Are all eels Brackish?

I think it really depends on the stage of their life. I see eels at certaon times of the year in my lake, but I assume they come up via the river system for possibly breeding or some other purpose. By late summer when the water is much warmer there is no sign of them.
 
Nate, I think you were on another post and this came up. I couldn't remember the name of my friends eel, right? it was that tire track mentioned above. I didn't know it wasn't a real eel, but he sure is a cool lookin' fish.
 
Yep, all commonly available freshwater "eels" are not true eels. True Eels don't have any kind of fins other than their dorsal and anal rays that run the entire length of their body. They don't have the front two fins like Tires, Fires, etc. There are a whole bunch of freshwater eels such as the Zigzag, Yellow tail, Tire, Fire, among others. I have a juvie Fire (I got him at 5" in the begininning of July and he is now a little over a foot long) and he resides in light brackish (1.004-5) and he obviously is doing great. I have a question for you other Eel keepers (especially Fires), how active is your Eel? Mine is out all day long and swims everywhere. He comes up and eats of my hand, he swims around my hand whenever I am cleaning, etc. He is one of the most active fish in there. I wonder if it has to do with I have a bunch of other active fish that drive him to be more active? So, how active are yours? When I got my Eel at work, he was constantly under the gravel all the time. Same with all other at work. But as soon as I brought him home, it took him 2 weeks then he has been continually out all the time. Anyway, good luck N8DOGG if you decide to get one. My fav is the Fire.
 
My spiny is always active, too. He never buries himself, and swims contantly. He's in with a mix of other fish-- a betta, some UDC, some swords, kuhli loaches, etc. But, he did hide initially, and later started being more active. The peacock eel I had before was much the same--he'd hide when something stressed him, but spent most of his time out and about.
 
Rice Eel can be brackish.
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