Getting a fire eel...

[7itanium]

Ghost Knives get huge-- and will require a bigger tank even by themselves... also its going to need to happen a lot sooner than

a couple of years.

if you are set on getting one.. just make sure you are able to feed it-- and make sure you are prepared to buy at least a 150g tank within the next 6 months.

Dont get discouraged... its just always a good idea to think ahead in this hobby

if you are in a financial/living situation where you will be able to afford and house a major upgrade in the coming months then go for it... if not you should think about a smaller species

a 55g is NOT big enough for 2 fully grown ghost knives.. so you ARE overstocked right now... adding an eel with a potential to get 4 feet long... not to mention one that is a fickle eater is NOT a good example of "doing things right"... you need to think of potential size among other problems when purchasing fish.

your gonna need about a 150G MINIMUM when those 3 things are fully grown... are you prepared for this upgrade?

 

[linkinpark]

Of course mate.I really love fish and aquariums and my next step is of about 1500ltrs in a year so i think it'll be ok. I've heard that fire eels are picky eaters but i also know that they cannot resist bloodworms and night crawlers. As for the knife fish they do grow fast, but not that fast i think. How long does it take for BGK's to fully grow?

 

[7itanium]

well if your planning to purchase a 1500 litre tank within the year you will be fine as far as size goes TBH

as far as BGK I dont know how long it takes them to grow.. but I know they can get 20" long

just make sure of a few things
-MAKE SURE you are doing the upgrade.. and if not rehome them accordingly
-maintain pristine water conditions
-keep a variety of different foods handy at all times, and keep that eel well fed

Good luck with your purchase and your new tank

 

[linkinpark]

For sure my friend. Any advise on feeding for the both the ghosts and the eel? I mean how often should i give them flakes, how often blood wroms, shrimps e.t.c?
I would really appreciate your advise

 

[7itanium]

I would say feed them flakes once a day

and bloodworms 2-3 times a week. Also if you have a local store that sells LIVE black worms.. I would reccomend those over frozen/dried worms and they are acctually cheaper

you could even invest in a 5g tank or a tupperware and raise your own colony

you can throw some shrimp or other "treats" in there once or twice a week as well.. but not to often

 

[linkinpark]

Thanks for the advise i'll try to find id we have any shops tat sell live black worms and i will give them twice a week some bloodworms or frozen shrimp as a treat because i don't want to spoil them and give up on the flakes and become picky

 

[Mudfrog]

Already returned 2 BGK's back and that fire eel is already ordered so there's nothing i can do now I'm new to this hobby(actually this is my 2nd tank cause i had another one 55 for 3 years or so with elephant nose, ghost, monos and gouramis) and now i began all over and now i'll make it right, i made my water perfect with 2 external prime 30's and i do my tests once a week to make sure nothing happens. I'm considerably new to this, but that doesn't mean i can't follow thiks right which this is the no.1 mistake rookies tend to make. i believe. As for my filter the fire eel has to be the size of a flake to pass through so i don't mind about that, and the lids are already secured. Hopefully nothing will happen

I thought my lid was secure too. I used eggcrate to cover any gaps and I had 4x 3lb weights on my lid to hold it down. He pushed it aside like it was nothing. In my oppinion the only tanks that should keep a fire eel is a eurobraced style tank using a wet / dry filter. Even then you still need to weigh down the lid big time.

 

[marinkafuschia]

ooh whoops! sorry linkinpark I missed that part of your thread (the rehoming of two BGK)!
good luck with that fire eel, you seem pretty set! let us know how feeding goes! If he doesn't eat the first 3-7 days I would recommend possibly de-worming him since I'm fairly sure most are wild caught and can harbor parisites that destroy their appitites.
Good luck!

 

[OldManOfTheSea]

The Mastacembelus erythrotaenia (fire eel) grows rather fast, quicker then any marine species I know of and a 55 gal tank, will not be suitable for any long term in maintaining this animal. Your talking a growth size of 40"+
So really, when wanting to keep as many eels or fish together in any tank, you will need to make that tank larger then originally planned. Then the other choice be if it be a species only tank, in which cases you would still be requiring a much larger tank.

Squeakfish, has the right idea, still most hobbyist if fresh or marine will always want other tank inhabitants as well.

linkinpark, it will grow a foot larger before you even get started on a larger tank.

Mudfrog, is correct as well, eels such as these are extremely active and they will find themselves out of your tank. I also suggest those who are ever thinking of getting eels, even smaller type of eels, to have your overflow box build nearly to the height of your glass cover, there will still be a 1/4" space over the box, but it would become non exiting route for any eel, almost, lol

Buddy

 

[linkinpark]

Thank you marinkafuschia for your advise on the parasites Will make sure to check it out. As for the fire eel oldmanofthesea whan i see that he overgrew my tank i'll make sure to make another one asap believe me.I'll see what happens and let you know guys hopefully we won't be having any suicide attempts!!!!!