[A.M. Aquatics]

Freshwater eels have caught my interest for quite a while, and I'm extremely frustrated that I don't have room for one. My lfs had a REALLY nice peacock eel for a good price. I want to get one sometime along the lines. They're so neat!

Anyone here keep 'em? What are your opinions and thoughts on them?

 

[Snowflake311]

Never kept one but from what I have seen they dig. So they might not be best for a planted tank. I would think once they are mature they would be out more but when young they tend to hide.

 

[jaidexl]

I had a "rainbow eel" as a kid, two actually. I think they were peacocks or tiretrack eels. The first one jumped the first night, the second lived for awhile but developed a problem on it's snout. I was a kid and we didn't have the internet back then so I assumed it was disease, but I think it was the fact that I was keeping it with full size gravel, which it was having a hard time burrowing into.

 

[Cardinal Tetra]

I could catch you an eel from the local tidal rivers. They're real vicious biters and are hard to get off the hook :hihi:

 

[toddnbecka]

My favorite species of spiney eel is the Tanganykian plagiostoma eel (my avatar pic.) It's a small species, around 8" max length, and doesn't burrow in the substrate like most of those type of fish do. I kept a pair in a 29 for a couple years until a power outage did them in. They spawned a number of times, but the male always ate the eggs. May have had something to do with the reverse-flow UG filter setup. I've been thinking about getting another pair.

 

[yikesjason]

Have you looked at kuhli loaches? They are very eel looking, but small. I have a couple of them in one tank and am planing on adding some to my new tank.

 

[xxxSHyXAxxx]

I had a snowflake ell for a long time. I loved that thing. I had regular aquarium gravel in the tank but it found a hole in the fake decor and chilled out there. I loved to feed it shrimp. I always knew when it was hungry because it would poke its head out lookin for me and if I walked up to the tank it would come out of its cave almost completely. I was able to get it tamed enough that it would eat from my hand.

...I miss that guy. I named him Eelbert RIP Eelbert

 

[A.M. Aquatics]

Lost this topic for a few days lol. Must be neat to own eels.

I REALLY want to get a peacock eel. I need your opinions though. How does a 20g (24X12X18) sound for one eel? I will provide a good amount of shelter and replace the gravel with sand if I do end up getting one. Opinions please?

 

[Bettacrazy]

make sure when it burrows if you have any large rocks or anything that if it burrows under it they do not crush it.

 

[A.M. Aquatics]

yep, I got that covered.:icon_smil I still got some unused driftwood and some nice rocks.
I might go with a tanganyikan eel, depending on the availability and price. But I'd have to get a crushed coral substrate.

 

[toddnbecka]

Sand substrate, crushed coral in a filter or a larger chunk in the tank. For than matter you can simply use baking soda to buffer the water and skip the coral entirely. Atlantis in NY has plagiostoma in stock, or at least they did last week, listed on aquabid.

 

[Bettacrazy]

are you looking to have the eel be the only resident of the tank? because if it is going to be a tanganyikan eel why not do a tanganyikan biotope? I know the tank is a little small, but that would be cool with the eel being the center of attention in the tank.

 

[Razorworm]

Do kuhli loaches dig? I'd like to get an eel or something similar but are they appropriate in a dirt tank?

 

[kuni]

One of my friends has a peacock eel, but I've seen it all of twice, due to the hiding and burrowing.

If you want an eel-like fish, try Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, the dojo or weather loach. Great personality, not shy, with similar body dimensions to a mastacembulid(peacock/tiretrack/fire eels). They do burrow, but not nearly as much.

 

[A.M. Aquatics]

I don't think I'll do a tanganyikan biotope. More fish=more time, money, care, tank renovation. I just don't have nearly as much time as I used to have. I'm just looking for something to be kept single in this tank, something interesting. I love eels, so I figured I should at least try to go for one.

toddnbecka, may I ask how much you got your tanganyikan eels for?

I know for a fact that my lfs can get peacocks, but I'm not sure about tang eels, but I know they get livestock from segrestfarms.com, and segrest farms does have tanganyikan eels, so I'll ask next time I go there.

I'm looking more towards an actual eel than a loach, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Jeffww]

Not sure if this is true but aren't spiny eels not true eels since they have compressed bodies?

 

[A.M. Aquatics]

Not sure about that, but I know fire eels are basically just elongated fish.

 

[mcaquatic]

not an eel but rope fish can be a lot of fun and are eel like.

Yes it is true spiny eels are not true eels. Either way they are fun in the aquarium.

 

[toddnbecka]

I don't think I'll do a tanganyikan biotope. More fish=more time, money, care, tank renovation. I just don't have nearly as much time as I used to have. I'm just looking for something to be kept single in this tank, something interesting. I love eels, so I figured I should at least try to go for one.

toddnbecka, may I ask how much you got your tanganyikan eels for?

I know for a fact that my lfs can get peacocks, but I'm not sure about tang eels, but I know they get livestock from segrestfarms.com, and segrest farms does have tanganyikan eels, so I'll ask next time I go there.

I'm looking more towards an actual eel than a loach, but thanks for the suggestion.

I paid $40 for my first one several years ago, but drove from MD to NJ to pick it up, along with a used tank. Months later I found a recently deposited clutch of eggs, so I started looking for a male. A couple months after that I found one available online, $70+ shipping. They spawned a number of times, but the male always ate the eggs soon afterward, and I didn't have another tank suitable to move him into, or any clue how to raise eel fry. Might give it another try now that I have more tanks set up.
Atlantis in NY sells them for $50+ shipping, and I seriously doubt you'll find a better price anywhere, particularly at an lfs. There are actually a number of Tang spiney eels occaisonally imported, but the plagiostoma is fairly rare and more difficult to find/collect. Of the others, some grow into very large fish eaters, while the smaller species usually stay burrowed in the sand like the more common spiney eel species from Asia or Africa. Trust me, I did my research on them all, and figured the plagiostoma were the best of the lot overall, particularly for a smaller tank. The elipsifers need at least a 75.
A nice surprise was the way they colored up on a diet of frozen bloodworms. The background color became a rich orange, and they were always out swimming around when feeding time was near.

 

[kuni]

I'm looking more towards an actual eel than a loach, but thanks for the suggestion.

Evolutionary speaking, you are FAR closer to, say, a mouse than spiny eels or loaches are to true eels. In other words, both loaches and spiny eels are equally distantly related to eels.

The only "actual eels" in the trade are saltwater, or weird little burrowing things from India that aren't much fun to keep in tanks. At the end of the day, if you want a "freshwater eel", you'll be keeping a false eel of some kind. Just decide which you like best.