Fire Eel Question

[DMasker]

I just got my first fire eel two days ago and I have yet to see him eat. I have read that they may not eat for a couple weeks when introduced into a new tank, is this accurate? I just want to know if there is something I can be doing for him. I just remodeled my tank a month ago to accommodate a fire eel. Put in all sand substrate and lots of hiding places. My water is as follows:
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Ammonia: 0
pH: about 7.5 (I struggle with the pH more then anything, I may invest in a RO/DI for when I do water changes.
He is about 6 inches long (Can anyone take a guess on his age?)
His best friend is the pleco in my tank, they hide in all the same places together. I have some South American Cichlids in the tank as well, but they are all afraid of him. If he moves to once side of the tank they all go to the opposite side.
So far I have tried feeding him frozen (thawed of course) blood worms, brine shrimp, and today I tried beefheart. Should I try to find live worms for him?
Also, feel free to drop a name suggestion for my little guy.

 

[england]

Fire eel's are noctornal so you wont see them much during light hours,try to make the tank dimmer,use floating plants,something like duckweed to give a covering, on my large tank i changed the bulb to a smaller one which goes across my tank,making it duller and also i have some plastic old undergravel filters which i use above the glass dip trays,this way part of the tank is shaded,my ornate birchir seems to appriciate this more and now comes out more during the day, where as before he would hide allday, also i prefer this look.

Food i would try bloodworm as you are,if you can find live also try this, chopped prawns,

There are a few fire eel keepers and ex keepers on here which might tell you something i have not..good luck, and as you say being new also makes them nervous,took me about 2-3weeks to get my ornate to eat..

also out of intrest how big is your tank and what tankmates does he have?

 

[DMasker]

Fire eel's are noctornal so you wont see them much during light hours,try to make the tank dimmer,use floating plants,something like duckweed to give a covering, on my large tank i changed the bulb to a smaller one which goes across my tank,making it duller and also i have some plastic old undergravel filters which i use above the glass dip trays,this way part of the tank is shaded,my ornate birchir seems to appriciate this more and now comes out more during the day, where as before he would hide allday, also i prefer this look.

Food i would try bloodworm as you are,if you can find live also try this, chopped prawns,

There are a few fire eel keepers and ex keepers on here which might tell you something i have not..good luck, and as you say being new also makes them nervous,took me about 2-3weeks to get my ornate to eat..

also out of intrest how big is your tank and what tankmates does he have?

Thanks for the quick reply and I will be sure to make some more shade, I am also thinking of getting a LED moonlight so I can try and feed him when its dark.
I have a 75 gallon tank that is 4 feet long. He has about 7 tank mates besides the pleco. There are one blue peacock, one blue johanni, one yellow jewel, one red top, one duboisi, and two venusts.

 

[nmonks]

This aquarium isn't likely to work in the long term.

The key thing to understand is that fire eels -- and spiny eels generally -- have a poor survival record in captivity. They require very specific conditions to do well. The three main issues are feeding, opportunistic bacterial infections, and escapes. Consider each of these in turn and act accordingly.

In terms of feeding, you need a balanced diet that is not too rich in thiaminase or fat. Prawns and shrimps are readily taken, but they contain a lot of thiaminase, so should be used sparingly, perhaps once a week. Much better foods including earthworms and strips of tilapia fillet. The latter can be bought fresh from grocery stores, cut into strips, and then frozen until required. Feed using long forceps if you can, wriggling the food about to get the eels attention. Because spiny eels are shy and slow, keeping them with anything that feeds faster than they are is foolish. You can certainly avoid competition by feeding only at night, but then the spiny eel will stay nocturnal, so what's the point? Once the spiny eel is hand-tame, then it's easier to keep with midwater fish, but I don't recommend trying to keep fire eels in a busy tank before it's become accustomed to being hand fed.

