Moreover, certain moray eels such as honeycomb moray eel could feed on snowflakes. The peculiar shape and color are not inviting common pet fish owners to bring it into the aquarium. Snowflake eels require a tightly sealed saltwater tank setup of at least 55 gallons (or 208 liters). Scientific Name: Echidna nebulosa Reef Compatibility: With Caution Minimum Tank Size: 50 gal Max Size: 24” Food/Feeding: Carnivore Notes: This is a very hardy eel, but an escape artist. ✦ pH: 8.1 to 8.4✦ Salinity: 1.022-1.025✦ Temperature: 75-82°F✦ Tank Size: Minimum 120 liters/32 gallons tank with a secure lid or well-covered holes✦ Diet: Carnivorous, freeze-dried krill, fish, shrimp, meaty foods, etc.✦ Feeding: 2-3 times in a week, depending on the size; frequent feeding for juveniles✦ Feeding time: Evening✦ Lifespan: 4 years or more in captivity✦ Compatible Tank Mates: Sea urchins, starfish, sea anemones, etc. A 50 gallon or larger aquarium with plenty of live rock and a tightly fit canopy is ideal. This is both good and bad news. For it to thrive, you need to ensure that the water quality is good, and the eel is fed properly. Another option is to bury a PVC pipe in a live rock. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Snowflake moray eels are true eels that are native to Indo-Pacific, Baja, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Hawaii. It must be noted that even a minor change in the pH can be stressful for the fish. In the wild snowflake eels can grow to upwards of 3 feet, but in captivity tend to top out at just over 2 feet. Many fish do fine with snowflakes as long as the eel is not fed off live feeders and is well fed. ✦ In their natural habitat, they feed on crustaceans, which is why it is advisable to not place ornamental crabs, lobsters, or other crustaceans in the tank. Juvenile and adult specimens alike readily adapt to aquarium life, accepting all types of fresh and frozen fares including clam, crab, shrimp, squid, scallop and fish meat. They grow pretty fast so you'll need a large tank even if they have to grow into it. I wont go into equipment details, more of the aquascaping, so I can get some good tips on tankmates and critters for the tank. ✦ Also, make sure that the rocks or decorations in the tank are secured, as this eel can topple them and damage corals. Feeding: 2-3 times in a week, depending on the size… Barred Moray. Snowflake eels tend to grow based on the size of their tank, so while the minimum tank size is 50 gallons (190L), do know that the larger your tank is, the more likely it is that your eel will grow larger (some report eels over 40 inches). That said, some eels grow extremely large and will demand 180 gallons of space or more! It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Once they spot their prey, they lunge for it. This is a very hardy eel, but an escape artist. The largest ones (larger than 10 feet) are rarely kept in the home aquarium due to trouble with providing adequate space. Sign up to receive the latest and greatest articles from our site automatically each week (give or take)...right to your inbox. So, pay attention to their diet. Get in touch with us and we'll talk... ✦ Kingdom: Animalia✦ Phylum: Chordata✦ Class: Actinopterygii✦ Order: Anguilliformes✦ Family: Muraenidae✦ Genus: Echidna✦ Species: Echidna nebulosa. Is Pet Insurance with Wellness Right for You. It’s best not to place shrimp and crabs in the tank. Their snake-like appearance can be attributed to the lack of pectoral and pelvic fins. Here are four reasons you'll want one for your tank according to Salt Water Smarts. Gonna be putting up our 90g in the summer sometime and then it would be transferred to that tank. Join Yahoo Answers and get 100 points today. They're categorized as 'aggressive' or semi-aggressive on the social scale and they're carnivores! 6789 Quail Hill Pkwy, Suite 211 Irvine CA 92603. Known by several names such as clouded moray, nebulous moray eel, and starry moray, the snowflake moray eel belongs to the Echidna genus. The ABSOLUTE minimum for one single specimen is 75 US Gallons as they can grow up to three feet in length. So you need to commit once you find an eel for your tank. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We provide informative articles about caring for pets that you can come back to again and again when you have questions or want to learn more! Would you like to write for us? The majority of snowflake eel deaths in the home tank are a direct result of their escape, either out of the tank and on to the floor, or through a pipe and into a filter or sump. I like that the zebra eel is reef safe compared to the snowflake eel, but I'd also like to see it's head pop out once in a while not just around feeding time. Yes! Snowflake Eels will grow from a short 8″ eel into a foot and a half in only 6 months. what is the minimum tank size for a snowflake eel? These eels can get very large (24 inches, 61 cm) and are very good at escaping from the tank. This species grows to a maximum length of 30 inches and can be kept in a tank at least 40 gallons in capacity. It can be kept in an aquarium, provided the tank has a secure lid that prevents the eel from venturing out. Despite their poor eyesight,Snowflake Eels manage to be good escape artists so a tightly fitted tank lid is vital. There are also marine Eels which for some months br… They can easily outgrow a small-sized aquarium, which is why they should be placed in a tank or aquarium of a suitable size. In their natural habitat, snowflake eels hide in the crevices or caves at the bottom, with just a part of their head sticking out. Fish friendly (more or less) With a penchant for eating crustaceans more so than fish, E. nebulosa … Sort By. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. You can sign in to vote the answer. According to Michael (1999) this eel is common in the tidal zones and has been observed slithering out of the water at ebb tide. Individuals reaching 2.5 feet or more by adulthood should be kept in at least a 30 gallon tank. Always use feeding tongs to lower food into the aquarium. While these eels will not outgrow a Snowflake Eel they are far more aggressive. Now you've got somebody telling you that both of those are wrong. Because of its small stature, it can fit through holes that other species cannot. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The snowflake eel subsists mainly on shore- and rock-dwelling crabs, though it may also accept small fish and mantis shrimp. However, it is important t… All Eels belong to the order Anguilliformes which is made up of 20 different families. Range: From the Red Sea and eastern Africa east to Hawaii. Snowflake eel . However, as the eel grows, it might use its blunt, hard teeth to crush and feed on small-sized fish. Usually if well fed, by feeding several times a week of an amount of food to satisfy the eel's appetite, it ignores other tank inhabitants. 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Are adept at the art of escape experience while you navigate through the website to function.. Started my second tank today, a 20g long saltwater tank, snowflake eels are true eels are! Off live feeders and is well fed assume you 're ok with this, but you can opt-out if are!