Freshwater eels!!!!!!

binaryjripper

First off let me say I have been having a kickass time with this fish tank hobby. I see fish now as more like living art to have around my house. I also recently bought a 20 gallon tank and florescent lights which makes a huge difference.

Any who three days ago I saw a freshwater eel and it was so cool. I soon found out that there were many other freshwater eels out there.

Does anyone have any freshwater eels and how many types are out there?

Enzo

fire eels ire track eels and peacock/spiny eels im hoping to get one but i need a very secure lid with no holes

Lupin

Fire eels are my firm favorites but they are expensive so unfortunately, I can't get one. They are worth two tanks and I need more tanks.

Enzo

uh ive seen fire eels for $10 to $20 cdn

herefishy

Tiretrack eels are my favorite. I have one that is about 26" long, I haven't measured him in a while. Be prepared to put a full, tight cover on your tank, they are "Houdinis" when it comes to finding a way out of the aquarium.

squiggles1

there are eels listed as "freshwater moray eels" just a warning these actually need brackish water and won't survive in freshwater. If you see those don't be fooled by the name. We bought one and had to set him up a brackish tank where he still lives happily.

smilin_joe_cool

Yes, you might want to be wary of 'Snowflake Eels' - they are a species of moray. They can survive for a fair amount of time in brackish water however will need full saltwater if they live to maturity. I've not seen the 'freshwater moray' though. Squiggles, are you able to identify the species? Perhaps a picture?

squiggles1

ours is a Gymnothorax tile. this is a website with info. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebI...wmorayeels.htm
this is a pic.




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smilin_joe_cool

That is certainly a beautiful eel! The Gymnothorax genus are morays. They should be able to survive in brackish water for a time as their method of osmoregulation is a little more robust than many other marine animals. How long have you had him (or her)?

squiggles1

Thank you. It's hard to remember exactly how long we've had him, since the end of last year I think. We got him thinking he was fw but finding out he was not we quickly set him up a home. He's about 15 inches long so far and quite intelligent. For awhile I was bringing him food in a certain cup and he would only come out if he saw that cup. Cleaning time bothered him alot before but now when I'm cleaning the glass, which I do with my hand, he comes out and swims around. I really like him. We were kind of trying to downsize and looking for a home for him but I don't think brackish tanks are to popular, at least around here so we were unable to find a home for him. He would be fine in full marine now but I'm not sad that we didn't find another home for him. I keep his salinity around 1.010-1.008 whixh he seems to like.