Tropical Fish Forums

[eazy]

Well,

I've got a 55 gallon freshwater that I think I'm going to make saltwater. I don't think I'll make it a reef tank, at least for a while, because the lighting is so expensive and because of the fish I want to keep. I figure I'll just go fish and live rock.

Well I've wanted to keep eels for a while now. I was thinking 1 or 2 small eels like snowflakes or something. I'd also like to put in a couple fish, maybe a puffer or yellow tang or something.

I guess I kind of need ideas for fish that would be compatible with eels and could live in a 55.
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120 Gallon Freshwater

[perfectblue]

A single Snowflake Eel could live its whole life in a 55g comfortably but I wouldn't house more than one. You could something like this:

1 species of Hawkfish

1 Species of Puffer

1 Snowflake Eel

Eels are messy eaters so you need adequate flow, filtration, and a regular water change schedule.


What are you running on this tank as far as filtration?
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55 gallon FOWLR saltwater tank

2.5 gallon saltwater tank

[eazy]

Right now I've just got a whisper 60. I figure I'll get a powerhead or 2 and maybe another whisper 60.

Are there any other eels I could do instead of the snowflake, like a zebra moray?

Is the reason you would say a single eel because of the species temperment? Or the tank size?

And could I do...

1 eel
1 puffer
1 lionfish
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120 Gallon Freshwater

[eazy]

A guy at my LFS said I'd have to do water changes once a week with an eel, is this true?
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120 Gallon Freshwater

[sirreal63]

Yes, they are messy eaters but depending on the water quality and amount of feedings you will have to guage that by what your nitrate levels are. You may have to do more or less than a weekly change.
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Out on the road today...I saw a DeadHead sticker on a Cadillac...
Jack
110 Gallon DSA Pentagon

[eazy]

Can I do a zebra moray, puffer, and lionfish? with a whisper 60 and 1 or 2 powerheads? or would I need more filtration?
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120 Gallon Freshwater

[eazy]

Well, I don't know if I'm going to stick to the previous eel, puffer, lion plan. I don't really like the idea of doing weekly water changes (cost of salt).

I'm going to keep it FOWLR, but I want a very unique stocking list.

Ideas anyone?
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120 Gallon Freshwater

[FloridaBoy]

Weekly water changes... why?
Eels are not overly sensitive to nitrates... a nitrate reading of 40 ppm should be maintainable with minimal substrate in the display, a good skimmer and monthly water changes... of course if you get a wimpy skimmer that doesn't work I suppose weekly could be required but who needs that headache. Addition of a refugium packed with live rock, a DSB and/or algae filter should make this easier. Jack is correct; concervative feeding schedule is important... I was chatting with a hobbyist on another forum who claims he kept almost non-existent nitrates in his large predator tanks using skimmer and live rock in a sump as opposed to the old plastic media.

I have kept many of these with good success; including the Snowflakes, also the breathtaking Tessalata (Gymnothorax favagineus) a gorgeous but vicious animal up to 6 feet, and the small, peaceful Ghost Eel (Uropterygius concolor) which may be a good choice for you... out of all of them the mellow Zebras are my favorite, just make sure it's eating before purchase they usually feed on thawed shrimp, squid, clams. It's not uncommon for Zebras to be starved in the LFS, they often refuse Silversides and other commercial foods.

Be advised, Snowflakes are fish predators; I have seen an 18 inch specimen attack and gulp a 5 inch batfish in about 5 seconds. Even the easy going Ghosts and Zebras will take smaller fish if given the opportunity... and all these eels are excellent escape artists so use nylon screen to cover those small openings!
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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years

[eazy]

FloridaBoy,

What would the refugium do? And is an in-tank refugium just as good?

How deep should the sand bed be?

Is the 65 gallon 'Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer' good?

Oh, and what's an algae filter? It sounds pretty self explanatory but I've never heard of one.

Would an eel, puffer, and lion work in the 55?

Thanks
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120 Gallon Freshwater

[CCS]

I'd suggest you keep a couple dwarf lions. I got into that but I don't want my snails eaten. Since your going for the predator tank, I'd research them.

A refugium is a place where you can keep a deep sand bed for nitrification, macroalgae(marine plants) for phosphate and nitrate control, and you can culture animals in there, which get swept into the main tank for food. I don't know if I've heard of an in-tank refugium because most people keep them below in the stand. It would just take up extra space in the main tank.

The sand bed can be as deep as you want. About 5 in of sand makes a DSB and sand lower than 3 in makes a shallow sand bed. I would highly recommend keeping a shallow sandbed in the main tank and a DSB in the refugium. Why? Because if an established DSB is disturbed(vacuumed or otherwise stirred up) it can kill a tank. If you keep it in the refugium, it will not be disturbed.
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I would like to acknowledge that all of the info I give is purely based on research.