For Spiny Eel Lovers!

[§tudz]

I see many of you keep your eels in groups, would fire eels be ok in groups?
I have one fire eel, but rarely see it, although it it still worm sized well its about 4" or maybe a little bigger, just wondered if it'd help the fish to be out more, or will this come with age?

And Hooli, your Green fire eel never fails to make me drool with jealousy...

some nice pics there too people

I'll have to dig some out of my little fella, the eel I mean

 

[Hooligan]

From my experience studz eels do better in groups, mine socialize all the time. I have three green fire eels, three flame eels and we went shopping today and I couldn't resist getting 3 zebra eels, which puts the total upto 9

EDIT: Terrible spelling...

 

[Straydum]

how long have you been keeping your fire eel §tudz? juvenile fire eels do well in groups, the aggression only arises when it matures and becomes territorial. 4" is really small. i've never seen one that young. my guess is its still and infant or something around there. you might want to try tempting him/her with food, or give it some company

From my experience studz eels do better in groups, mine socialize all the time. I have three green fire eels, three flame eels and we went shopping today and I couldn't resist getting 3 zebra eels, which puts the total upto 9

omg! that is so awesome. you even have three of them, the green fire eels. any pics of all nine?

 

[§tudz]

how long have you been keeping your fire eel §tudz? juvenile fire eels do well in groups, the aggression only arises when it matures and becomes territorial. 4" is really small. i've never seen one that young. my guess is its still and infant or something around there. you might want to try tempting him/her with food, or give it some company

From my experience studz eels do better in groups, mine socialize all the time. I have three green fire eels, three flame eels and we went shopping today and I couldn't resist getting 3 zebra eels, which puts the total upto 9

omg! that is so awesome. you even have three of them, the green fire eels. any pics of all nine?

I've had the eel for a while now, around 10months I would think, it maybe bigger than 4" now as I said dont see it often.
it was only about 1-2" when I got him

 

[Hooligan]

omg! that is so awesome. you even have three of them, the green fire eels. any pics of all nine?

Lol no, They never all come out at once, however there were 6/7 out last night playing. Unofrtunately the camera was flat so didn't get any pictures

 

[nmonks]

While most of the commonly-kept members of the Family Mastacembelidae are Asian species, there are a couple of genera that are found in Africa (like Aethiomastacembelus and Caecomastacembelus species).

Last time I checked, those genera have been sunk, and they're all Mastacembelus now. The only other spiny eel genera are Sinobdella and Macrognathus.

This one was imported as a flame eel, the importers at TropicalImports.co.uk could not identify him/her. Very social species, all 3 of mine, play together and "frolic"

If they're really fire eels, or even Mastacembelus spp., don't expect this to last. Adult fire eels often turn out to be pretty territorial. Perhaps the males are more so than the females? Either way, make sure you have a Plan B if things turn nasty.

Cheers, Neale

 

[§tudz]

While most of the commonly-kept members of the Family Mastacembelidae are Asian species, there are a couple of genera that are found in Africa (like Aethiomastacembelus and Caecomastacembelus species).

Last time I checked, those genera have been sunk, and they're all Mastacembelus now. The only other spiny eel genera are Sinobdella and Macrognathus.

This one was imported as a flame eel, the importers at TropicalImports.co.uk could not identify him/her. Very social species, all 3 of mine, play together and "frolic"

If they're really fire eels, or even Mastacembelus spp., don't expect this to last. Adult fire eels often turn out to be pretty territorial. Perhaps the males are more so than the females? Either way, make sure you have a Plan B if things turn nasty.

Cheers, Neale

hrm plan B... yeah... a french stick? lol

doubt I'll get another, but hehe, its good to know incase i do decide on another

 

[Straydum]

i'm not quite sure myself on the territory part, both my 10" seem pretty well. maybe for now. one of them bit me just now when i was handfeeding them. it thought my little finger was a big worm. i didnt know they bite. for their size, its just like having a little clip on your finger. i wonder how it is when they get really really big.

 

[nmonks]

Indeed, 10" fire eels are babies. Treble that and you're closer to their adult size.

