Fire eel community tank

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Fooshroom

AC Members
Oct 7, 2010
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Hello all,

I' m considering of getting a 'baby' fire eel (~6") and I was wondering how suitable a home my 70g covered tank would be. It is currently inhabited by 2 plecos (~3-4"), a black ghost knife (~5"), a redtail shark (~2"), a S. nigriventris (~2") and a young male betta (~2"). No plans for any other additions exept the fire eel.

The half the tank is planted with mostly broad leave plants and the other half is sand. Where the plants are the gravel is covered with medium size smooth flat stones and currently there are 2 pieces of driftwood providing cover for the fish already inside. If and when the fire eel comes home a driftwood/pipe project I'm working on will be added in the tank as well.

Water ammonia is ~0, GH ~8, kh (cant remember :/) and the ph 6.4-7.2 (most times measures ~6.8).

Water is partially changed (~25%) every week with occasional 30%-50% changes. Currently the fish get a bit of flakes in the morning (no lights on) and noon (lights on) and a bit after lights-outs (usually to make sure that the ghost had a bite) and occasionally an algae wafer and a bit of blood worms.

I'm open to any suggestions or advice. would hate having a miserable fire eel or any other fish. I'm also a bit worried about the redtail shark and male betta as I wouldnt want them to become food or the redtail nipping on anyones fins.. :/

Thanks.
 
Are you considering this as a permanent enclosure? The fire eel will outgrow the tank, they can get over 36 inches. I see several sites that are saying they don't commonly grow over 24" in aquaria, but there are several people over on monsterfishkeepers.com that have fire eels over 30" (do a search) and a few around 40" or more, so this information is not correct. Given correct care they should ALWAYS get over 24".
The ghost knife will get to 1.5 ft in length or so.

The betta will definitely become food for either of those two species eventually.

The red tail shark may or may not become a problem, you will just have to watch him. The baby fire eel could be left open to attacks from the synodontis or the red tail shark since fire eels like to sit in enclosed spaces, and he may choose one of those fishes territories to reside in. A larger fire eel would actually be able to defend itself, but I'd be worried about a juvenile. I would also be worried about feeding the fire eel since they can be slow feeders and hard to get started eating in the first place, especially as juveniles. With several fish that are aggressive feeders this may be a problem. You also need to keep in mind that they will often not start on prepared foods, and may NEVER transition from live to prepared foods. My 18" fire eel will eat nothing but live food, he even ignores high quality frozen foods.
 
mmm..wouldnt say its going to be a permanent enclosure but will be its home for the next 1-2 years. am currently trying to save for at least double the size of my current tank but i think i ld be too optimistic if i said that will be happening in less than a year considering the running cost and space it would take as well.

by baby i mean a small one 15cm to 20cm. dont think they are juvenile...are they? if they are then i ll start considering a bigger one.

as far as food is concerned..i do have it in mind n have already started asking around for
quality live food. from what i read nightcrawlers and other warms will be a good choice right? as well as appropriate/safe forceps to try and feed it with.

if there is anything wrong with my reasoning please let me know. although i kept most of the above fish before (had to give the whole tank away after 3yrs because i was moving to another country.. :/) i never kept an eel + nothing goes as planned..so...
 
The size you're referring to is definitely a juvenile as opposed to a mature adult. They can be hard to get to eat at that size, even on live foods, and even if they have previously been feeding. One problem is that fire eels often go through a period where they don't eat when they are moved to a new tank, and the small ones will lose condition quickly when fasting.

Optimally you should choose an eel that has already been eating well. It may not feed for up to a couple of weeks when you first get it, but if it has already been feeding then you should be able to get it to eat once it settles in. The fact that they will often fast when moved is a reason that you need to find a fat and healthy looking fire eel. Do not buy one that appears skinny.
If you buy online buy from a reputable source and ask what they have been eating. If you buy in person ask to see the eel fed to make sure it actually does eat.

Earthworms are a good food and are generally taken to well, but you should try to give a varied diet if possible. Mine was started on ghost shrimp at the fish store, but I mainly feed him earth worms. You can also load vitamins or other foods into the worms for more nutrition.
 
Know what you are getting into:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfeQueSCgsg&feature=related

(there is music so you may want to turn your volume down)

Recent post says that his eel grew about 4-5 inches a year and is now 36" long at about 7 1/2 years old. I have actually heard of fire eels growing quicker than this.
 
nice advice how to choose it.. thx... I ll be getting it from a local fish store. they came in last week and thought i let them sit in the guys tank for a few days while i think and research the whole think. hopefully it will prove a wise choice.

could you please give me an indication of how fast these guys grow? would help a lot in deciding i think...

if you have any other food suggestions or websites from where i can order stuff
please let me know.
 
gorgeous but huge...seen it before... :)

thanks for the advice...and vid...

i ll try and base my decision on the budget/savings for a bigger 'home'
and the availability of a variety/quality of food + size when/if i get him/her...

think its the wise thing to do....

oh oh...one more thing...i was thinking when/if i get one to rearrange the tank a bit + a few minor additions prior to putting the little guy in...would that make a difference?
 
It's best for the animal to have the appropriate sized home set up and/or available before buying the animal.
 
I don't think you are ready to properly take care of the eel and until you are I don't think you should get one, it's irresponsible.
 
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