Peacock Spiny Eel

[aimsley_87]

hi there, i posted this before but i think it was in the wrong section. anyways, i have recently bought a peacock spiny eel and i have named him Professor Snape, due to his hooked nose

he is very shy and hides in his cave most of the time, i am worried however that he is not eating as he doesnt come out when it is feeding time. i feed a mixture of flake, wafer and live food, alternating each day with the flake and live.

has anyone got any hints or tips on how i can ensure he is eating?

Many thanks,

Aimsley

 

[nmonks]

Flake is a non-runner, so don't for a nanosecond imagine your spiny eel will eat it.

The trick with spiny eels isn't so much what you offer -- they'll eat both live and wet-frozen foods -- but to make sure there's nothing competing with them. Do not keep them with loaches or catfish or any other bottom feeders. Spiny eels are nocturnal, so basically you're adding small bite-size morsels of food at night and hoping they'll eat it. They will do so once settled, but won't be able to compete with loaches or catfish, so make sure you don't try to keep them in such a community. Instead, keep them with day-active species like characins or livebearers of suitable size and similar requirements.

Peacock spiny eels are burrowers, so soft silica sand ("pool filter sand" in the US) is helpful, and I'd argue -- strongly -- essential in the long term. Gravel substrates seem to kill these smaller spiny eels eventually, damaging their delicate skins and making secondary infections extremely likely. Water chemistry isn't critical, but very slightly brackish water conditions -- 2-5 g marine salt mix/litre of water -- does seem to be beneficial, even if not strictly necessary. Obviously this limits your choices of tankmates, but then spiny eels aren't community fish, so at best, you're choosing companion fish for the spiny eel rather than dumping your spiny eel into your standard community tank.

Cheers, Neale

 

[aimsley_87]

Thanks very much, the substrate is already sand so im safe there. i will switch to live food daily for him and i will feed him at night, when the tank lights are off.
Thanks very much for your advice.

Aimsley.

 

[nmonks]

Glad to help.

Don't worry too much about live foods every day, though earthworms are like crack cocaine for spiny eels! They love them!

But instead focus on inexpensive, nutritionally balanced wet-frozen or fresh foods. Pieces of prawn and mussel are okay, but they're high in thiaminase so need to be used sparingly. Small pieces of tilapia, cod, haddock and coley fillet are thiaminase-free and good foods, as are small pieces of cockle. Krill and bloodworms are readily taken, so they're a useful standby to have in the freezer. Basically offer as much of a variety as you can, with earthworms once a week or more if possible. Among other things, earthworms contain partially digested plant material that provides useful vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Cheers, Neale

Thanks very much, the substrate is already sand so im safe there. i will switch to live food daily for him and i will feed him at night, when the tank lights are off.
Thanks very much for your advice.

Aimsley.

 

[aimsley_87]

Do i literally just get the earthworms out the garden? and should i wash them under water before i give them to him?

 

[nmonks]

Rinse of clumps of soil if you want, but don't worry too much.

Obviously don't collect from somewhere treated with pesticides or weedkiller. An organic garden is the best place to collect. Worms are common under flower pots, in compost heaps, and other warm, damp corners. You don't necessarily need to dig for them.

You can even buy worm farming kits!

Cheers, Neale

PS. Do select worms small enough to swallow whole. A dead worm rotting in your tank will do no good.

Do i literally just get the earthworms out the garden? and should i wash them under water before i give them to him?

 

[aimsley_87]

Cool thanks very much.

 

[aimsley_87]

do i have to cook the cod, haddock, coley etc first?

 

[nmonks]

Nope. Go to Waitrose or wherever with a fish counter, and have them cut off a small piece at the tail-end of the fillet if you're not wild about fish. Either freeze it as is, or if you're smart, slice it up while fresh, and then freeze them slivers inside a small container (resealable yoghurt pots are ideal). For a peacock eel, the slices need to be very small, maybe 1-2 mm wide, and maybe 10-15 mm long.

Cooking removes some of nutrients, so it's best avoided. Almost any seafood is okay periodically; squid, prawn, etc. But some contain thiaminase, and these are best kept as treats rather than staples.

Cheers, Neale

do i have to cook the cod, haddock, coley etc first?

 

[aimsley_87]

Cool thanks very much. Hes come out for his brine shrimp this evening which is good