Clam, I wouldn't worry so much about feeding them...adding any type of food will probably do more damage to the quality of the water as opposed to the good of the eels. I don't really think they'll eat in a retainer tank...if you had set it up like an eel aquarium
. .. .meaning a more home-like environment, they'd probably feed, but I doubt they'll feed where your holding them. Change the water often and you should be ok. Another thing you can try is plexiglass. Cut a plexiglass divider for your tank, one that wouldn't allow eels on one side of the tank to get to the other side...of course you'd need some holes for water flow...either drill a bunch of holes smaller than the eels or drill larger holes and net the opening so they can't pass, or toss some aerater stones in each side for addes support. My point is, as you replenish your stock..you can keep track of which eels you've had the longest and use them in that order. I'm far from an eel expert, but I've toyed around with keeping things captive and what worked best for me....water quality is KING.
Good Luck buddy....I know you LOVE extra work, like fishing isn't work enough....
