Gymnothorax phasmatodes - Ghost Eel care and feeding

S

SFlow

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Hi guys.

TL;DR version: Any care tips for a ghost moray eel?

Long winded version:
Eels have always peeked my interest so I have been searching for one suitable for my tank for quite a while. Originally I was on a frantic quest to find a Dwarf Golden Moray Eel (Gymnothorax Melatremus). That was until I discovered the price tag associated with those little guys:m29:.

A bit deterred, I continued lurking around my LFS. Two weeks ago I stumbled upon a tiny ghost moray eel (see title). I had never seen one before and I pulled out my phone and got some advice from my good friend Google. To my surprise they (are alleged to) stay reasonably small especially for their petite build.

So I asked the staff if the eel (who will be named shortly) was eating properly. The answers I got from the three different staff members were suspicious as each said it eats something else. One said white shrimp, the other lance fish, and the other only dead guppies:censored:. At this point I was skeptical so I asked that they feed it, which resulted in less than desired results. It had absolutely no interest in the food, even when the food bounced on it's head.

In the end, after a day's pondering and quite a bit of research, I decided to try my luck with the eel, now called Eli (I such at naming pets). I only received it on December 29th and has been in QT since.

I have attempted feeding twice of which one of the two attempts succeeded. The first attempt, which was white shrimp, was a complete failure. The second attempt, lancefish, was met with vigor and intense thrashing.

If you have any experience with this eel or similar eels please share so I can be as equipped as possible to handle this guy in our journey together.

Some pictures to follow...
 
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Eli drip acclimating in a bucket:
IMG_20181229_115002.jpg


The QT setup:
IMG_20181231_171945.jpg
 
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That is pretty awesome. I’m sure it will do well if it started eating, I think moray eels can go for a while without food. I have a snake eel (different genus, but also secretive), and for a whole month I never saw it once at the start, then one day it came out as if nothing is wrong, and now I’ve had it for 2 years already.
 
Now I feed my snake eel a mussel on the half shell about 2 or 3 times a week, it only comes out when hungry, else it stays hidden in the sand, so don’t think you have to feed yours more than twice a week to satiation.
 
This little guy has been really outgoing. He is regularly out in the open and is not afraid of people or stuff in the tank at all. I have to be careful when cleaning the QT tank to make sure that I don't bump him as he is always interested in whatever I am doing in the tank. He always looks hungry.

@hotdog83 do you only feed mussels? I have tried both white shrimp and lancefish. He has shown no interest in the white shrimp, but eagerly takes lancefish. I have, however, found that he does not like taking large pieces as it struggles to tear them or swallow it. So I take the lancefish and cut it down the length into smaller easily swallowable pieces.

I'll try to upload a video of Eli taking the lancefish tonight when he gets fed.
 
Hi guys, sorry for the delayed update. It is pretty hard getting any decent (or even semi decent) video of Eli eating. He tends to go hide behind the rocks or somewhere I can't capture.

Here are some new videos of Eli eating:
 
So I have had the eel for almost a month now. Eli is still doing really well. He is becoming more and more outgoing. He is clearly able to tell when it is feeding time. Whenever I turn off the flow and remove the cover, he immediately starts pacing up and down searching for the food.

I have tried a bunch of different frozen foods to date. The foods I have tried include: white shrimp, mussels, and shrimp (human food). He still only takes lancefish. I have gotten to the point where he will take the other foods, but he immediately drops it as soon as he realises that the texture is wrong (my assumption). I still have a few more foods to try, but I want to make sure that he eats enough so I feed the lancefish every second day, and try the new foods in between. To ensure that he gets all the needed vitamins etc. I always use vitamin supplements with his food. I will keep you guys updated if I ever manage to succeed with other fooods.

Here is Eli taking a piece of lancefish that might be a bit big, but he manages just fine:
 
SFlow said:
So I have had the eel for almost a month now. Eli is still doing really well. He is becoming more and more outgoing. He is clearly able to tell when it is feeding time. Whenever I turn off the flow and remove the cover, he immediately starts pacing up and down searching for the food.

I have tried a bunch of different frozen foods to date. The foods I have tried include: white shrimp, mussels, and shrimp (human food). He still only takes lancefish. I have gotten to the point where he will take the other foods, but he immediately drops it as soon as he realises that the texture is wrong (my assumption). I still have a few more foods to try, but I want to make sure that he eats enough so I feed the lancefish every second day, and try the new foods in between. To ensure that he gets all the needed vitamins etc. I always use vitamin supplements with his food. I will keep you guys updated if I ever manage to succeed with other fooods.

Here is Eli taking a piece of lancefish that might be a bit big, but he manages just fine:
Click to expand...

Try soaking the foods in Amino acids and Vitamins before feeding the lance fish then soak others foods before feeding perhaps if things taste similar then he will accept then better
 
Eli is still doing very well. He has started eating less on some occasions. I think he is just regulating his own diet/weight. I feed him an appropriate portion of lancefish every second day soaked in either AF garlic or AF vitamins. I still cannot get him to take anything else though, he immediate reacognises the texture.

Here is a video of Eli doing his thing:
 
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