Peacock Eel

[ebakanezer]

I am newish to being a legitimate fish owner. I have had fish my whole life but am recently becoming a more serious owner. I bought a peacock eel about a month ago. I was trying to feed him frozen brine shrimp and krill, but to my disappointment he wouldn't eat it. Or at least I never saw him eat it. I just read the other night about feeding him live worms. So I tried feeding him a worm I found in the yard ( not sure if that's a bad thing ) Rinsed of course. Both times he has latched on to it a few times but won't eat it. He is about 3 inches long and the worms were about 2. So I'm not sure if they need to be cut into smaller pieces or he just waits till the lights are out before he eats them. They are no where to be found the next morning so im not sure if they have been eaten or just Burrowed into the rocks. I'm more worried about him not eating them and have a few rogue worms hidden in the tank. Not sure if that's bad or not. Again im new to this so if I'm doing something wrong please tell me. I want to care for my fish to the best of my ability. thank you

 

[thereverendturtle]

The earth worms will drown after a bit, usually after getting down into the gravel, and will rot. Try feeding him black worms from your local fish store or frozen blood worms. A 3" eel trying to eat a 2" earth worm isn't going to work.

 

[ebakanezer]

Okay, thank you very much. Would you happen to know anything about rainbow sharks?

 

[thereverendturtle]

Get to be 4-5" need some vegetables in their diet. Something like algae wafers. Can be very aggressive towards each other or anyone that decides to go into its favorite haunt. Keep one per tank unless you have a huge tank, something at least 6' long with lots of visual barriers, plants, rocks, wood, etc... Was there something more particular you were after?

 

[ebakanezer]

Well mine is an albino rainbow shark about 4". It seems to be healthy and happy but every so often he will rub his side along the gravel really quick as if he's trying to get something off of him. He doesn't look like he has any sores or anything on him. I just wanted to know if hat was a warning sign of something, like bacteria of some sort.

 

[thereverendturtle]

If its only occasional, he's probably just got an itch. If it occurs multiple times throughout the day, like 5-10 times or more, for days on end it could be a parasite. Ich is the usual culprit, though there are other parasites that can cause scratching, the meds are usually the same.

 

[ebakanezer]

Okay, thank you. I really appreciate the help.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Any time.