eel opinions please

[jadefoodog]

ok the cichlid people know my intentions for the most part reguardign my 55 im hoping to get. heres the current stock list.

1 jack dempsey
2 convicts
was thinking 1 pictus catfish but recently stumbles onto the idea of maybe a rapheal catfish or 2 since they are smaller and more apt to be cleaners rather than destroyers.

and i was planning on useing sand and i know the cichlids like to dig but i wasent sure that would be enuff to prevent gass buildup. so i was considering a freshwater eel. researched a bit and found the tire track to be just too darn big. and now im looking to see what opinions you guys have on zig zags.

are they very teritorial .
do they burro as much as much as they are said to (this is my main reason for wanting one to keep gasses from building.
would they become a predator to my other fish. i assume they would never pose a threat to the jack demsey but what about the convicts and the rapheal cat/s

 

[jadefoodog]

oops after research i found out the rapeal is bigger than i origionally researched so it will only be 1

i thought they only got 5" due to only looking at a few sites but after looking at abotu 10 more it apears they get 8"

wont be near as cool looking or fun to watch as a pictus but a cleanup crew isnt worth the waste if it just makes a bigger mess

 

[patoloco]

Eels are predators, so they should not be trusted with small fish. This is true for any predator, not only eels.

About your gas build up, just make sure you stir the sand a little bit everytime you vaccum the bottom. Gas builds up only in heavily compacted sand. This happens mostly in tanks where the sand layer is thick (2"+) and is allowed to compact for a long time.

Don't overfeed, keep a clean substrate and stir from time to time. Easy recipe to have a problem free sand bottom.

 

[jadefoodog]

hmm i think you misunderstood. everything in this tank is a predator cept the rapheal i plant to grow out a couple months in advance of getting all the other fish at a young age. and certainly none of my fish are small. at 5-7 inces my convicts will be the smallest fish in the tank and at 8-10 inches my demsey will be not much shorter than the eel and probably twice as mean. the only small fish ever in the tank will be feeders.

i know the gass builds up in compacted sand thats why i was wanting to get the eel and the rapheal they bost dig in the sand and mix it up . the eel moreso cause it burrows completley. i didnt want to get malasian trumpet snails cause im afraid my JD will eat one whole as an adult and get impacted and die.
i appreciate your input but im more or less looking for information about the eels from people who have them currently, or who have had them in the past.

almost all my current tanks have a 1 inch sand botom im not new to working with sand. i was just looking for info on the eels

 

[patoloco]

Well, tried to help. :dive2: :dive2:

 

[Flowerhorn916]

Your dempsey will eat a eel that small and about the raphael cats they grow to about 6" long and 2.5-3" wide I have one close to this size they never come out in the day and dont clean up at all. I suggest a few SYNO cats insted they are much cooler as for an eel w/ a dempsey of that size I would forget it.

 

[jadefoodog]

the demsey will be 2 inches when its first introduced about the same as the convics im hoping to have the rapheal at 3 or 4 and the eel will be about 3 or 4 when introduced.

so its not likely the demsey will eat it then.

as they grow the demsy will get 8- 10 inchs the convicts 5 - 6 the rapheal 8 or 9 and the eel will probably make it to about 12 0r 13 inchs so even in adulthood its not likely the demsey will have the eel as a snack either.now if the convicts spawn they kids will probably be shortly eradicated but im confident the rest of the fish will keep each other at bay.

but im looking for first hand expserince with such eels.

pato i know you tried and i appreciated the effort. im sure ive missunderstood peoples questions before so i wouldnt feel bad about it.

oh and this wont be the first ime ive had a dempsey so i know what to exspect from him.

flowerhorn maybe your confused about what im talkign about it seems your thinking of maybe khuli loaches the eel im talkign about gets a 12" long up to 16 inches. i think we may just be on 2 diffrent pages completely.

but id agree a JD would smoke a khuli quick especially since they love earthworms so much.

also i know rapheals are nocturnal but if you never see them how would you know they never clean? id have to assume since most people feed at day time all they would be able to eat would be leftovers or they would starve to death.

but shoot me the species of syno your talking about and ill check it out ive seem a bunch of diffrent syno cats and they all cost between 30 and 70 bucks. im not going that high if i dont have to. im not opposed to getting an extra cleaner.

 

[Flowerhorn916]

I have owned JD's and garantee you eventually it will eat the eel, as for a pair of cons forget it if they if decide to spawn they will attact the rest of your fish till either they or the rest of yoru fish die. Cons as pairs are best kept alone 1 would be fine.

 

[IceH2O]

Peacock eel..

Not badmouthing what they say, because i don't know if they're right or not but..

A peacock eel is a pred, gets about 10-15 inches long depending on what site you look at and burrows completely into the sand. Most times you'll only see his head sticking out. Might be able to avoid the JD and convicts in this way.

 

[Flowerhorn916]

peacock eel's get about 7" IME I kept one for 5+ years and that is what it maxed out at. Any eel will be able to hide onder the sand but its only a matter of time till its eaten if you get a tire track you may be able to avoid it being eaten but liek you said they get huge.