I looked into a Snowflake eel at one point but decided against it mostly because of it's ability to escape! I have seen Snowflakes in Hawaiian waters and they are very cool to look at, especially if you're lucky to see one free swimming! Anyway, here's some info on Snowflakes from Wet Web Media:
Snowflake eel specimens are by and large "live and let live" re their fish companions, but not always. I have archived on our site (Wetwebmedia, Aquarium, Pond, Marine and Freshwater Fish, reef tanks, and Aquatics Information) a few instances of "Snowflake treachery". Such is definitely not the case with crustaceans. Echidna nebulosa's diet IS mainly crabs and shrimps in the wild. They will assuredly eat yours in captivity. Other non-vertebrate livestock is in no danger.
Behavior
Re Jumping Out:
Moray eels are aquatic Houdini's, seemingly able to get out of any/all containers. What is the price of freedom? Constant vigilance. Know that even after your eel has settled in, it can, will be exploring the surface of its system most nights, possibly leaving... I have seen footage of this species going "intertidal" at night, in search of tasty crustaceans...
Should you discover your moray out on the floor moving, pick it up with a damp towel, rinse it off (yes in the sink with tapwater) and return it to a marine system. Even if the animal is apparently dry, stiff, don't necessarily give up. Do rinse it, and return anyway... and observe to see if it revives in an hour or so. Have witnessed this sort of "resurrection" on several occasions.
Raymond, I've owned several. If you have a tight-fitting lid, you'll really enjoy them. They are among the smallest and best-natured of the morays, and live a long, long time. The bulk of their diet can be thawed shrimp, just be sure and mix the diet up from time to time.
Raymond, I've owned several. If you have a tight-fitting lid, you'll really enjoy them. They are among the smallest and best-natured of the morays, and live a long, long time. The bulk of their diet can be thawed shrimp, just be sure and mix the diet up from time to time.
Russel, could you describe your setup when you had these wonderful eels? Did they ever get into your overflow? With a sealed top, did you run into any overheating problems? Or did you use some kind of mesh? Did you have a reef system with the eel?
I have one Echidna now in a tank with LR and a few PVC tubes strewn about the substrate. I actually don't have a lid at all on this set-up, so I dropped the overflow down an inch and a half. I've had a few jump over the years (and most survived, even though one was drying and covered in carpet fuzz). They seem to only go exploring the higher waters when really hungry, and seldom free-swim in open water so keeping the rockwork to about half the height of your tank helps. I had another snowflake live in my overflow for about a month before I could get it out. I feed this tiny one every other day, and the rockwork doesn't go too near the surface, so between that and the dry space between the surface and the rim, I feel pretty safe.
I've kept them in tanks with just a simple Aqua Clear power filter, all the way up to the automated system with H&S skimmer, calcium reactor and and UV sterilizer I have the new guy in now.
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