I'm looking to buy one, would a 30gal tank be big enough? what would be a good tank mate?

Snowflake eels get to be 30", almost as long as the tank, so a 30gallon would not be suitable. they need no smaller than a 75gallon to be happy. currently i have 2 in a 125gallon, and i have observed that they are EXTREMELY hardy fish, as, according to the other aquarists here, the tank must be in bad condition, and 1 of the eels is at least 7 years old! my eels love to eat frozen silversides, and ocassionally they will chomp down on a frozen cube of squid. both of our eels have NEVER eaten ANY LIVING FISH in the tank, so i don't see what could go wrong with fish.

so the tank set-up should be a Salt Water FOWLR of at least 75 gallons with plenty of caves and crevices, and a few other fish that lives in the same conditions and won't outgrow a 75 gallon.

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I'm so sorry I haven't been on the forum in so long! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten this lovely website! I moved to a different county back in May 2011 and started high school in a totally different school district. So I'm still adjusting and studying hard, and don't presently have any aquariums. But once I do, I'll be right back on this forum!

Gotta agree with much of the above advice given. A single could probably be pulled off in a 55. The FOWLR is right though as they have a tendency to knock over coral colonies and damage them as a result.

One spot where I will part ways to a degree is being in a community tank. If it will be remotely small enough to fit in thier mouth it is "on the menu" so to speak. An Eel is and Eel and this is what they do...eat fish! Any fish that you keep with them will have to be considerably larger than they can eat. Keeping them well fed will help considerably, in keeping them on thier best behavior. Additionally any or all of your decorative shrimp are likely to slowly disappear in the tank one by one. So keep this in mind.

This is one of the better Eels to keep though if your going to have an Eel. The Jewel or Guinie(sp?) Eel is also a nice selection thats somewhat smaller in legth but thicker bodied. Both are somewhat reef safe with caution and are the more milder mannored of the bunch as far as attitude. They can make for some stunning displays in the tank though, especially one thats not so intensely lit with lighting. Most are quickly trained to eat from a skewer too and are a glutton for "Scooby Snacks" when fed this way.

My big brother who is 15 has 1 snowflake eel in a 159 gallon and it is so CREEPY looking!!!!

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Betta fish are like cookies you just can't have one!LOL

The official answer in my mind (and I have been keeping eels for about 6 years now) is no. However, I would add this caveat, that if you are talking about one of the very small, juvenile eels that you see for like 20 bucks, it would most likely be ok for at least a while. Eels do grow, but not at a rate that you can't keep up. I think people forget that you can find some real small snowflakes out there. As long as you plan to upgrade in the future, don't plan on having a lot of other fish, and plan on keeping on top of water conditions for a messy eater, you would be ok. I am sure I will get blasted for telling you this, but I understand that we can't all have the big tanks we want, at the moment we want them. Baby eels need homes too. Oh yeah, also very important is to have places for it to hide. Preferable a bunch of live rock, but in a pinch PVC pipe will work too.

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All information supplied is in my humble opinion. I am sure there is always someone out there who knows more then I, that will chime in soon.

Now back to trying to figure out how to combine my passions and either make an aquarium that does 0-60 in under 3 seconds, or ride motorcycles in aquariums....

+1 salth2o. Growing fish+average tank=UPGRADE

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When in doubt, do a water change.