Eel escape advise from eel owners

[mling]

I am planning to get a Snow Flake Eel for my new 55G. I understand that one of the big concerns has to do with preventing the eel from escaping from the tank top.

 

My 55 has most of the top covered with the exception of the area around the skimmer.

 

Is this going to be a possible escape route ?

 

I have placed the LR at least a few inches below that water line and none near to "gap" on the right.

Here's what the rest of the tank looks like

 

Appreciate advise from current / previous eel owners.

Easier to redesign things now than later.

[cynthia]

I have a snowflake eel in my 220. I went to Lowes and bought egg crate and made three sectional pieces and cut a some of the square out to allow more light to get in the tank for the corals. I included some pictures. I have had my eel for almost two years and he is about 20 inches long now. He escaped once into my overflows before I put the egg crate down. He has never escaped since putting in the egg crate If you get a baby you may not want to cut out some of the squares until it get bigger. You may want to do the same concept with bird netting. Good luck

[L8 2 RISE]

I had a baby snowflake in my 5 gallon ecopico that comes with a glass top. The eel was able to get out of a less than 1/4 inch gap between the front glass and the lid glass. Any small gap is big enough for an eel to get through so definitely don't underestimate them. Worst case scenario, just use duct tape.

[pizzaguy]

Years ago my snowflake was in my overflow on a daily basis.

[MBVette]

and how do you get him out, not like you are going to reach in there to pull out a pissed off eel

[pizzaguy]

Honestly. That was the only way to get him out. I was scared to death every single time. No getting used to that. I did wear very heavy gloves.

[MBVette]

I would probably crap my pants, and that bite has to hurt like H-E-double hockey sticks if he gets you

[mling]

I had a baby snowflake in my 5 gallon ecopico that comes with a glass top. The eel was able to get out of a less than 1/4 inch gap between the front glass and the lid glass. ...

 

I assume your eel lifted the glass top and got out, correct ? Would putting something heavy on the glass stop prevent that ?

Did it use a LR or something else as a base to push from ? What happened after it got out ?

[L8 2 RISE]

No, it was able to fit, they can squeeze into pretty tight places. The glass would have been much too heavy for it to lift as it was only very small. I know because I had seen it stick it's head out the day before and I realized I would have to fix it, but about 12 hours later it had already jumped out again, hit the floor and dried up there unfortunately. It was a fun little eel. It didn't use anything to get out of the tank, it was totally free swimming when I saw it do it and it was just luck that it decided to go back into the tank when I saw him do it.

 

Snowflake bites don't hurt as much because they don't have very big teeth, they're more like slightly sharp molars used for crushing. I've been bitten by both the little one I had and a much larger one I had a few years ago. The larger more "moray looking" ones hurt like H-E-double hockey sticks though because they have sharp long teeth used for catching and holding onto stuff, they then use their second set of jaws to actually swallow the food. I had a large Tesselata for a while and was terrified of putting my hands in that tank.

Edited April 18, 2013 by L8 2 RISE

[zygote2k]

I pulled a 2 foot Black Knife-edge Moray out of my tank attached to the end of my thumb. I snapped my wrist and flung it across the room and up against the wall where it bounced off and rolled under the bed. It thrashed around for a few minutes collecting dust bunnies while I bandaged my thumb. Maybe 5 minutes on the floor and very pissed off, I threw it back in to the tank and it acted as if nothing had happened.

[Coral Hind]

The water flow coming from the skimmer might deter it from that area. Adding a small section of egg crate on top to cover the hole might help. Keep the rockwork low or away from that area so it has nothing to push off of.

[mling]

I pulled a 2 foot Black Knife-edge Moray out of my tank attached to the end of my thumb. I snapped my wrist and flung it across the room and up against the wall where it bounced off and rolled under the bed. It thrashed around for a few minutes collecting dust bunnies while I bandaged my thumb. Maybe 5 minutes on the floor and very pissed off, I threw it back in to the tank and it acted as if nothing had happened.

 

Another classic Rob's marine adventure ! You should write a book

[Coral Hind]

I have a snowflake eel in my 220. I went to Lowes and bought egg crate and made three sectional pieces and cut a some of the square out to allow more light to get in the tank for the corals.

cynthia, did you paint the egg crate or did it come that color?

[mling]

Paint the egg crate ? Is that a good idea since it will be so close to salt water ? Would it not be an issue with salt creep mixing with it ( paint chips )and potentially falling into the tank ? Or am I just being paranoid ?

[wade]

I've used painted PVC in tanks. It isn't a problem if you use an enamel paint (not latex!) - like good quality spray paints. It eventually wears off if there is motion around it, but outside it won't be a problem at all. Just make sure it is completely dry.