eels

[bettagurl]

im possibly going to get 1 or 2 eels from my neighbore(he catches them and sells them to markets)and wanted to know what you can feed them,im going to be getting another 30 soon to put them in.i planned on taking water out of the creek(mill creek,saltwater)and putting it in the tank with good filteration,i have a abundance of minnows,shrimp and other small animals in the water in front of my house exept for about 5 mos in the year.when all the shrimp and other small critters have left for the winter what can i feed the eel(s)??ill try to look up the type of eel,i know that they eat the minnows and shrimp(i have watched them),im normally against taking animals from the wild but these are going to a seafood market,if i release them they will be caught again,the people around here catch about 30 eels a day.same way with the crabs.thanks

[bettagurl]

i cant seem to find exactly what species they are, they are muddy brown color when they get older,they have a yellow stomach,the young ones are almost black with a bright yellow stomach.the american eel looks sort of like them.

[plah831]

I'd agree it's an American eel (Anguilla rostrata). The yellow belly indicates that it's in the sub-adult freshwater stage. Anguillids have a complex life history which involves moving from freshwater (where they grow and feed) to the open ocean as adults to spawn. It's the opposite of salmon and trout that grow in the ocean and come back to freshwater streams to lay their eggs.

I don't know if you'll be able to keep it healthy in freshwater only. The oceanic stage takes on a silver color, but I don't know if that color change is due to water chemistry in their environment or internal hormonal changes when they get the right age.

Do you want me to move this thread to General FW?

[bettagurl]

move wherever you think it would get more attention,but these are in saltwater.are american eels freshwater?

[bettagurl]

this is what lives in the creek with the eels(the creek is about half a mile wide).
blue crabs
fiddler crabs
croaker
spot
rock fish
flounder
mud toads they look like a mudskipper but big and brown
sand sharks pass though rarely
and shrimp that look like ghosties.

[plah831]

ahh, I see your dilemma about where to post. Like I said, they are both depending on what life stage they are at. The eel life history (born in SW, feed and grow in FW, go back out to sea as adults) is called "catadromy". Eels are known as catadromous. The salmon/trout life history is anadromy with the opposite pattern.

I think in General FW you will get the most people reading. Not as many people view Marine topics. Move happening now.

[bettagurl]

thanks

[plah831]

no problem. I hope someone can give you tips on how to care for them. I've never kept them myself because they get kinda big, and aren't the prettiest things.

Do you currently have a SW setup to keep them in?

[bettagurl]

i planned on taking water out of the area they are in(in front of my house)and just putting that in the tank,would that work?im not putting anything exept them and maby a few shrimp that could be snacks.the eels are soo cool and i cant believe what the people around here do to them. :(

[plah831]

The creek is saltwater, you're going to put them into an uncycled tank? Are they in an enclosure now in the creek, or can they just come and go as they please? I'm confused.

Yeah, people eat dojo loaches, too in Asia. I have two of them as pets and they're the cutest sweetest fish. I can't get over that anyone would want to eat anything so cute. They look and act a lot like eels, by the way.

[bettagurl]

they are in a minnow trap,they stay in the creek all the time,and what i meant was would i be able to cycle a tank using the water they are in.
i have never done this so i need help.

[plah831]

If they came from the wild, I would say DON'T put them into captivity. Once you do, and they've been in a tank setting, you can never release them again. It's illegal, and the reason is because an aquairum situation exposes them to exotic diseases. If you release fish after they've been in captivity, they have the possbility of spreading diseases into the natural waterway and wreaking ecological havoc.

You're much better off releasing them out of the minnow trap and letting them continue their lives naturally.

[bettagurl]

im not able to release them,this guy that catches them snips a part of there fin so they cant swin right(he says it keeps them from fighting).do eels even fight?i think its very cruel,but its not illegal,sure if a nice cop were to see him doing that he would probably make him stop but since he lives on this privat street nobody sees him doing it.i found out because i was looking at the eels and saw thier fins and asked why they were like that.so they would probably die as soon as you release them either by crabs picking on them or minnows.

[plah831]

ahh, gotcha. Yeah, they wouldn't stand much of a chance back in the wild. I don't know if they fight, never kept 'em myself. Let's see if anyone else can give you suggestions on how to care for them (especially water chemistry) and what to feed them.

Good luck!

[bettagurl]

if they heal from the fin damage ill be surprised,they will probably out grow the tank i have so im looking into getting a 100 gal or bigger(im a little short on room and money at the moment).thanks paula! :p:

[FreddytheFish]

American eels are brackish to marine.

The fin-clipping sounds risky, I wouldn't get one that has been "fin-clipped".

Also, you may need a permit to takw them from the wild.

[bettagurl]

the eels are about to go to a seafood market,all of them have thier fins clipped,im not sure if its illegal but i know a few cops that i have told and they didnt mention anything about it.how big can a american eel get?

[iktomiwicasa]

I think they are best kept in a broiler with kabayaki slathered on them...


...but seriously, I dunno if it is a really good idea. They get large, are highly predacious, and cannot be released.

[plah831]

hmm, bettagurl, I think you're better off not getting involved in this one. After doing a little research, Anguilla rostrata appears to reach huge sizes, like over 3 or 4 feet! So they'd need a tank hundreds and hundreds of gallons in size. They are also known as pretty aggressive fish.

[bettagurl]

alright,i didnt know that they got that big,i knew that they are highly agressive because i used to catch babies(6 to 15 inches)and i would walk about up to my knees and let them go,they used to turn around and try to bite,but i still like them.oh well,i guess ill just set up another fw tank,i always liked ropefish,do they have any special care?and what size tank would they need?