Zebra Moray Eel

cali9dub · 01/05/2019, 10:27 PM

I have a few questions regarding the care of this eel from people who actually kept them. I’ve read everything I could possibly read on the interned about them and understand the requirements (secured rockwork, caves/pvc tubing, tight fitting lid,etc) I just would like to drill down the specifics of “secure rockwork” and “tight fitting lid”.
As far as rockwork is concerned....I have a 180 gallon tank of entirely dry Marco rock that is stacked and doesn’t move or topple when bumping them. The tank is about 2 years old and I can’t take the rock out to cement it because of corals all over them. Can I use reef putty to wedge in as many open spots as possible to stabilize the rock...is that sufficient? The Rocks were placed in the tank first then sand added so the base rocks can’t move at all.
Tight fitting lid...I have a full canopy with the back opening closed in with aluminum sheeting. Is that good enough? (I assume I may need to secure the front access doors) or should I make some screen tops and affix them to the plastic bracing around the top?

Thanks for any real life experienced input with regard to this !!

cali9dub · 01/06/2019, 12:33 PM

Oh. Also I have an oversized skimmer that I currently turn off at night because it is so efficient, so I believe I have god enough filtration between the larger water volume (180 + 45 gallon sump) and the skimmer. Am I correct in assuming this? Thanks again !

Vinny Kreyling · 01/06/2019, 12:50 PM

While every creature has it's own personality The Zebra I had was a model citizen.
Never jumped or even stuck his head out of the water. He did however bite a 1" air lift tube & swallow a piece.
I never glued my rocks either.

cali9dub · 01/06/2019, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

While every creature has it's own personality The Zebra I had was a model citizen.
Never jumped or even stuck his head out of the water. He did however bite a 1" air lift tube & swallow a piece.
I never glued my rocks either.

A couple questions...did you keep him/her in a mixed reef? and what size was your zebra when you got it? Oh and where is it now? Thanks so much for the reply !

Vinny Kreyling · 01/06/2019, 12:57 PM

220 Mixed reef.
I'm talking many moons ago, initially IIRC around 16".
Died @ 30" from a fish that just would not leave his tail alone.
Kids named him "Lurch".

cali9dub · 01/06/2019, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

220 Mixed reef.
I'm talking many moons ago, initially IIRC around 16".
Died @ 30" from a fish that just would not leave his tail alone.
Kids named him "Lurch".

Awww damn ! I’m a bit worried about his tail being picked as well. I do have 2 separate 3” (circumference) PVC tube caves across the back of the tank and more rock to stack over them so hopefully the eel will find a nice safe spot (once I find an eel that is...)

Vinny Kreyling · 01/06/2019, 05:28 PM

Mine only ate shrimp, frozen was OK.
They hunt by smell more than sight.
My culprit was an African Flame Back Centropyge.

cali9dub · 01/06/2019, 05:43 PM

I don’t have any dwarf angels, but I do have a lamark’s Hopefully she won’t bother any eel I get !

Dmorty217 · 01/07/2019, 07:40 AM

Mine only ate shrimp (krill, raw shrimp from the seafood section of the grocery store) I never secured my rocks but mine also was only about 3ft not the 5.5 ft that they can grow to be. I also never had a top on my tank and never had a issue

cali9dub · 01/07/2019, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dmorty217

Mine only ate shrimp (krill, raw shrimp from the seafood section of the grocery store) I never secured my rocks but mine also was only about 3ft not the 5.5 ft that they can grow to be. I also never had a top on my tank and never had a issue

Thanks for jumping in. Maybe I’ll just secure my openings in my hood and go with that ! Can I ask what happened to yours since you were speaking in the past tense ?

rfgonzo · 01/07/2019, 03:56 PM

I have two eels. A Japanese dragon moray and also a Brazilian Moray. You can secure rocks with reef puddy or also zip ties work well. remember eel are very strong and at feeding time they can move a lot of weight.

As far as the top, you need to make sure all lids and canopies are 100% escape-proof. My lids escape-proof and even at feeding time my Japanese dragon moray has hit the floor twice. Once about 5 years ago and once just last week. They can become very aggressive at feeding time. I've never had a zebra but I can only assume they can be just as aggressive.

cali9dub · 01/07/2019, 04:41 PM

I’ll have a damn heart attack if that eel shoots out of the tank ! I used to have a couple huge Oscars and one jumped out while feeding. Had to pick the guy up with a couple oven mits and toss him back in the tank ! After that he was scared to death to come close to the top at feeding time. Seems like eels aren’t quite as smart !! Lol.

trembz · 01/07/2019, 06:05 PM

I've had one for almost 3 years now and gets about 38-40" long.
He went from a 150 gallon to a 250.
Never had a lid on either tank and I've never seen as much as his head poke out.
Can easily knock down non secured rocks during feeding time though .