Cheers, Neale

i'm not quite sure myself on the territory part, both my 10" seem pretty well. maybe for now. one of them bit me just now when i was handfeeding them. it thought my little finger was a big worm. i didnt know they bite. for their size, its just like having a little clip on your finger. i wonder how it is when they get really really big.

 

[Straydum]

threefold? ow. it would hurt, especially if they wouldnt let go. i researched abit and it came out that spiny eels in general have minute jaws and palate teeth. definately would hurt.

 

[nmonks]

Maximum size for Mastacembelus erythrotaenia is 100 cm (or a bit over 39 inches). Aquarium fish might not get quite that size, but you can easily expect them to top the 70-80 cm mark.

http/www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=12026

I've not yet been bitten by a spiny eel, so you have the advantage there! The usual problem with these fish is the dorsal fin spines, which not only wreck nets, but can seriously lacerate your hand. As with any injury caused by a live fish, the mucous itself is a potential irritant even if the spines aren't venomous, with the end result that deep cuts can become rather nasty and you should clean thoroughly with antiseptic and lots of water.

Cheers, Neale

 

[§tudz]

Maximum size for Mastacembelus erythrotaenia is 100 cm (or a bit over 39 inches). Aquarium fish might not get quite that size, but you can easily expect them to top the 70-80 cm mark.

http/www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=12026

I've not yet been bitten by a spiny eel, so you have the advantage there! The usual problem with these fish is the dorsal fin spines, which not only wreck nets, but can seriously lacerate your hand. As with any injury caused by a live fish, the mucous itself is a potential irritant even if the spines aren't venomous, with the end result that deep cuts can become rather nasty and you should clean thoroughly with antiseptic and lots of water.

Cheers, Neale

I dont look forward to the spines, nor the biting, I've had a near miss with some of the Channa gachua I have, and also my polypterus. The polypterus to have sharp spines which I was aware of until I got spiked by one which got spooked.

In your opinion Neale, what sort of growth rate should people epect from fire eels? as mine has only grown maybe 4" or so since I got him last year. he was about 2" when I got him.

 

[nmonks]

They aren't fast growing fish, at least not in aquaria. This may be partly because of the problems with feeding them. Getting foods spiny eels will eat is tricky, and getting them to eat enough of them to grow at maximum speed is trickier still. When I kept a tyre track eel at university, my experience was similar to yours -- it put on a couple of inches per year. The really big specimens in aquaria that you see have often been in captivity for 8 or 10 years, and even then, these were often not bought as "tiddlers" but as half-grown specimens around the 20-30 cm mark.

Reading the Fishbase page, they mention two bits of relevant information for the fire eel. Firstly, the population doubling rate is "medium", which in real terms means these fish take several years to reach maturity. (Fish with "high" population doubling rate are things like tetras and guppies, which reach maturity within a single year; fish with a "low" doubling rate are essentially fish that take 10+ years to reach maturity, like sharks.) Secondly, they mention the species has become rare in the wild. This almost always means the fish can't breed fast enough to resist fishing pressure or environmental change. In this case, because it's a food fish and an aquarium fish, one has to assume the problem is overfishing. Either way, these bits of information suggest a fish grows slowly and reaches maturity only after several years.

Sorry can't offer anything more concrete than this.

Cheers, Neale

In your opinion Neale, what sort of growth rate should people epect from fire eels? as mine has only grown maybe 4" or so since I got him last year. he was about 2" when I got him.

 

[Fruitbat]

nmonks,

It wouldn't surprise me at all to find that Aethiomastacembelus and Caecomastacembelus have been 'lumped' back in to the genus Mastacembelus. I always thought that they were on shaky taxonomic ground to begin with but haven't seen anything in the literature of late that formalized the synonomy. I'll admit that I haven't been checking all that closely, however.

Since I tend to keep primarily west African fish, it is the African species of the Mastacembelids that most interest me. Besides...some of them are downright gorgeous!

-Joe

 

[Straydum]

i came across this site once which calulated growth rates by untold means, so i didnt really trust them. but yeah its true spiny eels take quite a long time to get big. years to grow a few inches. what do u feed your eels stud?