Tankmates for snowflake eel?

[kangadrew]

Alright, I've got a new project coming up. I'm buying a 40 breeder for a snowflake eel as well as a few other fish. I won't go into equipment details, more of the aquascaping, so I can get some good tips on tankmates and critters for the tank. The aquascaping plan is:

• A decent sized rock/shell pile at the far back right corner - this will be the home of the snowflake eel (I would assume he chooses to hang out here) - it will get within maybe 4 or 5 inches of the surface of the water and be relatively dome shaped, utilizing naturally collected shells, and either sterilized naturally collected holey rocks (since the plants I'm choosing [later] are native to the southeastern US) or base rock (unlikely because it's really expensive). At the top of this, I plan on either - native anemones (about 2" wide, dark red - unlikely) or dull colored xenia. POSSIBLY monti caps but very unlikely.
• A smaller and shorter pile of crushed/rubble rock on the far left side, maybe just 2-3 inches high. This will be the support for a beautiful, bright blue Tridacna clam. Sunken into the sand around it will be oyster shell colonies for decoration mostly. I would like some kind of dull-colored, somewhat quickly spreading coral around the base of this rock. Any suggestions?
• On the sand bed, there will be johnson's seagrass at the very bottom from front to almost at the back, surrounding pretty much everything with smaller patches in between of bare sand (probably native collected and sterilized sand to keep up with the theme - I will be purchasing the plants). At the far back wall of the aquarium, I am leaning towards codium macroalgae, probably only a few strands of it.
• There will be one other rock at the middle between the two larger rock structures that will have light blue mushrooms growing on it (this is a possibility and I want to see how the entire tank looks without them first).
• Stocking: obviously the clam, snowflake eel, and something to take over the top of the eel cave (either native anemones, xenia , or monti caps; which are highly unlikely). I'm not really sure of what else, this is where you guys come into play. I don't want bright, flashy things obviously because it will sort of ruin the native, peaceful feel (yes, I know snowflake eels aren't native). Inverts and fish will both be in this tank, and I really don't want anything too large. I was thinking of a clown, but I'm afraid they'll be too bright for this theme - feel free to chime in. I'm sort of at a loss here with this one.

Thanks to everyone!

[SunWyrm]

That's a neat clown! And Felicia's tank is a beautiful example to go by.

I'm a big fuzzy lionfish fan. They occasionally come in different colors and are pretty adorable. Other than that, really anything peaceful that's not going to fit in the fu manchu's mouth or irritate the eel (like when tangs get anxious and tail swipe at the eels face). My previous snowflake was fine with any fish, but ymmv.

Hawkfish are always a good choice too, especially a pair.

Make sure your rocks are as stable as possible. Snowflake's have some crazy strength when they decide to "remodel".

[kangadrew]

Yeah, I'll be siliconing and/or epoxying down rocks. I guess you saw the post before I edited it, but it's changed a bit.

 

I'm not sure whether or not the lion would fit in with the feel of the tank - if it does, it's in for sure though. Looking at other lions now but none are really appealing as of now.

 

Some sort of black and white damsels would be cool, banggais would be cool, a pair of PJ cardinals would be cool, some chromis would be cool, probably getting something like a tribal blenny to live in the oyster shells - maybe a tail spot is the better choice, or even both.

 

What do you think about the lionfish, eel, tail spot blenny(s), clam, xenia, a pair of PJ cardinals, a b/w ocellaris (or the mai tai, not sure whether it would stand out too much, then again so will the lionfish), and then some other sort of small-ish fish? Something like the banggais or black and white-looking damsels. Plus some inverts that can be regularly restocked because of the eel

[SunWyrm]

I come back and everything's different!

Sounds pretty amazing though.

Only thing I would think to add would be to use a pvc pipe for the cave underneath the rock structure. Something with enough room to wrap up in and grow but still be cozy and safe.

I think some Banggai's or PJs would be a pretty chill fish and would make for a calm/easygoing feel.

Lionfish and blenny is a no-go unfortunately. But lions are also pretty chill fish. If you're not sold go look at Rehype's or PlainRT's fuzzies and tell me you're not in love lol. I know I'm biased...

For a good encrusting coral that's not too flashy, I really like my encrusting gorg. It's a dull pink, has a lot of movement; plus it's fairly easy to cut and peel off if it gets too industrious. Another tank to look at for coral ideas is gena's Pastel Garden.

[kangadrew]

Yeah, I'll definitely be adding a burrow for the snowflake that can't be seen.

 

Man, this is hard. I want the lion so bad but I don't think it will look too well in this tank. I think I have an idea though - around the blue tridacna, add in some red macro - the lion can and likely will sit up here, just gotta keep it off the clam. So far the stock is:

 

-Blue tridacna squamosa clam (good suppliers?)

