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Posts: 15
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Registered: Oct 2003

posted 11-15-2003 06:44 PM         

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i recently got a snowflake eel, and it has not yet eaten. i have had it for two days, it has a great hiding place, and i added two feeder goldfish, which is what the exotic fish store was feeeding it. He has not made any attempt to eat the fish. should i try frozen krill? how long can they go without eating?

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posted 11-15-2003 10:41 PM         

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It's next to impossible to get a snowflake to go for anything other than live. He is most likely still adjusting to the tank. If he goes more than 5 days without eating I would worry. As to the frozen krill, if he's not eating live food it is extremely doubtful that he will eat frozen, and it would probably end up fouling the water. From information that I have gotten snowflakes are virtually blind. They locate their food by smell believe it or not. If you watch the goldfish will actually have to get close to him before he will even notice them. Also with a snowflake you need to make sure the top of the tank is completely sealed, even if you have to use duct tape to do it. They will climb out! You can make small perforations in the tape to let excess air out of the tank to keep it from building up too much pressure.

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posted 11-16-2003 01:21 AM         

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my eel seems happy enough so far, he comes out of his hiding place every once in a while to look around, but even if the fish are close to him he wont even go after him. after 5 days what should i do? i dont just want him to starve to death. i'll try minoes tomorrow, to see if he just needs smaller fish. the store where i got him said they were ffeding him the ones i got though. so im confused, i hioe everything is all right though. thanx for all the help.

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posted 11-16-2003 12:48 PM         

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Snowflakes aren't voracious eaters and he can probably go about 5 days without suffering. I would not use minnows as feeders. Minnows carry a wide variety of diseases. If he needs something smaller than goldfish go to guppies. If what you have in there is what he was eating at the store they should be fine. No need to get any other fish. You might take a water sample from your tank to the shop where you bought him and have them run a comparative water test to see how the water in your tank differs from the water in the tank he came from.

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From:Canada
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 11-17-2003 11:42 AM         

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kc5gvn's advice seems sound. When buying new fish it often doesn't hurt to ask the store if you can see the fish eat before you purchase it. It's a good indication of overall health and one less thing to troubleshoot if there are problems later on.

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