Spiny Eel Feeding ?

[si_monsta]

Hi everyone! I have a very small spiny eel, macrognathus circumcinctus. He is thin and about the length of my young albino rainbow shark, that is slightly longer than a medium sized tiger barb... 6 t barbs are his other tank mates. My question is this- frozen blood worms are the only food that I know, for sure, he is getting a full meal (I hand feed)... how often should I offer the blood worms? The eel seems to peck at frozen brine shrimp and cyclops, but the Tigers are tough tough competitors. Even with the blood worms, they get their fill... so how can I assure my eel gets enough to eat without fattening the barbs and polluting the tank with too much fatty poop?!? Thanks!!

Oh and here's something weird... the other night I saw the shark swimming, and the eel was wrapped around going for a ride! Then they laid on the bottom of the tank like that for a bit. They weren't fighting. The shark usually lays on the bottom at night anyway, and the eel is so far always peaceful.

 

[nmonks]

Feed the spiny eel at night, with the lights out.

Cheers, Neale

 

[si_monsta]

I will try that again tomorrow night, but the eel is active in the morning and the barbs are prepared to eat worms any time. The light helps to see that the eel is eating from the hand... I will check it out at night and see if eel becomes more aggressive... he's doing alright; seems to prefer eating cyclops and brine off surfaces, only accepting worms from the water column.

 

[OpalineAqua]

Hi everyone! I have a very small spiny eel, macrognathus circumcinctus. He is thin and about the length of my young albino rainbow shark, that is slightly longer than a medium sized tiger barb... 6 t barbs are his other tank mates. My question is this- frozen blood worms are the only food that I know, for sure, he is getting a full meal (I hand feed)... how often should I offer the blood worms? The eel seems to peck at frozen brine shrimp and cyclops, but the Tigers are tough tough competitors. Even with the blood worms, they get their fill... so how can I assure my eel gets enough to eat without fattening the barbs and polluting the tank with too much fatty poop?!? Thanks!!

Oh and here's something weird... the other night I saw the shark swimming, and the eel was wrapped around going for a ride! Then they laid on the bottom of the tank like that for a bit. They weren't fighting. The shark usually lays on the bottom at night anyway, and the eel is so far always peaceful.

Feed the eel at night. It is nocturnal at that time, so normally that is a good time to feed it. Also make sure it is dark when you feed it.