Eels

[sushi]

Hi. I just bought home an eel I found in a coldwater/freshwater stream.
What do I have to do to keep it alive? Are they meat eaters? anything special they need?
Please help me thanks

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Well, first you need water....

No, really Find out what kind of eel it is exactly, then read about it as much as you can. I don't know where you live, but some of them can get pretty big and I think some of them might eventually grow up to be brackish or marine. Most of them eat live fish, worms can work when they're little, and sometimes you can get them to eat pellets. I can't really tell you much without knowing what kind of eel it is

 

[Zenn]

I think i can help out abit here

Now you say it is from a stream, so basically classed a fresh water eel you have there...

So common knowledge says they are along the same lines as catfish you find in lakes and rivers, also known as parasite fish, because they carry illnesses and such, but if you got this one from a fresh water strean, good chance you are in the blue

They will eat meat and veggies, if it has teeth protruding from its mouth, the advisable approach would be to feed it mainly meat, however suppliment its diet with some veggies, best thing to do first, is to test its eating habits, because from what i know, what eel's eat first in life, they tend to persue the rest of their lives, so test him out by offering him different food's and seeing what he takes first...

Also bewarned, freshwater eel's arent too different from Marine one, because they do grow to large sizesSo he might out grow your tank, depending on the type of eel you have, but most eels would outgrow their tank...

All really i can advise when it comes to parasite fish, is to test them out, any signs of illness and such, i would advise getting rid of the fish, and another thing, hopefully you only have the eel in that tank, and no other occupants, because it might feed off any occupants it might have in the tank with it...

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Forgot one very important thing! Whatever you do, make sure it can't get out!!! They are very tricky and will often go right up the flow of power filters and such, and it's no fun finding a dried up stick on your floor only to realize it is your missing eel.

 

[yossie_ika]

since your id is sushi...how about unagi???

 

[Zenn]

Oh yes, NinjaSmurf is right there, i had a Japanese tank eel, the small type, i thought it was alright, because it was feeding from the hand, until it got to one day and the thing had managed to get out of the tank, now since it used to hide alot, i never realized it got out until three days later, and that was because i smelt something rotting, only to find my eel, covered in carpet mess and dried up :'(

I made him a grave in the backgarden, the only fish i managed to train so far to feed from my hand...

So make sure the hood and condenser tray is securly on the tank and that the eel cant get out, remember that eel bodies are PURE MUSCLE and so they are very strong, so when i mean make sure it is secure, put a brick or to on the top of the condenser tray