Peacock eel?

[ella777]

Hi, I have recently got a peacock eel. He lives in fresh water, not salt water. This may be controversial but hes lived in fresh water for a little over a year, he seems happy and healthy.
My question is, how often should I feed him? I feed him frozen bloodworms which he loves. Google says 2 - 3 times a week, but he seemed starving when I fed him before. I'm pretty sure hes full grown now.
Does anyone know?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

This may be controversial but hes lived in fresh water for a little over a year, he seems happy and healthy.

Why would it be controversial? Peacock Eels naturally live in freshwater. (Slow moving rivers in Asia if I recall correctly)

My question is, how often should I feed him? I feed him frozen bloodworms which he loves. Google says 2 - 3 times a week, but he seemed starving when I fed him before. I'm pretty sure hes full grown now.
Does anyone know?

How long is he? Fully grown peacock eels can get up to 12 inches long, but usually max out around 9 inches in home aquariums, depending on the size of the tank.

As far as food goes, do you feed him any live food, such as brine shrimp? Frozen bloodworms isn’t enough if that’s all you feed him.

 

[ella777]

Why would it be controversial? Peacock Eels naturally live in freshwater. (Slow moving rivers in Asia if I recall correctly)


How long is he? Fully grown peacock eels can get up to 12 inches long, but usually max out around 9 inches in home aquariums, depending on the size of the tank.

As far as food goes, do you feed him any live food, such as brine shrimp? Frozen bloodworms isn’t enough if that’s all you feed him.

Google says they prefer salt in their water though. Hes been fed on bloodworms his whole life which is about five years, what other foods do you recommend? I've only had him for about two weeks. Hes probably full grown now.

 

[Essjay]

Where did you read that, which website? You need to bear in mind that anyone can set up a website with little or no actual knowledge of the fish species. Some websites are written by experts and those should be your go-to sites, for example Seriously Fish, Planet Catfish, Loaches On-Line, Corydoras World

Unfortunately, Seriously Fish does not seem to include peacock eels.

 

[ella777]

Where did you read that, which website? You need to bear in mind that anyone can set up a website with little or no actual knowledge of the fish species. Some websites are written by experts and those should be your go-to sites, for example Seriously Fish, Planet Catfish, Loaches On-Line, Corydoras World

Unfortunately, Seriously Fish does not seem to include peacock eels.

I didnt look on a website. I just searched it and everything seemed to say '1tsp of salt for every gallon'

 

[Essjay]

There may well be more than one species referred to as peacock eel, but the info I can find says they are soft water fish not brackish.

 

[Donya]

Just a side note to add in: I've moved this thread over to tropical discussion.

 

[GaryE]

I got info on them on Seriously Fish with the Latin name. Freshwater, and a pH of 6 to 7. Predatory to smaller tankmates, and an escape artist. Watch out for the spines.

Macrognathus siamensis summary page

www.fishbase.se

Peacock Eel

Pet care information about Peacock Eel

animal-world.com

The 2nd site is one I don't know, but the write up is thorough and accurate.

 

[ella777]

There may well be more than one species referred to as peacock eel, but the info I can find says they are soft water fish not brackish.

Oh I dont know then

 

[ella777]

There may well be more than one species referred to as peacock eel, but the info I can find says they are soft water fish not brackish.

But what should I feed him if bloodworms arent enough? And how often?

 

[GaryE]

It's not the easiest fish to feed well. He won't do well with pet store fare. If he's taking frozen bloodworm, then the gross factor will matter. Small earthworms, and frozen foods. Shrimp (prawns) might be eaten. I have no idea what you can get where you are, but small ones, some bloodworm (they aren't worms but insect larvae), things like that. He won't be cheap to feed.

 

[ella777]

It's not the easiest fish to feed well. He won't do well with pet store fare. If he's taking frozen bloodworm, then the gross factor will matter. Small earthworms, and frozen foods. Shrimp (prawns) might be eaten. I have no idea what you can get where you are, but small ones, some bloodworm (they aren't worms but insect larvae), things like that. He won't be cheap to feed.

Hes eating frozen bloodworms at the moment, he has been eating them for five years and seems happy. I dont know what other things I'm supposed to give him..

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Google says they prefer salt in their water though. Hes been fed on bloodworms his whole life which is about five years, what other foods do you recommend? I've only had him for about two weeks. Hes probably full grown now.

Definitely don’t just trust a quick google search, do your research.

Brine shrimp is another great option. A mixture of live and frozen food is usually best.

 

[ella777]

Definitely don’t just trust a quick google search, do your research.

Brine shrimp is another great option. A mixture of live and frozen food is usually best.

I dont know where to get brine shrimp from easily.. also what do I keep them in if they're live?

 

[Byron]

The species Macrognathus siamensis is not in SF, but another species M. zebrinus in the genus is, and I suspect diet would be similar:

In nature, it preys on small fish and aquatic invertebrates but aquarium specimens readily accept dead alternatives. Prawn, cockle, mussel, earthworms and bloodworms can all be offered. Dried foods are rarely accepted. Like others in the genus, it’s quite a shy fish and you may have to add food after lights out for a while until it becomes accustomed to its surroundings.​

A caution though, on bloodworms--these are not especially wholesome or nutritious so I would wean any fish off these ASAP. Back in the 1980's one of my prime frozen foods was squid, not sure if this is still available (in packages as fish food, similar to brine shrimp, bloodworms, etc). Also used frozen plankton.