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

cali9dub · 01/07/2019, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trembz

I've had one for almost 3 years now and gets about 38-40" long.
He went from a 150 gallon to a 250.
Never had a lid on either tank and I've never seen as much as his head poke out.
Can easily knock down non secured rocks during feeding time though .

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Thanks for adding more info !!

Mike Ordner · 01/15/2019, 09:36 PM

I have had mine for 5 years. It is in a 400 gallon tank with lots of rocks. All of my rocks are large, so no issue with that. I can see him moving smaller rocks, though. He can also do damage to corals (another frag,yay!). I do have a screen top but don't think it ever tried to escape. Started out about 18 to 20 inches and is now about 24 inches. Only feed it whole shrimp. As stated, they can smell food a mile away, but have to bump into the food before grabbing it. Zebras are crustacean eaters, not the mean fish eaters other type of eels can be. Really cool fish.

cali9dub · 01/16/2019, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Ordner

I have had mine for 5 years. It is in a 400 gallon tank with lots of rocks. All of my rocks are large, so no issue with that. I can see him moving smaller rocks, though. He can also do damage to corals (another frag,yay!). I do have a screen top but don't think it ever tried to escape. Started out about 18 to 20 inches and is now about 24 inches. Only feed it whole shrimp. As stated, they can smell food a mile away, but have to bump into the food before grabbing it. Zebras are crustacean eaters, not the mean fish eaters other type of eels can be. Really cool fish.

Great info !! Thanks !

dmsprague · 01/16/2019, 06:55 PM

I've had mine for 10 months now in 180 gallon. He is about 30" long and stays curled up in a cave with a long tentacle anemone in the opening and two cleaner shrimp in with him. The cleaner shrimp actually clean his body and inside his mouth. It is the darnedest thing to watch because I figured he would eat them. I used to have a large coral banded shrimp that would pinch him if he got to close and the eel would shy away. I feed mostly shrimp but he does eat krill and muscles also. I tease him when I feed to make him come out so I can see how long he is. He will snap at tongs or fingers that get close to his mouth and when feeding will reach out for anything that swims by but he has never harmed a fish. He is one of my favorite additions even if he does stay in the cave most of the time. Tank mates are a vlamingii tang, yellow eye kole tang, yellow tang, magnificent fox face, niger trigger, pair of tomato clowns and 40+ bubble tip nems.

cali9dub · 01/16/2019, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmsprague

I've had mine for 10 months now in 180 gallon. He is about 30" long and stays curled up in a cave with a long tentacle anemone in the opening and two cleaner shrimp in with him. The cleaner shrimp actually clean his body and inside his mouth. It is the darnedest thing to watch because I figured he would eat them. I used to have a large coral banded shrimp that would pinch him if he got to close and the eel would shy away. I feed mostly shrimp but he does eat krill and muscles also. I tease him when I feed to make him come out so I can see how long he is. He will snap at tongs or fingers that get close to his mouth and when feeding will reach out for anything that swims by but he has never harmed a fish. He is one of my favorite additions even if he does stay in the cave most of the time. Tank mates are a vlamingii tang, yellow eye kole tang, yellow tang, magnificent fox face, niger trigger, pair of tomato clowns and 40+ bubble tip nems.

Cool ! I e been searching for an available zebra eel but haven’t had any luck yet. Hopefully one of the LFS’s I’ve asked to search for one will find one soon !

cali9dub · 01/24/2019, 11:53 AM

Ok....so I got a 16” zebra eel from Divers Den. He has been drip acclimated and is now in the tank with the lights out for about the next 4 hours. All of my other fish are freaking out and staring/displaying towards the eel. So far none have been aggressive towards it yet. Should I have concerns about any type of attack from the other tank mates (chocolate tang, lavender tang, dejardini, Lamarks angel, harlequin tusk, quoyi parrotfish, and a couple pyramid butterflies) ??

CyclistMT · 02/22/2019, 08:32 PM

Seeing as this post is a month old you may have already figured this out by now but the tusk and the parrot have similar feeding habits in the wild so you encounter aggressive behavior during feeding time. So much so that it might intimidate the eel. The tangs could very easily cause the same problems.

You have a very high bio load for that tank. Even if most fish are small now, you have a lot of high volume waste producers. Get that skimmer on 24/7 if you haven't already.

cali9dub · 02/22/2019, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyclistMT

Seeing as this post is a month old you may have already figured this out by now but the tusk and the parrot have similar feeding habits in the wild so you encounter aggressive behavior during feeding time. So much so that it might intimidate the eel. The tangs could very easily cause the same problems.

