fresh water eels????

[Siamese Fighter 1]

have you got any info on fresh water eels ,what is the best type for a bigginer:thumb: wat type of fish they go with etc.....

[Tooch]

From what I understand, FW eels are actually more Brackish water. I used to have a fire-eel, but returned it due to not being able to properly care for a brackish water fish. Rope fish are fresh water though, look much like eels, and are pretty cool. That may be a way to start!

[Siamese Fighter 1]

i have seen them rope fish wat size tank do you need to keep it .

[Tooch]

They can get to be about 36" long, but that's not typical in an aquarium. I'd say nothing smaller than a 55 gallon tank. If you decide on a rope fish, be sure to give it lots of hiding places for it to curl up. They are pretty peaceful, but like alot of fish, anything that fits in it's mouth may be it's next dinner.

[Tooch]

Oh yes, and be sure to keep a very tight seal on the tank. They like to get out!

[A1cntrler]

I had some peacock eels for a while. They would disappear for a week or so, and then I would find them again. I had a big problem with live plants and the eels. They were constantly digging under them and floating them to the surface. They loved to dig and would hide deep in the substrate. I gave them to a friend a few years ago. I never heard anything more about them, so not sure how they are doing...

[YaYgoldFish]

Have you considered bichirs instead? They stay smaller, I have apolypterus senegalus (google it) and it tops out at 12 inches. Sure you still need something like a 50g long..

[squirt_12]

how about a Zig Zag eel???? they get about 16" in length and can be kept in a 50g. It is also called the spiny eel. here is a link for some info: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Tooch]

how about a Zig Zag eel???? they get about 16" in length and can be kept in a 50g. It is also called the spiny eel. here is a link for some info: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]


Very informative site! But he said he wanted to know about eels for beginners, and according to the site -

"Care of the Yellow Zig Zag is moderately difficult and they may not be the best choice for absolute beginners."


In my experience, aside from the brackish water most eels require (that I know of), they can tend to be finiky eaters. My mom used to have some Ropefish. From what she told me, they are hardy, tend to do well in light, and are good eaters. That's the only reason I suggested it, for a beginners ease. I could be wrong! lol wouldn't be the first time :ezpi_wink1:

[mitcore]

i also had peacock eels, mine kept dying, my hubby loves them what a shame i cant keep them alive LOL

[Fishguy2727]

The spiney eels (yellowtail, zigzag, fire, tiretrack, etc.) are true freshwater eels (not true eels though, but modified tropical fish). The moray eels are the ones that are truly marine, but when young are fresh/brackish. Their hardiness and ease of feeding vary by individuals most of all, but there are tendencies of certain species. My tiretrack eel is thriving while the other spiney eels I tried did not work out.

Bichirs are a good option. I have two in my 150 along with the tiretrack eel. They are hardy, unique, easy to feed, and have their active times (usually feeding time).

[cocoa_pleco]

i have had fire eels and peacock eels, and i see them for 1 hour after i buy them then they disappear forever

[mitcore]

i have had fire eels and peacock eels, and i see them for 1 hour after i buy them then they disappear forever

you mean like mine
or die in less then 6hrs only to be found in the bottom of the gravel LOL

[2manyfish]

I had a fire eel for a couple of years. When I got him he was about 8" long and ended up a little over 24" before I sold him.
I had been told that they would eat fish but mine never did. In fact, at one point I was using his tank as a grow out for some angel and platy fry!
Main foods were live earthworms and live ghost shrimp. If I were to get another one today I would try and switch it over to "dead" foods just for the convenience.
Sand substrate is very important as they like to bury themselves and gravel can scrape their bodies making them susceptible to fungus and bacterial infections.

About a year ago I wanted to try a peacock eel but it managed to get out of the tank and I found it dried up on the floor the next day. :scry: I thought I was very careful with plugging up any holes but I guess I wasn't careful enough....

I may get another fire eel if I ever get a tank freed up for one!

[rjh_1981]

I had a couple peacock eels over the years. First one I got 6 months after my first tank. 2 days later he jumped out and my sisters cat got him before I could. About a year later I got another and he lived happily in my 29g for 6 years before moving to 100g when I managed to get 2 full grown peacocks. They were kind of picky eaters, but they would eat right out of my hands literaly. I would fill a small medicine bottle with live worms and cover it with my fingers. They would just swim up and wiggle between my fingers and feast. When they were done they would brush head to tail on the inside of my wrist and go back to hiding. They were great fish and alot of fun at feeding time.

[Halelorf]

My father tried to keep eels in one of his tanks years ago but he had a crab that would hunt them down and eat them at night. He went through about 4 eels before he called it quit on those. That's my only experience in keeping eels. They are very cool to watch though.:thumb:

[Siamese Fighter 1]

thanks for the info guys im thinking of getting a kuhli loach instead they are like eels anyway lol