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
eels
- Thread starter bettagurl
- Start date
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
I think in General FW you will get the most people reading. Not as many people view Marine topics. Move happening now.
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?
Do you currently have a SW setup to keep them in?
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. 
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.
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.