Snowflake Eel

[katieB3]

Hey guys, I’m new to the chat here but not new to saltwater fish/eel/reef keeping. This is something I’ve never had happen before and we’ve definitely learned from it. Me and my partner are very upset and so I do not want to hear any judgement or ugly words. Last year (2021) around Mothers Day we purchased a Snowflake Eel. He thrived. And this past year also around Mother’s Day as we were at the fish store and just looking around at the eels one of the employees asked if we were going to get one. We explained we already have one, etc. and they insisted that a Leopard Eel and our Snowflake would be just fine together in the tank we have. I did some quick research and everything I read said it should have been fine. *** TRIGGER WARNING POSSIBLY***
Well, just last night our Snowflake came flying out of the tunnels we have for them with a huge slice mark right around/behind his head. We are thinking the Leopard bit him. He went and hid so we couldn’t see him, but then this morning as I was checking on them it’s very visible that his head is virtually all but completely severed. So I am needing humane and easy ways to off him as he won’t be able to eat and is struggling to breathe and he won’t make it very long.

 

[lion king]

Clove oil you can get at natural food stores. Put him in container, mix several drops of clove oil in warm water, poor clove oil mixture into container with eel. This will calmly put him out. As this is used to anesthesize it may not be enough to completely od, as dosage can be confusing. As insurance I then freeze the individual to make sure.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Welcome to Reef2Reef, no one is gonna be judgemental of your situation here, we are one big family that is happy to help you no matter what happens. I'm sorry to hear that about your eels though!!

 

[Jekyl]

Welcome to R2R. Sorry to hear of your issue.

 

[katieB3]

Clove oil you can get at natural food stores. Put him in container, mix several drops of clove oil in warm water, poor clove oil mixture into container with eel. This will calmly put him out. As this is used to anesthesize it may not be enough to completely od, as dosage can be confusing. As insurance I then freeze the individual to make sure.

Okay. Thank you. I’ve done that for fish that came from a pet store and were very very sick and not getting better. I’d much rather put them down humanely than let them continue to suffer with the hole that they may get better or until they die on their own. I rescued a fish that had been really severely beat up and the thing never got better, so that’s how I put it down. I will use the clove oil and then do something else. Thank you for your advice.

 

[katieB3]

Welcome to R2R. Sorry to hear of your issue.

Thank you. We are very sad.

 

[lion king]

Im not sure what eel you may be calling a leopard eel, do you have another name or a picture. Leopard eel is a common name I am not familiar with. If it's a Gymnothorax species you may be asking for alot of trouble, and all of fish may be at risk. Sounds like a fang tooth tooth eel sense a pebbletooth would not have caused as much damage.

 

[katieB3]

Welcome to Reef2Reef, no one is gonna be judgemental of your situation here, we are one big family that is happy to help you no matter what happens. I'm sorry to hear that about your eels though!!

Thank you. We are very disappointed and will be definitely getting another snowflake in the future after the Leopard. Both of us really liked him!

 

[kevgib67]

So sorry you had to be in this situation.

 

[bnord]

sorry for your loss bro... keep on caring

 

[katieB3]

Im not sure what eel you may be calling a leopard eel, do you have another name or a picture. Leopard eel is a common name I am not familiar with. If it's a Gymnothorax species you may be asking for alot of trouble, and all of fish may be at risk. Sounds like a fang tooth tooth eel sense a pebbletooth would not have caused as much damage.

 

[katieB3]

So Leopard Eel is the name we were given at the pet store. They are also known as Honeycomb Moray Eels. Here’s is an internet stock picture since it’s so difficult to get a decent picture of her. We also don’t have any fish in the tank aside from two Humbug Damsels. We don’t get the opportunity to add new fish often and those were just the two that were in the table prior to the eel.

 

[lion king]

So Leopard Eel is the name we were given at the pet store. They are also known as Honeycomb Moray Eels. Here’s is an internet stock picture since it’s so difficult to get a decent picture of her. We also don’t have any fish in the tank aside from two Humbug Damsels. We don’t get the opportunity to add new fish often and those were just the two that were in the table prior to the eel.

That's what I was afraid of, that eel not only will get over 4', but it will kill everything in your tank.

 

[katieB3]

That's what I was afraid of, that eel not only will get over 4', but it will kill everything in your tank.

See, I read that online but that’s not what the “eel expert” said in the store. I probably should have known better tbh. We had been considering trying to re-home her because we much preferred the demeanor of our snowflake who was very laid back, ate anything you fed him and was very personable. We will end up probably getting rid of the leopard and purchasing a young snowflake to raise again from a baby so that it will be as friendly as possible and personable like this last one. We had such a great experience with the snowflake and he was our favorite for sure. Thank you for the info. I will be talking it over with my partner and looking for a home. And recommendations on how to go about rehoming her?

 

[lion king]

That eel expert needs to be fired, it is very hard to rehome a tessa. Even in very large tanks they end up alone because they kill everyone. I love them and actually have a small one living alone in 210g.

 

[katieB3]

That eel expert needs to be fired, it is very hard to rehome a tessa. Even in very large tanks they end up alone because they kill everyone. I love them and actually have a small one living alone in 210g.

I agree about the “expert”. I love her patterning and if we had room for another tank and this tank wasn’t the tank we wanted to be our primary reef tank, I would set her up a nice home that she could destroy and live out her days by herself. But I just don’t have that option. We already have 4 tanks in a small apartment and another large one isn’t an option She’s in great shape. Healthy, feisty, very lively, eats good, and is out all the time. But she’s easily close to 2 foot already and is a pretty good size overall. Thanks so much for your help and have a very Merry Christmas and happy New Years!

 

[Aspect]

Sheesh yeah this is why you should always did a quick google search before buying any animal you are not familiar with. "Experts" at fish stores always have one goal in mind: Make a sale. They don't genuinely care about what happens after the fish leaves the store. There is an infinite amount of information available with just one quick search.

 

[katieB3]

Sheesh yeah this is why you should always did a quick google search before buying any animal you are not familiar with. "Experts" at fish stores always have one goal in mind: Make a sale. They don't genuinely care about what happens after the fish leaves the store. There is an infinite amount of information available with just one quick search.

I did do a quick search and everything I read said it should have been fine. Even some forums I read through said it should be fine. I’m not really sure what happened in the communication, but either way it ended poorly.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

The Tessalata is beautiful but extremely aggressive. I have only successfully kept dragon eels and very large fish with them. When working at the LFS we did have to euthanize fish when they came in near death or when they were picked on by other tank mates like in your situation. We bagged them up and put them in the freezer. Because the animals are cold blooded the cold will slow down the fish's heart and metabolism until they pass. It also keeps them preserved so you can thaw them out and look for parasites later if you believe that may have been the cause of death.