Need Some Help On Starting Oddball Tank

[afterfeedingtimemyarmsgone]

I'm starting a 100 u.s. gallon oddball tank, i was wondering if i only had the two in there, would a fire eel and a black ghost knifefish get along at all . .or would i have some fish that bit the substrate. mind u, they would be the only two in there and i have 3 feet of slate caves that i made with slate and epoxy about 12 inches tall. when i get them, they're only gonna be 6 inches each

 

[afterfeedingtimemyarmsgone]

also . . . could i get away with feeding them live comets, ghost shrimp and frozen bloodworms?

 

[nmonks]

Can't speak for the knifefish, but spiny eels don't need live fish. They'll eat them, sure, but they don't need them. Live earthworms are their favourite food, and are very useful for settling in new specimens. Once they are settled down, they will eat most things such as frozen prawns and bloodworms (especially the smaller specimens). Live river shrimp and mealworms will also be taken.

Spiny eels tend to be territorial, so with most species it is one to a tank. They _usually_ ignore other, similar sized fish. They are shy and nervous, so don't keep them with anything too aggressive. Floating plants really help if you want to see a spiny eel during the day. They need sand. In my opinion digging into gravel (which they will do) only causes them to scratch their skin and get incurable bacterial infections. I'd go so far as to say a spiny eel in a gravel-bottomed aquarium is a spiny eel that will die sooner rather than later. Make 100% sure the eel cannot escape! If there is even the slightest gap, it will get out!

Nice fish though.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[afterfeedingtimemyarmsgone]

thanks for the help . ..after reading a coupl'a entries in the forums i heard that u can use play sand for a freshwater aquarium . .is that true? cause i've been using this black sand that i had to order for $20 for 20 lbs . . . .

 

[Nevergone815]

i don't think it really matters much. sand is sand to me and probably to the fish too. just as long as it's not to course. it doesn't need to be play sand, but the finer the better.

and once again... good advice neale!!!

 

[cane76]

bgk and fire eel will be fine together and play sand is safe for aquariums

 

[nmonks]

The general rule with sand is avoid anything "sharp" (an adjective used with sand) and try not use anything with a calcareous (lime) content, because that will raise the pH and hardness. Brackish water fish and livebearers don't care, but fish like spiny eels and knives might.

In the pinned topics in the beginners section, I wrote a piece on sand that _a lot_ of people have added to and improved. Worth a read.

Cheers,

Neale