New Golden Dwarf Moray not eating

[acrowbat]

Hello everyone, I am new to the world of salt water aquaria and I have a question about getting a Golden Dwarf to feed. It has been about 10 days now since I got him and he still hasn't taken a bite of anything. I have offered him mysis shrimp on a feeding skewer as well as chopped up clams on a skewer and he barely looks at them, almost acts as if he seems afraid of them. How long do they generally go without feeding and what has anyone found to be the best way to get them eating? I am generally trying to feed him in the day time. Should I try at night? I havent found much info on their feeding preferences other than offering them a wide variety of foods and wiggling it in front of them. Thanks for your help. Pocky Balboa (the eel) will greatly appreciate it

 

[Rob59]

buy some frozen shrimp from the sea food section at the grocery store, thats wht i fed mine with for three years till he jumped out. thaw it first in some water and cut it up a couple times. Plus they hunt by smell so you really have to put it in front of them for awhile before they can find it.

[Payara]

I would recommend some live food and then try to ween him to frozen squid, shrimp, chopped fish (make sure its not oily), etc.Like in the wild, the majority of the eels will rarely come out until after dawn or dusk so that would be your best bet to feed him.

 

Good luck

[lakshwadeep]

+1 to live food.

[acrowbat]

What would you recommend for live food? I am currently trying to feed him with frozen mysis and chopped up frozen fruti di mare (clam, crab, shrimp, octopus etc)

 

Thanks for your help

 

I would recommend some live food and then try to ween him to frozen squid, shrimp, chopped fish (make sure its not oily), etc.Like in the wild, the majority of the eels will rarely come out until after dawn or dusk so that would be your best bet to feed him.

 

Good luck

[lakshwadeep]

IIRC, they are part of the piscivore (fish-eating) group of morays. They are considered relatively safe for most marine fish because of their small sizes. So, you may want to try something like small mollies (they can live in FW, brackish, and SW environments).

 

edit: the mollies are for feeding, not tankmates

[The Propagator]

Well at least you got an extremely easy moray to care for

 

 

We know what you are trying to feed him but how are you trying to feed it to him ?

They do NOT like to leave their den during lights on at all. Not even to take a tasty treat from you.

If you aren't already doing so try dangling some morsels right in front of his den with just the actinics on or moon lights.

[Payara]

Is he eating yet?

Mollies are a good choice, I would also try white feeder shrimp (Penaeus sp.)

[jonrx]

IIRC, they are part of the piscivore (fish-eating) group of morays. They are considered relatively safe for most marine fish because of their small sizes. So, you may want to try something like small mollies (they can live in FW, brackish, and SW environments).

 

edit: the mollies are for feeding, not tankmates

 

Mollies are actually great for tankmates if you have a larger tank as they are algae eating MACHINES. There is not another fish out there that eats as much algae as they will in Marine tanks. Hair algae, slime algae, any type of algae.

[erichatesmice]

I would not feed live unless you can't feed it for a very very long time (like over a month). You don't want to have to give it live forever. Also, if he is hungry, it will be far easier to ween him on non-live food. It just takes time and dedication. Mines took about 2 weeks before he finally started eating. I feed him during the daytime with raw table shrimp on a skewer. For the first week he was afraid of it. For the second week he would approach it sometimes but then shake his head violently as if he smelled something awful. On the third week as soon as the skewer went in the tank, he came out and grabbed it. Ever since then, he has been extremely easy to feed.

 

I would try every day until he accepts something. My eel takes table shrimp the best. He will not accept mysis. Once he accepts, you can cut down the feedings to 2x a week.

 

[stardrop]

Is he eating yet?

[ubigbobby]

When you get an eel, you have to be prepared that there is the chance it will not be used to frozen food. In that case, you'll need to wean it onto frozen food, and have to use live. Live food can be a pain in the ass though. It's really luck of the draw if the eel will accept frozen or not. A good idea is to ask to see if fed in the store beforehand, or if you buy online, ask the shop what they are feeding it. I got lucky, and my Chainlink Moray loves froxen chunks of krill...and my hand which he tries to take a bite out of when it is in the tank.

 

Keep in mind that morays can literally go months without eating, and still be perfectly healthy. If he's stressed or sick, he may not eat. Sometimes they may not eat for weeks or a month for no apparent reason. This is normal. They don't need to eat everyday. For juvis feed 2x a week, and for adults, once a week is fine. If he refuses a meal, that's fine, just try again the next feeding day.

 

As for RIGHT NOW. You can give live food a shot if you really want. It's only been 10 days, so he's not going to die of starvation if he doesn't eat soon, so personally I'd still try frozen krill or shrimp chunks everyday. If by this coming weekend he doesn't eat...then it's almost definately because he is not used to frozen.

 

Give the LFS or online store you bought him from a call or email and ask what they were feeding. If they say frozen...then he's likely still stressed from the move or shipment, and should start eating again once he settles in more.