Help! I inherited an eel and can't get him to eat!?

I inherited an eel (about 12 inches long... he looks a lot like a moray) and a bunch of cichlids. The cichlids are doing great, but I can't get the eel to eat. I have tried frozen krill (thawed of course), frozen silversides (thawed as well), and I even tried salad shrimp from Wal-Mart. I have tried giving it to him whole and cut up too. Live food is out of the question as the cichlids devour it before the eel even has a chance to see it. The previous owner gave me a tool to feed the eel with. He told me to grab the food with it and put it in front of the eel while feeding the other fish on the other side of the tank. He said that the eel takes the food right off the tool. He did tell me to make sure to let go right away once he grabbed the food because he would thrash about and get pretty violent. I can't get a hold of the last owner as he moved out of state and I can't get the poor guy to eat anything. I know he isn't eating the other fish in the aquarium because nobody else is missing. He hides a lot, but is also active at times when he thinks we aren't watching. Any advice? I really don't want to kill him! Thanks.