Actually I don't think the pipefish would scare the eels. Because they have a similar body shape and setup the only thing that would bug them would be the occasional swim ming into each other. I'm not sure of how aggressive the eels can be though, I haven't ever seen those in the eel trade around here (i have 2 eels currently and have worked with a ton up at the monterey bay aquarium :3). Temperment wise do you think they would be compatible? pipes are sometimes swimmers but I've seen mostly ones that just hide in the corals/rocks all day. My mom wanted some pipefishes :)
Garden Eel Tank
- Thread starter jdinchak
- Start date
vonjankmon
Reefing newb
- Location
- Catonsville, MD USA
Given that you want pipefish and already have the eels with a deep sand bed you may want to consider getting some seagrasses. You have the sand depth for them, that is more of a natural home for pipefish, and it may provide a bit of cover for the eels and make them feel a bit more comfortable.
Joost's reef
Reefing newb
Nice tank, any updates?
A great article on garden eels:
http://www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com/downloads/pdf/version6.pdf
(page 6)
A great article on garden eels:
http://www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com/downloads/pdf/version6.pdf
(page 6)
Update: We have been busy with our garden eel tank, we are in the process of upgrading our lighting to a PC style system. We will mount it on the ceiling so we will not overwhelm the eels. We added a piece of vida rock (synthetic ceramic rock made in UT for reef tanks in custom shapes) so we can add more coral and give hiding spots to the newest additions to the tank. We have added 4 more garden eels (today) and 2 pipefish. We will be adding soft corals soon.
The eels have done well, they have been eating well and going about daily life. We have had them 10 months without any issues. We finally started feeding them some live brine shrimp as a way to mix up their food and we have never seen them so excited. We are working on a system to add more live foods so they can feed at their own leisure as well as their standard feeding times. We will be adding new pictures shortly - Stay tuned!!!
The eels have done well, they have been eating well and going about daily life. We have had them 10 months without any issues. We finally started feeding them some live brine shrimp as a way to mix up their food and we have never seen them so excited. We are working on a system to add more live foods so they can feed at their own leisure as well as their standard feeding times. We will be adding new pictures shortly - Stay tuned!!!
Bifferwine
I am a girl
- Location
- Lynnwood, WA and missing Tucson, AZ
Can't wait to see pics! I'm glad to hear everyone is doing well.
JBowden
Reefin' Housewife
- Location
- Durand, MI
Interesting creatures....and a great set up! I'm curious, I wanna see more pictures :D
Well against my wife's wishes I will post a few pictures. She will be working on taking more throughout the week (as well as cleaning it up) and after we get some coral in there. But I wanted to get some pic's in there. Just don't judge the quality!
The acclimating has gone well, the eels were burrowed in usually by the time the next eel was taken out of the bag and netted. Last time it took a day or so. We bought 4 eels for a total of 7 and have been able to locate 6 of them. One of them is a bit confused and has it's tail sticking out of the hole but is at least wagging it so is in good shape. We are pretty sure the 7th one will turn up, they hid for a bit the first time. The pipefish are fascinated with the eels and are constantly nose and nose. The eels have no fear and are not hiding from them. This is a good sign. The free PC's we got (my cousins old unit that was on a 110 that was way too wide for this tank which is why you see the ghetto hang job) have really changed the color from the T8's, they have done an amazing job.
pics
Full tank shot with lights and new rock, you can see the eels but they are tiny. If you look carefully you can see half a cat.
The pipefish is making friends.
The acclimating has gone well, the eels were burrowed in usually by the time the next eel was taken out of the bag and netted. Last time it took a day or so. We bought 4 eels for a total of 7 and have been able to locate 6 of them. One of them is a bit confused and has it's tail sticking out of the hole but is at least wagging it so is in good shape. We are pretty sure the 7th one will turn up, they hid for a bit the first time. The pipefish are fascinated with the eels and are constantly nose and nose. The eels have no fear and are not hiding from them. This is a good sign. The free PC's we got (my cousins old unit that was on a 110 that was way too wide for this tank which is why you see the ghetto hang job) have really changed the color from the T8's, they have done an amazing job.
pics
Full tank shot with lights and new rock, you can see the eels but they are tiny. If you look carefully you can see half a cat.
The pipefish is making friends.
Attachments
CurtisL
Reefing newb
- Location
- tampa, fl USA!!!
pretty cool!
cageburn
Reef enthusiast
- Location
- chicago,il
garden eels are awesome congrats!
little_fish
Reef pro
- Location
- ABQ, NM
this has to be one of my favorite tanks on here, its so unique!
vonjankmon
Reefing newb
- Location
- Catonsville, MD USA
Such a cool tank, I love it.
BTW, how deep is your sand?
BTW, how deep is your sand?
Some video I took of our tank upgrades, not sure you can see all the garden eels at the same time but different views, we are working on getting more corals. One pipefish likes to hide, the other is out and about. The hairy corals are being rescued out of our main tank that has a hair algae issue, not anything this tank is dealing with.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQP8p2XcNLA"]YouTube - Garden Eels with Pipefish[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQP8p2XcNLA"]YouTube - Garden Eels with Pipefish[/ame]
Bifferwine
I am a girl
- Location
- Lynnwood, WA and missing Tucson, AZ
Such an awesome tank!! How many eels do you have in there now?
Also, you can get a head start on that algae if you pull as much of it off as possible by hand.
Also, you can get a head start on that algae if you pull as much of it off as possible by hand.
We have 7 eels and 2 pipefish. We have found with 7 they act more like a group a community, they are up more, move up higher, have less fear and are far more active then when we just had 3. The one pipefish loves to be around the eels, I think he thinks he is an eel. The other one hides and hardly moves or comes out. We are keeping an eye out on him. We will slowly be adding more soft corals as we can. I love the way the tank is coming around. Thanks for your nice comments.
little_fish
Reef pro
- Location
- ABQ, NM
Such a beautiful tank! This is one of my favorites!
vonjankmon
Reefing newb
- Location
- Catonsville, MD USA
This tank is always awesome to see, love it. Keep posting updates periodically!
