My Eel Won't Eat.... Help Please....

[Scott MacAdam]

I got a new Eel about 5 days ago....

I've tried everthing i can think of but it's not working......

I'm feeding the tank flake food, but I didn't really expect the Eel to eat that so I bought some tubiflex worms and a bag of frozen shrimp....

whenever the food hits the water all the other fish go nuts and head for it but no the Eel, although it does stop an put its nose up...
I've tried the worms.... no intrest there..... and as for the shrimp, it did take a bite about 3 days ago... but spit it back out....
I'm lost.... I've tried putting it right in its face, on a tooth pick, everything...

Any ideas? please?

 

[fishwatcher]

Try frozen bloodworms... defrost them first, of course, in some tank water. Then get a turkey baster and squeeze it out right in front of his face. It's best to do this as you're feeding the other fish so they won't be so quick to find and eat it.
Hope this helps! KUP!

 

[The-Wolf]

try prawns, (asda, Tescos, icelands etc)
if that don't work soak them in garlic guard, that should work.

 

[SMAUG]

What kind of eel?
a true eel, a spiny eel or something else?
with my fresh water moray. he just needed time to settle in and get comfortable.
it seems all eels are sensitive to stress and really appreciate good shelter.
get some plants, shells, wood, even plastic pipes.

i started my eel on live ghost shrimp. the other fish ate a few but the majority of the shrimp were too large for the fish.
hes now a glutton and comes up to the front glass whenever i walk into the room
also helps to feed the other fish at the same time at the other end of the aquarium

SMAUG:

good luck with your little guy.
most of these fish can last a very long time without eating. its not healthy but they are sturdy.
hope that helps just a little

-Tom

 

[rallyingmick]

What kind of eel?
a true eel, a spiny eel or something else?
with my fresh water moray. he just needed time to settle in and get comfortable.
it seems all eels are sensitive to stress and really appreciate good shelter.
get some plants, shells, wood, even plastic pipes.

i started my eel on live ghost shrimp. the other fish ate a few but the majority of the shrimp were too large for the fish.
hes now a glutton and comes up to the front glass whenever i walk into the room
also helps to feed the other fish at the same time at the other end of the aquarium

SMAUG:

good luck with your little guy.
most of these fish can last a very long time without eating. its not healthy but they are sturdy.
hope that helps just a little

-Tom

What tim says is probably right.
For instance my catfish (i know you have an eel) took at least a week if not longer before he settled in.
Its not till i got his shelter just right that he started feeding.
Even now tho i never see him eat.

But they do.

Get him some nice cover and time to chill and hell be fine

 

[Scott MacAdam]

Ok .... hopefully I can get some of that stuff ..... the only problem is that I don't have a LPS near me... so I don't know where I'm going to get frozen blood worms.... any substitute for this at all ??

I will Make it a cave tonight... he seems to like to hide in my plants and behind a peice of bogwood in the back...

and for reference.... it is a white spot spiny Eel (aka. tire Eel) thus not a "true" Eel... and about 6-7 inches in length...I hope that helps ... is there anything else I can try if I can't get my hands on some blood worms?

and as for the Garlic Gaurd.... I doubt I'd be able to get any of that..... is there another method using Garlic as opposed to using the bottled stuff? I know I have a few cloves kicking around the house

 

[fishwatcher]

Oh yeah, use a small piece of garlic clove and soak it in the water with the food for 10 or 15 minutes. The garlic stimulates their appetite for some reason. (This method was successful with my dwarf puffer.)

 

[Canis-Equus]

Have you tried hand feeding?

One of my eels will not get much to eat, and hes quite a bold fish really, but he just cannot compete with the other tank mates and he doesnt really try either.

So i hand feed him (carefully, hes big enough for bites to hurt), and also, make sure the food is the right size for an eels mouth, they often wont even attempt to take large pieces of food at first..... long and thin food is the best and also red coloured foods, for tempting picky eaters.

 

[cuticom]

My eels get handfed, I've found the best way is to use plastic tweezers or something similar and hold a frozen block of bloodworms in front of their faces, they eat quite a bit and suck up whatever they drop, and that way at least you know their eating.

 

[The-Wolf]

and as for the Garlic Gaurd.... I doubt I'd be able to get any of that.....

why not? this place will deliver it to Canada and I'm sure if you look hard enough you will find a Canadian stockist.

 

[Scott MacAdam]

I chopped up a chunk of a clove of garlic last night and let it sit in a dish of water with some frozen shrimp...

out of curiosity I took out a chunk of garlic and held it in the tank and gave it a squeeze... all of the fish went NUTS!
I can't believe it accually worked! and so well. when i dropped the food in it was like a shark feeding frenzy! one of my other fish had a chunk of shrimp 2 times the sixe of its head and wouldn't let go..... but anyway, I DID build a little cave in the corner and the Eel came out and grabbed some that I left by the hole in the front.... it worked quite well... the Eel did a lot of spitting out of the food but i guess it was working....

 

[The-Wolf]

never underestimate the power of garlic.

glad things are starting to turn around for you.