Has anyone kept spiny eels?

[Coryking]

So about a week ago I went to one of my LFS and found a few peacock spiny eels. It was my first time properly looking at some and they seemed pretty cool. I've tried doing some research but I haven't found much. Even on seriously fish there is little information. I'm just wondering if anyone has kept them before. If so what are they like?

 

[Fishfunn]

So about a week ago I went to one of my LFS and found a few peacock spiny eels. It was my first time properly looking at some and they seemed pretty cool. I've tried doing some research but I haven't found much. Even on seriously fish there is little information. I'm just wondering if anyone has kept them before. If so what are they like?

Yes, I had one for 7 years and really enjoyed him. They like to bury themselves in sand with their heads popped out. I had a section of 1" OD pvc pipe that was longer than his body that he loved to hide into. When I fed my fish frozen bloodworms, he would come out to feed on them all the time.
They are really cool fish. I would consider getting another one. They are peaceful fish.

 

[Coryking]

Yes, I had one for 7 years and really enjoyed him. They like to bury themselves in sand with their heads popped out. I had a section of 1" OD pvc pipe that was longer than his body that he loved to hide into. When I fed my fish frozen bloodworms, he would come out to feed on them all the time.
They are really cool fish. I would consider getting another one. They are peaceful fish.

Thank you for the feedback. He sounds like really fun fish. What fish did you keep him with?

 

[Fishfunn]

Thank you for the feedback. He sounds like really fun fish. What fish did you keep him with?

Discus, Kribensis, Denison Barbs, Corys, Plecos.

 

[Colin_T]

They don't come out during the day unless there is food in the tank. They need lots of hiding places and sand on the bottom. They will bury into gravel but sand is much better for them. Be careful if you gravel clean the substrate because you can cut them with the gravel cleaner if you push it down on them. They jump and need a good cover. They prefer frozen and live foods and rarely take dry foods. They have small mouths and won't harm anything in the tank. And they like to be in groups.

 

[Coryking]

They don't come out during the day unless there is food in the tank. They need lots of hiding places and sand on the bottom. They will bury into gravel but sand is much better for them. Be careful if you gravel clean the substrate because you can cut them with the gravel cleaner if you push it down on them. They jump and need a good cover. They prefer frozen and live foods and rarely take dry foods. They have small mouths and won't harm anything in the tank. And they like to be in groups.

Thank you for the information. Would you say they are suitable for a community tank?

 

[Colin_T]

It depends on what fish are in the community. They are peaceful but you rarely see them and they can starve if they don't get enough food to eat.

 

[Fishfunn]

It depends on what fish are in the community. They are peaceful but you rarely see them and they can starve if they don't get enough food to eat.

I laid a 1 inch pvc pipe on the bottom of the tank, and he was always in there. I saw mine all the time in his pipe. He did like to hide in dense clumps of Anubis too. Like I said, when I fed the fish frozen bloodworms, he came out to feed everytime. He loved frozen bloodworms.

 

[JackGulley]

These guys are my babies in the store! They are very shy and inquisitive but go into alligator-mode when you throw in a feeder.

They love to weasel around in the holes in rocks. I’ve seen tanks online before where someone had a tank with a rock wall along the back, with a network of pvc pipes hidden inside it so the eel could peek out of the holes.

Word of warning though: identify and research the specific species you’re getting. A few species stay small enough for a community, but most grow to be multiple feet long, which is why I haven’t gotten one myself. And they grow in all dimensions too— not just length. Even within the same aquarium trade name—like spiny eel, tiretrack eel, fire eel; there can be multiple species sold with the same name where some stay small and some don’t.

 

[JackGulley]

Those rocks with tons of holes that we have are perfect for them. You’d be surprised how small a gap they will snake through.

 

[JackGulley]

They are constantly vigilant predators and a blast to watch. Each eel will pick one spot as its perch, twist itself around it for just the right safety-to-field-of-view ratio, and then use its head like a periscope, keeping tabs on all the other fish in the tank for hours. When the time is right for a bite, they come rearing out like a sea monster, lunge at their prey, and shake it like an alligator to kill it.

 

[JackGulley]

 

[Fishfunn]

View attachment 349832

Mine never attacked another fish. I didnt know they hunted small fish.

 

[Coryking]

These guys are my babies in the store! They are very shy and inquisitive but go into alligator-mode when you throw in a feeder.

They love to weasel around in the holes in rocks. I’ve seen tanks online before where someone had a tank with a rock wall along the back, with a network of pvc pipes hidden inside it so the eel could peek out of the holes.

Word of warning though: identify and research the specific species you’re getting. A few species stay small enough for a community, but most grow to be multiple feet long, which is why I haven’t gotten one myself. And they grow in all dimensions too— not just length. Even within the same aquarium trade name—like spiny eel, tiretrack eel, fire eel; there can be multiple species sold with the same name where some stay small and some don’t.

Thank you for the information. They seem like such a cool, interesting and unique fish. They definitely have my curiosity peaked. The one's they have at my LFS are peacock eels which seem like more of a community eel. I knew they were predators however after seeing that video, I think I may wait until my fish get full size and then try to get one then.

 

[Fishfunn]

Thank you for the information. They seem like such a cool, interesting and unique fish. They definitely have my curiosity peaked. The one's they have at my LFS are peacock eels which seem like more of a community eel. I knew they were predators however after seeing that video, I think I may wait until my fish get full size and then try to get one then.

I had my peacock eel for 7 years, and he never killed any fish in my community tank. The rule of thumb is: if a bigger fish can fit a smaller fish in its mouth, it will eat them. I never had smaller fish in the same tank as him, and he never killed any of the others. He was a peaceful guy and hid most of the time in his pvc pipe or vegetation. He was a great fish.