Tire Tack Eel Feeding Advice

[vrob]

Hello TFF!
This is Sheldon, my 8" tire track eel. I got him when he was about 3-4 inches long. Right now he's in a 26 gallon bow front but I've got plans to upgrade to at 150+ gallon tank after house hunting / moving.
 

 
I'm hoping to pick the minds of some members that have had tire tracks for a while about feeding.
I can find information about dietary needs all over but I can't find anything about how much to feed anywhere. He's diet right now is frozen bloodworm cubes. I started him off with 1/2 a cube every other day.
Now I'm feeding him 1/2 cube every day but he still acts hungry (sniffing around and doing his "feed me dance" lol). Is he just being a fatty or am i not feeding him enough? Or should i switch to bigger worms?
He seems healthy and active but I'm a little worried that I'm under feeding him.
 
If anyone could provide maybe how much/often to feed him by age/size that would be awesome.
Thanks in advance!!

 

[sawickib]

When i had 3 3 tire track eels, it was in my experience that smaller eels will be more willing to eat provided foods and the larger older, most likely wild caught ones are less willing to eat any foods given to them. With that being said i had 3 tire track eels at a time which was a very bad idea the medium one would harass the small one all day and the big one hid all day, leaving the medium one to eat like a pig and got REALLY fat. There wasnt much i could do about it though.  still needed to feed my bichirs that were in the tank and he just managed to eat it all. I feed bloodworms, earthworms and cut up shrimp and tilipia, it wouldnt hurt to get some diversity in his diet. I would not feed him to where his belly is bulging a lot, a little bulge is just fine, unless you would like a really fat eel.

 

[uchihahovis]

i fed mine tubifex worms, live bloodworms and live brineshrimp aswell as rivershrimp
 
my tire track preferred live food to frozen so it all depends on the indiviual eel

 

[vrob]

Thanks for the advice guys. How much should he be eating? I currently feed him every day. Is that too much?

 

[sawickib]

It wouldnt hurt to skip a day of feeding out the week for all your fish. You should be feeding him enough to bulge his stomach, and thats about it, again if you want him obese though go ahead and feed him as much as he can eat everyday lol just means he will grow faster, poop more, and be fatter. IMO the youngest fish that eat the most grow the fastest.

 

[vrob]

Lol, Sound advice. Well he's not exactly fat as you can see in the pic but I can see a bit of bulge after meals. He acts like he's staving at meals though lol. just this morning my wife was hand feeding him and he was in such a rush he latched onto her finger lmao. It was so funny. 

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

I used to feed mine with live tubifex worms as well, the size of a huge coin (regardless of currency). The worms will feel at home and bury themselves in the substrate with only their tips showing and your eel will be busy the whole day/night from sniffing and hunting.

 

[vrob]

Oh, that's cool. I've been planning on getting sand for him so then the worms can burrow and he can hunt. That sounds fun for him