Spotted snake eel carpet surfing – 09/15/07
Hello,
<Hi Tony. Marco here with you.>
I have a 75 gallon tank with about 50-60 lbs of LR. I have a question regarding my spotted snake eel (the only occupant of the tank). I woke up this morning to find him on the carpet and have no idea how long he had been there.
<Time to secure all holes, add a lid of some kind if not already done.>
He wasn't moving, but was still alive.
<Good.>
I put him back in the tank and eventually he started moving a little bit. Within an hour he was dragging his whole slime coat behind him. <…at least the dried parts.> He was also breathing very hard (gills flaring) and he seems to be constantly opening and closing his mouth.
<Of course, he needs oxygen.>
Is there any special treatment that could help him?
<Provide pristine water quality. Feed a vitamin enriched varied diet. Look out for wounds, parts of the skin with discolorations and monitor those spots for possible secondary bacterial infections in the next few days.>
It’s been about 36 hours now and he's not breathing quite as heavily anymore.
<Glad to hear that.>
Finally, the only fish in the tank, (a coral beauty) died last week of ich. I know eels generally aren’t susceptible to ich, but what do you think his chances are without his slime coat?
<They can (rarely) get ich, even with an intact slime coat, naturally his chances without a slime coat are worse. On the other hand the slime coat can rebuild pretty fast on a healthy specimen and give those protozoans a hard time.>
He seems to have quite a few white spots on him although they don't exactly look like ich.
<Monitor these spots. If they turn out to be spreading white or red patches of a bacterial infection, consider a treatment with antibiotics in a hospital tank. If they turn out to be ich, consider a hyposalinity treatment (I know there’s no consensus among the crew on how effective this treatment is) in a hospital tank.>
The only thing I've changed since the incident is that I'm currently using Immuno Vital daily as recommended by the LFS.
<That’s basically some salts, some vitamins, some plant products and some trace elements (among them copper). I prefer to add vitamins with the food, but do not think this product will cause/solve any of your eel’s problems.>
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I love this site, the whole crew seems very knowledgeable.
<I’m glad you like the site.>
Thank you, Tony.
<Good luck with your eel. From what you write chances are good for a recovery. Marco.>

Spotted/tiger snake eel
Hello,
<Howdy>
I just wanted to say thank you for your past answers, they have proved helpful when I have not been able to find an answer on your site. I have a comment about the opinion of the Ophichthidae family; that no one should own one.
<Mmm, well, not "no one", but folks (as always) should be informed as to the history, likelihood of their survival, their husbandry...>
I DO AGREE about the ribbon eels, those poor things are beautiful and due to their environment, shouldn't be kept.  Bravo for those who have managed to keep them alive. Now for my issue. I was at a LFS and was going to get a couple of engineer gobies to keep my 2" sand bed stirred. The man there showed me 3 adults that were returned because of their 12" size where making a sandy mess of everything. I was disappointed as I really wanted an eel, but not in a reef/fish/invert (no shrimp) tank. He then showed me a Spotted Snake Eel, or as some call it a tiger eel. Upon my investigation of the animal's scientific name (Myrichthys maculosus) light colored with large brown spots all over including large brown spots on the face (there is another snake eel that has spots on the face, but they are tiny dots....not mine). I was sold the snake eel (we will call "spot") for 39.99, which I come to find was quite a good deal. He told me to feed spot once or twice a week ghost shrimp. 
Okay, I get spot home and watch him swim in and around all my live rock (found a hole he hangs out in now) and I got to thinking, this little guy HAS to eat more than that given his activity level. So I put in the ghost shrimp, and he only finds and eats DEAD ONES because his eye sight is awful. 
<... this is a nocturnal animal...>
I then bought some frozen silverbacks to mince and feed my anemone, and thought for kicks I will offer a whole thawed one to spot. BOY DID HE LOVE IT!!! He eats right out of my hand (which is not uncommon for the wild ones in Hawaii or Australia).
<Mmm, not found in Hawaii: Fishbase Summary.> 
He had 3 large ones one night and then 1 1/2 days later ate 2 small. I know he is hungry when he swims around bobbing his head up and down. My point is, these particular Ophichthidae are NOT hard to care for as long as you FEED THEM!!!
<Good point>
I read they tend to get starved to death. Cool thing is, my 3 young ocellaris clowns are quite safe (2" babies) as SPOT is as blind as a bat and not interested in anything that moves!! So please, those who have purchased these snake eels, have fun, do your homework and you will LOVE them as a pet. In my opinion BETTER THAN A POISONOUS PUFFER FISH!! 
Take care, and I hope you put this on your "Snake Eel" page. 
<Will do, definitely>
Those of us who bought our snake eels (since a real eel is out of the question for reef) LOVE THEM so much and if we made the mistake of buying them, should not be made to feel like a bad person. By the way my LFS had a blue ribbon eel that was eating live mollies (big ones) every other day........a ribbon eel is NOT, in my opinion good for reef tanks with little creatures!!) Take Care!
Carrie :)
<Thank you for sharing this valuable input. You have likely saved many Myrichthys! Bob Fenner>

Unicolor snake eels
Hi,
Do you know anything about unicolor snake eels, (Uropterygius concolor) ?
_http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1737_
(http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1737)  They  seem like an interesting eel and kind of look like the ribbon eels. Can I keep  these kinds of eels with damsels and clownfish? <If you read what I read, it says they ambush small fish during the night.  James (Salty Dog)>
thanks <You're welcome>

Myrichthys colubrinus and Blue Ribbon Eels
My girlfriend purchased a Banded Snake Eel about two years ago, an amazing creature. We have found this particular Eel/Snake to be one of the easiest marine animals to keep in our tank. However I'm reading
online that its not recommended for home aquariums. Is there a particular reason why the Banded Snake Eel is considered a "Restricted Species" in many pet stores?
<Mainly that most folks experiences are 180 degrees different than yours... Most Snake Eels, Ophichthyids, die from lack of feeding in captivity... the remainder generally escape their enclosure through an opening at the top.>
Feeding is extremely easy, and it requires only basic water/light conditions. I would recommend this snake/eel to anyone; would you?
<I don't. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ophichthidae.htm and the FAQs beyond>
We purchased a Blue Ribbon Eel out of impulse a week ago, and they are not something I would ever recommend to any aquarium owner.
<Me neither... same reasons>
To our surprise the pet store in which we purchased this Eel understands its difficulty to keep and is allowing us to return it.  We have tried live foods, but all it was interested in was in our "Disappeared" juvenile Damsel. Quite an expensive meal for a fish that probably wouldn't last
another week in our tank. We didn't do our research and just bought on impulse; something that saltwater fish tend to do as their vibrant colors and exotic looks entrap onlookers.
<Live and hopefully learn>
We are taking the Blue Ribbon Eel back to the pet store tomorrow. Better to have it die in someone else's tank then our own, however we would rather it not die at all! We would just like to personally thank you and your site for helping us with our future purchases as you classify which species are best for home aquariums.
<Thank you for your input and acknowledgement. Bob Fenner>
Brad Vetter
Lisa Borgens