Got a question about EELS!

N

napkinman

AC Members
May 16, 2004
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houston TX
www.rubyinterweb.com
hey there i have a question about the dinosaur eel. i saw one in petsmart the other day and i thought it would be very cool to have but i didn't know a thing about it. this one was small, only about 2". i was wondering
how big do they grow?
What do they eat?
will they hassle my other fish?
Are eels usually active fish or do they sleep on the bottom all day?


i currently have a small school of black skirt tetras and a dwarf gourami in a 55g planted aquarium.
 
Think we need to identify exactly what it was...Could have been a rope fish, or a violet goby...Which have different needs. I'd learn towards the violet goby, in which case, this is a brackish water fish.
 
okayit looked the most like the violet goby but it didn't look exactly like it but i can't find a picture of a young one. i'll have to go back to the store and check it out. maybe i'll be able to post a scientific name or some other name it goes by.
 
it was a Senegal Bichir. It was about 2-3" and it said they would get to be about a foot long max. anyone know anything about these fish. i'm really interested and was thinking of getting a bigger aquarium for an interesting specimen fish. anything anyone knows will be helpful.
 
http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0409&view_records=1

They can get up to 20inches provided they have the right conditions. But the norm in an aquarium is usually 10-12inches. Its quite a hardy fish. A sand substrate, rocks and driftwood is appreciated. They are the least nocturnal of the bichirs (swims around during the day, quite active) and can live 15+years. They are good jumpers so a tight fitting lid is needed. Any fish that can fit in their mouths usually ends up as dinner. They shouldn't hassle any other large deepbodied nonaggressive fish. If yours is small it will eat bloodworms. As they get bigger live and frozen meaty foods are appreciated. They need access to the surface to take in air. Its a very nice fish. i have one in my 55g.
 
As i said, fish that will fit in their mouths will probably end up in their stomach. So, smaller fish will eventually get eaten as the senegal gets larger. You can feed it bloodworms, small earthworms.. most meaty foods and live foods will be accepted. I know people feed them pellets, beef heart, chicken, tubifex worms, all sorts of stuff. Experiment and see what it likes. I would put it in with more docile fish, not anything that will startle it. plecos are also not suitable as they will take the slime coat off a bichir.
 
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