You have a very high bio load for that tank. Even if most fish are small now, you have a lot of high volume waste producers. Get that skimmer on 24/7 if you haven't already.

Got it all figured out, thanks for the input. By the way a quoyi parrotfish is an algae eating parrotfish and has no eating habits anywhere near the tusk !! Plus it is a fairly shy eater especially compared to the tusk !

CyclistMT · 02/23/2019, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cali9dub

Got it all figured out, thanks for the input. By the way a quoyi parrotfish is an algae eating parrotfish and has no eating habits anywhere near the tusk !! Plus it is a fairly shy eater especially compared to the tusk !

Excellent!

Yeah, I saw parrot fish and missed "quoyi".

Sounds like you have a great bunch of fish! I've always liked the Zebra Morays but never had a chance to personally own one.

Bet that is a wonderful tank to sit and watch. Would love to see some pictures!

LefkoNJ · 02/23/2019, 05:33 AM

Eels are definitely something to make sure you keep an eye on when doing tank maintenance. They are practically blind so getting bitten is a definite possibility, and a bite is pretty bad. Zebras are more on the calm side compared to others but what is being stated so far is true.

Vinny Kreyling · 02/23/2019, 10:00 AM

Zebras don't have the needle sharp teeth other eels have, they have a molar style mouth.
Still I would not like it to latch on to me!

ali1 · 02/23/2019, 10:44 AM

My zebra moray is a model citizen. Doesnt get nowhere near the water surface. Eats frozen food from grocery, doesnt bother fish and stays put in the rock work.

On the other hand, My tessalata is a different animal

01/05/2019, 10:27 PM	#1
cali9dub Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 888	Zebra Moray Eel I have a few questions regarding the care of this eel from people who actually kept them. I’ve read everything I could possibly read on the interned about them and understand the requirements (secured rockwork, caves/pvc tubing, tight fitting lid,etc) I just would like to drill down the specifics of “secure rockwork” and “tight fitting lid”. As far as rockwork is concerned....I have a 180 gallon tank of entirely dry Marco rock that is stacked and doesn’t move or topple when bumping them. The tank is about 2 years old and I can’t take the rock out to cement it because of corals all over them. Can I use reef putty to wedge in as many open spots as possible to stabilize the rock...is that sufficient? The Rocks were placed in the tank first then sand added so the base rocks can’t move at all. Tight fitting lid...I have a full canopy with the back opening closed in with aluminum sheeting. Is that good enough? (I assume I may need to secure the front access doors) or should I make some screen tops and affix them to the plastic bracing around the top? Thanks for any real life experienced input with regard to this !!

01/06/2019, 12:50 PM	#3
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	While every creature has it's own personality The Zebra I had was a model citizen. Never jumped or even stuck his head out of the water. He did however bite a 1" air lift tube & swallow a piece. I never glued my rocks either. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

01/06/2019, 12:57 PM	#5
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	220 Mixed reef. I'm talking many moons ago, initially IIRC around 16". Died @ 30" from a fish that just would not leave his tail alone. Kids named him "Lurch". __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

01/06/2019, 05:28 PM	#7
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Mine only ate shrimp, frozen was OK. They hunt by smell more than sight. My culprit was an African Flame Back Centropyge. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

01/07/2019, 07:40 AM	#9
Dmorty217 Saltwater Addict Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Vandalia OHIO Posts: 11,624	Mine only ate shrimp (krill, raw shrimp from the seafood section of the grocery store) I never secured my rocks but mine also was only about 3ft not the 5.5 ft that they can grow to be. I also never had a top on my tank and never had a issue __________________ Fish are not disposable commodities, but a worthwhile investment that can be maintained and enjoyed for many years, providing one is willing to take the time to understand their requirements and needs Current Tank Info: 625g, 220g sump, RD3 230w, Vectra L1 on a closed loop, 3 MP60s, MP40. Several QTs

01/06/2019, 12:33 PM	#2
cali9dub Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 888	Oh. Also I have an oversized skimmer that I currently turn off at night because it is so efficient, so I believe I have god enough filtration between the larger water volume (180 + 45 gallon sump) and the skimmer. Am I correct in assuming this? Thanks again !

01/06/2019, 05:43 PM	#8
cali9dub Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 888	I don’t have any dwarf angels, but I do have a lamark’s Hopefully she won’t bother any eel I get !

