spiny eel appreciation thread

[allysangels]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUmpiw75MCY&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUYu1h7etZk&feature=plcp

so this is my baby fire eel, mr e. i've had him just over a year, picked him up at fondren fish-n-pet for 20$ at 4/5 inches. wild caught, as are most, he was an extremely picky eater, only taking earthworms dug from my garden. i tried red wrigglers and other store-bought foods to no avail, only my backyard worms would do. eventually i got him trained to eat frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms, and now he happily eats sinking carnivore pellets as well, although i still dig up worms for him when it rains (like today). his current home is a 10g tank with a specially rigged HOB filter, black sand, PVC joints for caves, and java ferns. the first couple months we spent getting to know each other, and although he was always a curious little guy, it took months to get him hand-tame (as he is now). we had to rescue him from the kitchen counter, the kitchen floor, and the HOB numerous times. i eventually learned to keep the water level low (3-4in) below the top of the tank, and had to build a screen to keep him from swimming up the outflow waterfall from the filter and getting inside. once i think he was in there for 2 days, and seemed perfectly happy to stay. these days he is about 10-11 inches long and is about to get upgraded to a 29g tank with everything else the same, except i will be upgrading to a canister filter. i'm feeding heavily every 3-4 days to simulate his natural diet, and he's starting to grow faster. oh yeah, and he has roommates... 2 african dwarf frogs and a ornery gold gourami that i had to separate from another tank.

well, theres mine. now show me yours!!!

[Geral]

Nice Ally!!

I love the eels never have try to keep one. That's the only reason I would like a salty tank for eels .

[allysangels]

salty? no no baby he's a freshwater eel. i don't do salty anything! lol.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/mix/fireeels.php

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/spinyeelbehfaqs.htm

[Totenkampf]

That's the only reason I would like a salty tank for eels .

actually the spiny eels are freshwater fish (not true eels) and are really cool once you get them eating. i used to have a few peacock eels and they are pretty interesting too. they are worth trying if you have the patience / time for feeding live foods.

[Geral]

salty? no no baby he's a freshwater eel. i don't do salty anything! lol.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/mix/fireeels.php

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebi...eelbehfaqs.htm

I know , I am saying that I love the salty eels
Specially the big green ones those look bad @&$

Still like all the eels

[allysangels]

i can't wait till my baby gets to 3 feet!

[jsbaker]

We have one that's about 8 to 10 inches long, he too loved to crawl up in the filter and did it 3 or 4 times in one day. The filter has a cover so a few strategically placed bio balls in the filter and he can no longer crawl up in there. Haven't had any problems with him trying to get out of the tank yet but that could be because he likes his new wooden tunnel decoration.

[allysangels]

mine loves his PVC pipes, but still seems to have the wanderlust... lol. i guess he's a teenager. i'm hoping he'll grow out of it, but i'm not holding my breath. shouldn't be an issue with the filter much longer anyhow, as i will be moving him to the 29g soon enough, and that tank will have a canister filter.

could you post pics if you have them??? i'd love to see your set-up!