Spiny eels are very prone to skin infections. Do not keep them with anything jagged. Gravel should be avoided like the plague, at least until the fire eel is more than 45 cm long. When smaller than that, use smooth silica sand. Add 1-2 grammes of aquarium salt per litre. Obviously, this amount of salt could (likely will) stress Malawian cichlids, since salt is implicated in Malawi Bloat. But then Malawian cichlids and fire eels aren't compatible and shouldn't be kept together. They have completely different water chemistry and temperature requirements. Fire eels need around neutral, soft to moderately hard water at around 28 C, while Malawian cichlids need hard, basic water at 24-25 C. There's no overlap at all. Oscars and severums are much better companions, assuming the spiny eel is of reasonable size.

The addition of floating plants will inhibit the jumping tendency and does tend to encourage spiny eels to stay out during the day. Obviously, many cichlids will eat floating plants, including severums, so that's another limiting factor. In any case, look over your aquarium with the understanding that if there is a small gap in the hood, the spiny eel will find a way out. Hang-on-the-back filters for example are completely incompatible with spiny eels.

Cheers, Neale

 

[DMasker]

The gravel is good its all smooth for him and I broke out my spare tank to set up so I can remove my cichlids and just let the pleco and my eel have the 75 gallon. Hopefully this will fix it and ill think about tank mates once I have him eating out of my hand. Ill be sure to add more shade within the next couple days as well.

 

[DMasker]

I am so excited! After exactly one week I have him eating live blackworms out of my hand!

 

[nmonks]

Well done. Now that have you him eating this way, be sure to alternate food items. One problem with carnivores is vitamin deficiency; providing too much thiaminase for example is one case that has now been well studied. A good mix of foods is essential. Try tilapia fillet and cockles as two thiaminase-free foods easily obtained. Earthworms are excellent because they contain decaying plant matter loaded with vitamins. Consider using a vitamin supplement like that sold for use in marine tanks.

If you aren't already doing so, use forceps rather than your finders. It's much easier to "wiggle" food enticingly with forceps. It also reduces the risk of injury should the spiny eel get startled and use its dorsal fin spines. These are extremely sharp, and big spiny eels can cause nasty lacerations that heal slowly.

Cheers, Neale

I am so excited! After exactly one week I have him eating live blackworms out of my hand!

 

[DMasker]

THanks! I tried frozen bloodworms today right after i gave him some live blackworms and he ate a few without spitting them out. How often should I feed him? I had read once every two days is a good amount. Ill be sure to try some earthworms!

Well done. Now that have you him eating this way, be sure to alternate food items. One problem with carnivores is vitamin deficiency; providing too much thiaminase for example is one case that has now been well studied. A good mix of foods is essential. Try tilapia fillet and cockles as two thiaminase-free foods easily obtained. Earthworms are excellent because they contain decaying plant matter loaded with vitamins. Consider using a vitamin supplement like that sold for use in marine tanks.

If you aren't already doing so, use forceps rather than your finders. It's much easier to "wiggle" food enticingly with forceps. It also reduces the risk of injury should the spiny eel get startled and use its dorsal fin spines. These are extremely sharp, and big spiny eels can cause nasty lacerations that heal slowly.

Cheers, Neale

I am so excited! After exactly one week I have him eating live blackworms out of my hand!

 

[nmonks]

Bloodworms are kind of dubious as a food. Some aquarists maintain they introduce diseases, even when wet-frozen. So while I use them myself, with a sensitive species like fire eels I'd use wet-frozen or live bloodworms sparingly. As I say, you'd do much better with a combination of these: tilapia, cockles, prawns (these contain thiaminase, so once a week only), squid (again, may contain thiaminase, so sparingly) and earthworms. Gut-loaded* river shrimp would be good, too. Remove uneaten food quickly to keep nitrate levels down.

Do bear in mind the reason people get so excited when they see a big, healthy fire eel is that so few last long enough to reach full size. Play things cautiously.

Cheers, Neale

*Fed on spirulina flake, for example