-Xenias

-Mushroom leather coral

-Snowflake eel

-Fu manchu lionfish (most likely)

-Mai tai clownfish and/or black and white ocellaris (you guys decide, which is cooler)

-Pair of pyjama cardinalfish

-Something like green banded gobies to swim through, hide in, and breed in the seagrasses

-Some type of black and white fish (leaning towards damsels)

-Some inverts to try and keep, lol

[kangadrew]

Bumpitty bump bump

[kangadrew]

Alright, change in plans. Seagrass is hard as crap to keep alive I've heard and it doesn't grow at all fast and it's expensive and requires a 6" ish sand bed, and 5 to 10 watts per gallon, and so much more. So, now it's gonna be a bed of Caulerpa prolifera. Oh, no corals or the clam either - I don't want any kind of insane lighting, so I'm going to keep feather dusters on the rocks and gradually collect them and let them grow on those rock piles. For inverts I decided on around 100 SW ghost shrimp to live in the Caulerpa - this will get my predators out and about, I hope. Also, 2 emerald crabs, 2 cleaner shrimp, 20 astrea snails, and 8 blue leg hermits. For the predators, we've got a snowflake eel and a fu manchu lionfish. And the rest will be a pair of pyjama cardinals and a pair of mai tai clownfish. Any other suggestions for fish? Something black and white would be cool but if it's too overstocked I won't add anything else.

 

Thanks!

[uwphoto]

Forget the other fish and put a dozen of these in with the Eel and Lionfish!

But you'll need a bigger tank when they grow.

[ajmckay]

Whats with all the snowflake eels lately? They're cool but I don't get why everyone wants to keep them in reef tanks as they're a predator.

 

I totally get wanting "that look" that you've had in your head and that you want to create (actually I think it's great you have such a clear idea of what you want) - but you also have to consider the reality too - these are living things, not objects that can be placed at will.

 

- Seagrasses, as you discovered, are difficult to grow, and need deeep sand. The caulerpa is a good idea to get that look.

- Snowflake eels aren't reef safe. Obviously it depends on the individual but for every one account of having a "well behaved" eel there are other accounts that end badly. A lot of snowflake woes come from their poor eyesight. It's tough to house them with anemones because they'll get inadvertently stung. It's hard to house them with fish because they'll lunge at food and they could be collateral damage. Likewise the lion could injure the eel if (when) it spazes out. Point is I wouldn't put anything in with the eel that you would be bummed to lose. I would imagine that the other inhabitants would also act skiddish due to the presence of such predators.

 

And cleaner shrimp? That's an expensive snack...

 

Try not to overfeed it thinking that it will leave your other livestock alone also - overfeeding them can lead to fatty liver disease.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, but maybe let this idea mull over for a bit before you pull the trigger. I'm not saying you can't do it - but I think you have a small chance of it working out the way you have it planned.

[kangadrew]

Well, there's really no corals or nems in the tank with the eel so no problems with them being reef-safe. I guess no CUC or really any inverts, I'll try emerald crabs though. This tank will be tied in with a 20 long and a 12" cube to a 29 gallon sump so there's a lot of water volume in here, don't worry I'll be filtering pretty heavily.

 

I wouldn't imagine there would be any problems between a maroon/ocellaris hybrid clownfish and an eel, nor with the 5" little lion. I wouldn't imagine anything would be wrong with the PJ cardinals either. I see where you're coming from with the eel lunging at them for food, but keep in mind clowns and cardinals aren't among the slowest fish.

 

Do you think the lion wouldn't work at all? I'm more set on the eel and I'm not set on the lion fitting in with the feel of the tank. What do you feel would be a good substitute for it though?

[ajmckay]

By "reef safe" I mean more that it preys on your typical reef inhabitants, not coral specfically, sorry for the confusion.

 

So nobody is going to recommend introducing a predatory fish/eel to a reef tank, or a tank that contains small fishes. A 5" lion is capable of eating fish nearly as big as it is. My recommendation is make this a full predator tank or skip the eel and make a peaceful tank. Any mixing you do entirely at your own risk.

 

Finally, I can't say whether a clown or cardinal are quick enough to avoid a "lunge" (situationally dependent) but I can say that a skittish fish darting about is pretty likely to sustain damage bumping into stuff. Good luck.

[kangadrew]

Sweet, thanks.

 

I think a hawk would be a nice replacement for the lionfish - I think I'm going to try a longnose hawk. I've heard of very few problems with snowflakes eating fish, especially ones over 2 or 3 inches long. A pair of mai tai clowns is going to finish the tank off... for now. Remember that these guys are part maroon so they can hold their own against most fish.

 

Anyone have other suggestions for a cool fish that would go with this theme? It must be at least semi-aggressive so it can hold its own against (essentially) a pair of maroon clowns, a snowflake eel, and a longnose hawkfish. Which of the basslets will pair up and be an interesting fish to see in a semiaggressive/aggressive lagoon biotope - between the harlequin basslet and the tobacco basslet. Is it possible to keep one of each, or even a pair of each?

 

Thank you!

[kangadrew]

Bump

[rone_kevin66]

I have had my snowflake for about 7 months and he has been the perfect gentleman has never eaten any fish or my cleaner shrimp. But as with anything it's hit or miss.