Eel question from a newbie

[CFC]

If you know any fishermen then they should be able to catch you a European eel out of the river Thames easily enough, if you dont then i can catch one for you if you can collect it from the Twickenham area. It wont be a elver as these eat tiny microscopic foods but i can probably get you one around the 8" mark.

Or if you dont mind getting a bit dirty then you can probably go and catch one in a net by turning over large rocks along the river bank.

 

[wwestar2000]

Well there has to be somewhere online that can provide them. I had to get fire flys in the middle of winter for a science project. OI had to look all over google but finally found it. Try google thats what i did.

 

[hellohefalump]

are you talking about a restaurant in London, in China town, on Wardour Street?
If you are... you're not the only one who stares longingly at their tanks!

 

[peanutPUNK]

some are sold in pet shops..... they sell it about RM15.. but there small and needs a cover because they can climb out at night and find a place to go/...

 

[SherriSixxx]

Awww, fab news!! I don't know where to start!

CFC, yes, the answer is yes, if you can catch me an eel, I will definatly come and get it from Twickenham!! Just let me know how much you want for it!! This would be in about a months time, as I need to buy an aquarium first, and I quess it takes about a month to get the water bacteria and PH to be good?

Hellohefalump, yes! The answer again is yes! It's exactly that Chinese Restaurant in Wardour Street that I'm talking about! I never knew I liked eels so much, but when I saw them about 6 months ago, I was smitten

PeanutPunk, what's RM15?

Am so glad I found this board, you're all so helpful.!

 

[SherriSixxx]

Hello again! I haven't been here for a while, as had to move house. So I put getting the aquarium on hold until I found somewhere. And yes! I am moving next week, so then it will take me a few weeks to a month to get the water ready for the eel.
Big question to CFC...Are you still willing to get me 1 or 2 child eels, if I come to pick them up from Twickenham? I will, of course, pay you for your trouble!! It would be when the aquarium water is ready for their health, so approx in 1 months time?? So much looking forward to it

 

[abstract]

i'm sure CFC will probably see it, but maybe you could try sending him a PM..

 

[CFC]

No problems, i usually spend my time trying not to catch eels when fishing locally so catching a couple wont be difficult. Give me a shout when you want them and i'll go and get a couple.

 

[Paul_MTS]

There's a bit of information on keeping native eels in PFK this month. Someone wrote in and asked about them and happened "the expert" had kept native ones caught from a river before.

Once again I'ved left my mag at work so can't turn you exactly what it said. It vaguely mentioned diet and water conditions, is all i can remeber.

Sounds very interesting, be sure to post up some pictures when it's all done.

You can clone an existing tank if you have one. When you have your new tank and filter up and running, get the eels in there then add some media from your existing filter. This will enable the tank to handle the eels waste instantly, and save you putting the tank through a cycle.

 

[Paul_MTS]

ok got my mag back, not quite as an informative answer as I remeber but here goes...

"As a boy, I kept many a freshwater eel, Anguilla anguilla. The females can grow to over 30", while males are usually no more than 18-20". They are incredibly easy to keep. The tank should be decorated with plastic or clay piping, with a gravel substrate. Use External filtration.

Eels are persistent burrowers, which makes an undergravel plate useless. Ask for local fisherman to get yuo a couple-you could even perhaps buy them live from a fishmarket if you live in London. The rivers Trent and Nene are full of them, not to mention the Norfolk Broads are rivers.

Feed them on earthworms and small peices of whitefish or froozen lancefish."

Just an extra thought aswell, make sure you have a very strong heavy lid, from what I remember when I caught a 15" long one it was very powerful!

 

[SherriSixxx]

Easy to keep? Wow, that sounds promising! I can't wait to have a few of those cuties as pets. Am just starting the cycling of my second hand tank (48" long), so hopefully won't be too long. I have never kept fish before, so am a bit nervous about managing to keep them healthy! But will do my 100%.

Question is, as am sure the eels will be nervous and shy to start with, should I get them first and a few catfish later? (I understand some catfish are suitable companions for eels, and also clean the tank, right??) Or shall I get the catfish first and eels later? I want the eels to be as little traumatised as possible???

 

[Paul_MTS]

being cold water I'm not sure what you can keep with them.

things like variarus loaches and such like in the rivers they share there home with would be there natural food.

So in all i think it will have to be a species tank.

 

[moray]

I caught one beach fishing the other day, it tried to take CFC's hand off, he was lucky he just got seriously slimed

 

[SherriSixxx]

Oops, I hope that didn't put CFC off getting me a few cute eels..slimy fingerbiters or not, hehe.

Can anybody confirm would it be ok to have the catfish with eels? Or what other fish would be ok?Am not comfortable with the idea of the eels eating the other smaller fish..And of course cleaner fish would be beneficial

 

[CFC]

European eels are coldwater fish so unless you can find some north American bullhead catfish its going to be difficult to find a suitable catfish for a tankmate as our only native catfish Silurus glanis grows to over 6 feet in length. Sometimes we get Channel catfish over here which are another north American species but these grow to around 4 feet and so are unsuitable for most tanks.
Finding any suitable tankmates for them is going to be very difficult, European eels are piscavors which will easily consume fish under 4 inches which rules out small native species like gudgeon bleak minnows and sticklebacks but the medium sized species such as roach rudd dace and perch are all extreemly difficult to keep in captivity and will require a chiller to cool the tank, unless you happen to live in a unheated barn. The best way to keep the eels would be to have 2 or 3 of them in a species tank using the layout of the decor to make the tank look interesting when the eels are not in view.

As for the nippy little eel putting me off fishing it just aint gonna happen it takes more than that to put me off.