feed eels while sleeping?

[glarior]

A while back I posted about not seeing my ribbon eels. Well, I finally saw one ribbon eel this morning at 3am when I should be asleep.

I fed it some lancefish which it ate quickly.

Ideas on how to feed the eels at night when I am asleep? There is a white and blue ribbon in there. You never see them but guess they come out at night while I am asleep.

[ScottishFish]

How about 30mins before you go to bed turn tank lights out to simulate night time, then just before bed time drop their food in?

[glarior]

The lights go off at 10pm. I usually go to bed around 12-1am but never see them. I did drop some lancefish and they would disappear. However, I found out last night the snails eat them before the eels. Kind of a cool to watch the snails emerge from the sand, converge on the food and eat it!

[rageybug]

I never have trouble feeding my blue ribbon. It is out and about all the time during the day. Howling have you had the eel in your tank? It may be nervous in a new tank and won't come out or eat for weeks. Would keep offering it food at the same time each day and when it gets good and hungry it will come out and eat. Also, try some other food options like shrimp, squid, octopus etc...

[glarior]

I tore the aquarium apart last night and did not find the blue ribbon. Found the white ribbon in the pvc pipe system. I have no idea where the blue would have dissappeared to. No where on the floor, sump, overflows, under rocks, pvc... no clue.

They have been in that tank for over a month now. Hopefully the white ribbon stays in the pvc so I can feed it again. I dropped some food in for him last night in the pvc. I have squid, octopus, scallops, shirmp and lancefish to feed him. Usually likes the lancefish and scallops best.

[Lady Hobbs]

I've never tried to feed my fish when I was sleeping. LOL
I assume you mean to feed them at night, before you go to sleep?

[glarior]

I've never tried to feed my fish when I was sleeping. LOL
I assume you mean to feed them at night, before you go to sleep?

sleep walking

I do mean feed the eel when I am asleep. The eel comes out a few hours after I go to sleep. I tried dropping the food into the tank but the CUC took care of that quick. Last night I tried putting it in the pvc pipes.

[Lady Hobbs]

I did get a kick out of your post.

Maybe you can drop some food into his hiding hole at night and sounds as you did. How about turning his lights off sooner in the evenings? Once the lights go out, he should come out. Perhaps you can train him some to come out for his supper sooner by feeding him about the same time each night?

[glarior]

Lights off at ~10pm, comes out 2-3am. When I had him in the 75g I fed him same time I fed the other fish. I moved them to the 120g and now he changed his time schedule. I will keep trying to offer food and maybe change the lights to 9pm. I like them on later so I get to enjoy the tank and be able to work on it after work.

[Surfdog]

As I said before Glarior, don't feed them. They will come out when hungry and they will eat. They can go 7 weeks without food, I know it sounds increadable but it's true. They will come out especialy if you have other Eels in the tank that you are feeding. If you start feeding in the middle of the night, they will get used to that and you'll never see them. As to your Blue, who knows? I recently did a tank re-arangement. The snowflake and the girded were no where to be found, I did eventually, both had entered a fake stone ornament through a 25 cent size opening.
_RON2161.jpg _RON2160.jpg so 2 Eels this size crammed comfortably into this ornament.
LOL, I had to break the bottom where the opening was to get them out! The point had been to remove this piece from the tank...
I woulden't worry to much, get them into YOUR timing, just keep it that way and you should be fine. I now feed mine 8pm every second day like clockwork...
Good Luck Bud!