I Got Them!

[Sp3nc3r]

2 weeks ago i was talking to the owner of the lfs *a good friend of mine* and told him i was interested in peacock eels

today he called me in to his work to "show me a new fish he had never seen and needs help with name"

i go down and he hands me these 2 inch peacock eels and he says it took longer than i thought to get them in

here they are: *any help with names would be nice *

both

first one

second one *in the back*

i hope you like them

 

[CAC]

Lovely fish, must of been quite a surrprise to be just handed them
They look bigger than 2"...

cool fish

MIkey

 

[insanityseeker]

what do they eat???

 

[Sp3nc3r]

micro worms, black worms not sure what they are called but its one of those

when thet get full grown 10 inches they will eat night crawlers, neon tetras, ghost shrimp, worms

 

[big mick]

call them Ant and Dec.

 

[nmonks]

Those aren't peacock eels, they're loaches. Misgurnus spp. Sometimes called weather loaches. Coldwater fish, though they do fine at low-end tropical. Nice fish.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[insanityseeker]

thought they looked familiar!!!

 

[-=Joel=-]

Those aren't peacock eels, they're loaches. Misgurnus spp. Sometimes called weather loaches. Coldwater fish, though they do fine at low-end tropical. Nice fish.

Cheers,

Neale

Just to confirm the above post .. deffinatly loaches ...

Joel

 

[Fella]

Those aren't peacock eels, they're loaches. Misgurnus spp. Sometimes called weather loaches. Coldwater fish, though they do fine at low-end tropical. Nice fish.

Cheers,

Neale

Agreed. I used to keep a couple of these in my coldwater tank. They really love airstones from what I can remember, as they spent all day playing in them (or hiding).

 

[big mick]

I didnt want to pi$$ in your pint but I thought they were dojo loaches too....here's mine

 

[nmonks]

For what it's worth, I'll reiterate: these are nice fish. You haven't been sold a dud. They do fine at tropical temps up to about 25 C, because they will breathe air if they need to. In groups, they become very tame.

As Fella said, they're playful fish. They're among the very few fish that actually like being touched, or at least don't mind it, and will swim up to your hand and easily become hand-feedable. On the other hand, don't keep them with anything aggressive. They're far too gentle for that.

The usual species is Misgurnus anguillicaudatus. The Japanese word for loach is "dojo", hence "dojo loach" simply means "loach loach" (sort of like how "koi carp" means "carp carp" or "the hoi polloi" means "the the people"). Weather loach is more common in England, and refers to their use in historical times as natural barometers. They respond to changes in air pressure by becoming more active, typically swimming up and down a lot. People apparently used this to predict changes in weather.

They get to about 15 cm or so, are harmless to even tiny fish, except perhaps livebearer fry, and will eat practically anything. Bloodworms and other small inverts are a favourite though. Keep the tank covered: they can jump well! They love to dig, but generally don't damage plants in the process (at least not once the plant is properly rooted).

If anything, these are much better aquarium fish than spiny eels. Perhaps not more interesting for a collector, but in terms of sheer fun and easy of keeping, these are among the most robust and entertaining aquarium fish out there.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[GuppyDude]

My mum has one that survives very well in a tropical temperature range, fat little buggar too.

Sorry they weren't peacock's Gup, you should confront your lfs guy on the issue, as he sold u fish under a false name. But on the other hand, dojo's are cool, they have alot of personality and can tell you when its gunnah rain.

 

[Sp3nc3r]

just to let you all know

i have chosen the stick with the weather loaches

thanks for all of your help and opinions

is there any way to sex a weather loach?

 

[nmonks]

Sexing loaches in aquaria is virtually impossible (at least for us, presumably the loaches know the difference!). Since loaches as a rule don't breed in aquaria, this isn't a problem. They are sociable fish, so you won't have to worry about aggression between males.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Fella]

From when I researched these on the net before I got mine, I can tell you that they only breed in the muddiest of waters, and have only done it very very rarely.

Also, for further trivia, these fish are eaten in a soup in their native china, and if they escape the aquarium, they coat themselves in thick mucus to stay alive.

Mine played in the fins of my goldfish, following them around and hiding in their long fins.