Been a while, tank updates!
- Thread starter GDominy
- Start date
.So they eat all kinds of meaty foods then? What about feeder fish, they would probably eat them right?
What kind of eel is the newer one?
What kind of eel is the newer one?
Thats a Mastacembelus armatus, Tire track eel... hes much smaller then the fire eel, but still very cool.
Some eat feeders, some don't. Like I stated in another post, sometimes the eels can be kinda weird. All of them tend to like their own thing. But, I feed them frozen meats such as bloodworms, shrimp, and others.
GDominy, you must have an excellent eel supplier. The colors on those two are very well defined. I hardly ever see Tire Tracks that pretty.
I actually got these guys from two different suppliers... But I am pleased with both of them! I almost bought a peacock eel too.. but I decided against it.. these two will get pretty big on their own
Well, how big is the tank they are in? I have a Tire Track, Peacock, and some eel I have yet to figure out what it is nor can anyone else. All I know is he is in the Spiney Eel family. Oh yea, I also have two Snowflake Morays. Mine are beautiful, granted they are all very small. I'm workin' on a Fire Eel though, gotta have one of those bad boys!
IME they never will...i've had my zigzag eel for for years, and my tiretrack for over a year, and neither will anything that isn't frozen or live...with a strong preference for the latter! cool eels, yeah...they will get HUGE! good thing you have big tanks.
1tank-- you don't keep those morays and spiny eels together, do you? they are not related at all despite their names, and the morays will enjoy them as lunch in time. plus, they have different requirements.
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What kind of growth rate did you see with your eels? I have no problems at all with buying another large tank... I'm just curious as to when I will need it.
These spiny eels are pretty snazy.. I'm definately hooked
These spiny eels are pretty snazy.. I'm definately hooked
they grow surprisingly slowly IME. the zigzag eel i've had for awhile doubled in size the first year i had him...from a tiny guy of about 2" to a little over 4". in the next 1.5 years or so, he's only grown another 2". so right now he's about 6-7". i do believe this eel might be of a species that stays generally smaller...so he might not be a good barometer for you. my tiretrack was purchased around 4", and he has doubled that in a year.
identifying spiny eels at the species and sub-species levels can be tricky at best and impossible at worst...and only the fire eel and peacock eel seem to have been completely pinned down and agreed upon in books and throughout the web. in fact, even the peacocks have substantial variation, and there may be subspecies. the zigzag and tiretrack eels appear to be a mixed bag of closely-related species with similar needs, but it isn't always easy to figure out the eventual size. you can estimate, but that's about it! at this point, i'm figuring the sky's the limit on my tiretrack...especially after doubling from 4 to 8". i expect him to get HUGE. my zigzag, on the other hand...i wouldn't be surprised if he topped out at 1'. we'll see. you can expect the fire eel to grow along the lines of the tiretrack, but top out at an even longer length.
as for tanks, the 90g should be fine for both i would think, though a 125g is a glorious tank and they'd love it if you need an excuse! yes, these "eels" get huge...but they don't run into the logistical problems of more typical fish. meaning: a 20" gar can't turn around easily in a 18" wide tank...a 20" spiny eel can. i wouldn't keep them in anything less than a 55g even when small, but any 18" wide 75g+ i would think could work.
identifying spiny eels at the species and sub-species levels can be tricky at best and impossible at worst...and only the fire eel and peacock eel seem to have been completely pinned down and agreed upon in books and throughout the web. in fact, even the peacocks have substantial variation, and there may be subspecies. the zigzag and tiretrack eels appear to be a mixed bag of closely-related species with similar needs, but it isn't always easy to figure out the eventual size. you can estimate, but that's about it! at this point, i'm figuring the sky's the limit on my tiretrack...especially after doubling from 4 to 8". i expect him to get HUGE. my zigzag, on the other hand...i wouldn't be surprised if he topped out at 1'. we'll see. you can expect the fire eel to grow along the lines of the tiretrack, but top out at an even longer length.
as for tanks, the 90g should be fine for both i would think, though a 125g is a glorious tank and they'd love it if you need an excuse! yes, these "eels" get huge...but they don't run into the logistical problems of more typical fish. meaning: a 20" gar can't turn around easily in a 18" wide tank...a 20" spiny eel can. i wouldn't keep them in anything less than a 55g even when small, but any 18" wide 75g+ i would think could work.
