moray eels and koi in my new tank?

[Johnny V]

Hey, I was wondering... I bought a 55gallon tank and am currently cycling it. I was thinking of putting 2 koi fish and a moray eels, along with my african butterfly fish. Any helpful ideas? (do's and dont's, feeding problems, about maybe some more members to the community?) I dont want to overstock my tank, but i like variety thanks a bunch -john

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I don't know about the eels but koi can't live in tanks and they are coldwater. They need large ponds.

 

[CatLover]

Yep, Cheese is right. Also, aren't moray eels marine? And I would think they would make a quick meal out of a butterfly fish.

If I were you, I would scratch the koi/moray idea, and get some neat fish that would go great with an ABF.

Can anyone back me on morays being marine? Or am I wrong? I've never kept them.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Yeah, I think they are Marine and are big.

 

[Genki]

Yes moray eels are marine, and get -very- big, and are hardly kept in the home unless you're rich and can afford a massive tank XD; Koi get large and are cold water, while the african butterfly is tropical...I'd do more research if I were you.

 

[Johnny V]

Thanks for the input (btw, im currently doing research on it, hence my post )I was going to purchase a dwarf freshwater moray eel, and the LFS owner said that it would do fine with ABF due to the ABF being a surface fish and the eel staying on the bottom. Does that change anything? or is he flat out lieing/misinformed? thanks again -john

 

[gaya]

Well i tried to edit and lost the post. any way again i googled the eel and found that it was more brackish than freshwater, and should be kept alone.

and the beginners section has pinned articles you should check out.

 

[Genki]

Ah, yes, that does change things a bit. Though it's advertised as freshwater morays really do best in a brackish set-up. Also, you should ask for the scientific name of the fish you are buying, there are a couple different types of freshwater morays that you can get, with their size varying from a little over a foot to about three feet long. All of them are predatory and require a primarily fish to eat, so it's probable you'd have some difficulty with feeding. If you're new to fish keeping it'd probably be a good idea to go with a less demanding fish.

 

[Johnny V]

awwwwwww, but they look so cool .. ahh well, i suppose you are right. (besides a little goldfish tank, im pretty new to fishkeeping) yeah, the lfs owner said it should be 1.5 ft when full grown. But, alas, I'll put it out of mind for now. And I thought that koi fish could live in tanks. The LFS owner said they could, and he keeps his in one (but then again, his credibility is become less and less with every post.

While you guys are being so helpful, do you have anyother suggestions for a 55 gallon tank (i already have a little cave set up so anything that would utilize it would be awesome)? Thanks again, Ive learnt more in 10 minutes here then 2 hours at the LFS banging my head against the glass (not literally).

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

if you like moray eels, you would probably like bichirs. a sengal bichir could go in that size tank. i aslo think a rope fish could. i know that a sengal could deffinatly go in there though, and have other tank mates. do some research on em, i think you will like them alot

 

[Genki]

Young koi can be kept in large fish aquariums, but the main problem is their mature size and that fact they are coldwater, while the butterfly is tropical.

As of what else to put in it...I'm not sure I can help much, I'm struggling with that question myself currently. A couple ideas could be a couple schools of different kinds of tetras, with maybe a couple smallish gouramis. Or you could get some livebearers, which are always easy to keep, like platys. They can put a lot of color in your tank.

Something you could do is go to your local book store/library and just look through a fish index book, or an online fish database. Flip through till something catches your eye, and usually there'll be enough information that you can decide for yourself it they're completely out of the question or could work. ^^

 

[Johnny V]

ok, thanks a bunch for all the helpful suggestions. Yeah, ill look up an online database. Thanks again. (im considering the senegal bichir, good call)

 

[CFC]

Their are 4 species of so called "freshwater" moray eel that are available in the aquatics hobby.
The first and most commonly seen is the snowflake or Goldspot moray; Gymnothorax tile which grows to around 2 feet, the second most common is the White cheek moray; Echidna rhodocheilus which grows to around 18 inches, the third which is rarely seen is Gymnothorax afer which grows to around 40 inches and the fourth and least seen is the Leopard moray; Gymnothorax polyuranodon which grows to around 3 feet.
All 4 species are highly predatory and will make quick snacks of any smaller fish in the aquarium, they all also have a need for high salt levels and should be kept in high end brackish to marine conditions (SG 1.012 to 1.022).

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Is that little goldfish tank something you have now, or are you talking about and old tank you used to have?

 

[Johnny V]

I still have it, although there is only 1 little feeder fish and a pleco in it now.