01/07/2019, 03:56 PM	#11
rfgonzo Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,280	I have two eels. A Japanese dragon moray and also a Brazilian Moray. You can secure rocks with reef puddy or also zip ties work well. remember eel are very strong and at feeding time they can move a lot of weight. As far as the top, you need to make sure all lids and canopies are 100% escape-proof. My lids escape-proof and even at feeding time my Japanese dragon moray has hit the floor twice. Once about 5 years ago and once just last week. They can become very aggressive at feeding time. I've never had a zebra but I can only assume they can be just as aggressive. __________________ 210 gal reef, 75 gal Refuge with 55 Gal sump mixed reef 100 gal Reef, 75 gal Refuge with 55 gal sump. SPS/LPS & 100 gal Japanese Dragon Moray eel tank with 40 gal sump 75 gal Brazilian Dragon Mor

01/07/2019, 04:41 PM	#12
cali9dub Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 888	I’ll have a damn heart attack if that eel shoots out of the tank ! I used to have a couple huge Oscars and one jumped out while feeding. Had to pick the guy up with a couple oven mits and toss him back in the tank ! After that he was scared to death to come close to the top at feeding time. Seems like eels aren’t quite as smart !! Lol.

01/07/2019, 06:05 PM	#13
trembz Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 245	I've had one for almost 3 years now and gets about 38-40" long. He went from a 150 gallon to a 250. Never had a lid on either tank and I've never seen as much as his head poke out. Can easily knock down non secured rocks during feeding time though . Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

01/15/2019, 09:36 PM	#15
Mike Ordner Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Corpus Christi, Texas Posts: 415	I have had mine for 5 years. It is in a 400 gallon tank with lots of rocks. All of my rocks are large, so no issue with that. I can see him moving smaller rocks, though. He can also do damage to corals (another frag,yay!). I do have a screen top but don't think it ever tried to escape. Started out about 18 to 20 inches and is now about 24 inches. Only feed it whole shrimp. As stated, they can smell food a mile away, but have to bump into the food before grabbing it. Zebras are crustacean eaters, not the mean fish eaters other type of eels can be. Really cool fish.

01/16/2019, 06:55 PM	#17
dmsprague Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 139	I've had mine for 10 months now in 180 gallon. He is about 30" long and stays curled up in a cave with a long tentacle anemone in the opening and two cleaner shrimp in with him. The cleaner shrimp actually clean his body and inside his mouth. It is the darnedest thing to watch because I figured he would eat them. I used to have a large coral banded shrimp that would pinch him if he got to close and the eel would shy away. I feed mostly shrimp but he does eat krill and muscles also. I tease him when I feed to make him come out so I can see how long he is. He will snap at tongs or fingers that get close to his mouth and when feeding will reach out for anything that swims by but he has never harmed a fish. He is one of my favorite additions even if he does stay in the cave most of the time. Tank mates are a vlamingii tang, yellow eye kole tang, yellow tang, magnificent fox face, niger trigger, pair of tomato clowns and 40+ bubble tip nems.

01/24/2019, 11:53 AM	#19
cali9dub Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 888	Ok....so I got a 16” zebra eel from Divers Den. He has been drip acclimated and is now in the tank with the lights out for about the next 4 hours. All of my other fish are freaking out and staring/displaying towards the eel. So far none have been aggressive towards it yet. Should I have concerns about any type of attack from the other tank mates (chocolate tang, lavender tang, dejardini, Lamarks angel, harlequin tusk, quoyi parrotfish, and a couple pyramid butterflies) ??

02/22/2019, 08:32 PM	#20
CyclistMT More Idiot Than Savant Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Billings, MT Posts: 560	Seeing as this post is a month old you may have already figured this out by now but the tusk and the parrot have similar feeding habits in the wild so you encounter aggressive behavior during feeding time. So much so that it might intimidate the eel. The tangs could very easily cause the same problems. You have a very high bio load for that tank. Even if most fish are small now, you have a lot of high volume waste producers. Get that skimmer on 24/7 if you haven't already. __________________ Current tank- 300 gal with enough critters to fill a 50 gal....barely. 30+ years in the hobby (man I'm getting old), former LFS manager, and oh.... I'm Batman.

02/23/2019, 05:33 AM	#23
LefkoNJ Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: New Jersey Posts: 213	Eels are definitely something to make sure you keep an eye on when doing tank maintenance. They are practically blind so getting bitten is a definite possibility, and a bite is pretty bad. Zebras are more on the calm side compared to others but what is being stated so far is true.

02/23/2019, 10:00 AM	#24
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Zebras don't have the needle sharp teeth other eels have, they have a molar style mouth. Still I would not like it to latch on to me! __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

02/23/2019, 10:44 AM	#25
ali1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 997	My zebra moray is a model citizen. Doesnt get nowhere near the water surface. Eats frozen food from grocery, doesnt bother fish and stays put in the rock work. On the other hand, My tessalata is a different animal __________________ Originally Posted by Gogandantess "I'm totally frustrated by this disease. My display has been fallow for 2 months now. If ich happened to mysteriously appear again, I'm giving up and going back to African Cichilds."