flow out. Or better, angle it slightly down on both ends, like a roof.
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Tangwich

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VERY NICE...i love how in that first vid, it seems to just go "down the drain"...i'm also lovin' that lookdown...has it ever munched on any of your corals?
 
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WOW! I've always wanted a blue ribbon eel!!! I noticed you have a sea horse? How is this so? also does it bite???
Was just gunna ask about the horse. and HOT ****!!!!!!!! That thing is great and the pipe thing. all together best thing i have seen all week. thanks!:congrats:
 

SantaMonicaHelp

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VERY NICE...i love how in that first vid, it seems to just go "down the drain"...i'm also lovin' that lookdown...has it ever munched on any of your corals?
Never, he never did something like that.

wow u also have sea hors's with corals and eels.
The horse is no longer with us, gas bubble disease, lost him few years ago

Thank you!

WOW! I've always wanted a blue ribbon eel!!! I noticed you have a sea horse? How is this so? also does it bite???
Well, the horse is no longer in the tank, but back then, they seem never noticed each other, never was a problem, not in our tank.
The eel bites! That's for sure! Good hunter too, very fast!

Was just gunna ask about the horse. and HOT ****!!!!!!!! That thing is great and the pipe thing. all together best thing i have seen all week. thanks!:congrats:
Thank you! :)

wow really cool! nice idea with the PVC
Thank you! :)
 
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I was thinking of keeping an eel in a simple FOWLR set up with canister filtration. I was warned that eels are messy and I would need a skimmer. Any thoughts?
 
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Ya the canister would work! All I would add to that is a little macroalgae. Then you would have a little buffer of filtration and a little color
 

SantaMonicaHelp

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I was thinking of keeping an eel in a simple FOWLR set up with canister filtration. I was warned that eels are messy and I would need a skimmer. Any thoughts?
If you have a good cleanup crew (CUC) that can break fish waste into small particles, a skimmer would definitely help getting the particles out of the water since you don't need any particles! Canister is not a good choice because it collects waste, then they rot.

Blue ribbon eel does bite a little, but can barely be felt. You'll be fine with cleaning the tank. :)
 

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