Spiny Eel

[Macaroni]

After going down to the lfs today, I spotted the spiny eel and was instantly intrigued. The on-staff assistance assured me it was a peaceful and easy fish to care for, that would gladly accept flake foods.

I now know that most of what I was told is untrue, but I really want to keep this little guy. While labeled at the store as just 'Spiny Eel', I think I am pretty sure it is a peacock, about 12cm. My 20g has plenty of hiding places, and none of the other fish should bother him. After more extensive reading though I don't think this is going to be an easy fish to take care of.

My biggest concern is the substrate; I have thin white gravel. Is he pretty much assured to scratch him/herself up one day and die of an infection?

As far as feeding goes, I don't expect him to eat flakes after doing reading. Should blood worms hit the spot? And how often/how much should a growing peacock be eating?

Thanks for any help! I just want this fascinating fish to live!

 

[nmonks]

After going down to the lfs today, I spotted the spiny eel and was instantly intrigued. The on-staff assistance assured me it was a peaceful and easy fish to care for, that would gladly accept flake foods.

Hence the need to research the fish YOURSELF before purchasing. Do invest in a decent "aquarium encyclopaedia" that you can take with your on your shopping trips.

I now know that most of what I was told is untrue, but I really want to keep this little guy. While labeled at the store as just 'Spiny Eel', I think I am pretty sure it is a peacock, about 12cm. My 20g has plenty of hiding places, and none of the other fish should bother him. After more extensive reading though I don't think this is going to be an easy fish to take care of.

Sounds like Macrognathus siamensis, a gregarious species that reaches about 20 cm in length. Notoriously difficult to maintain unless properly accommodated. Sensitive to infections, shy, prone to jumping out.

My biggest concern is the substrate; I have thin white gravel. Is he pretty much assured to scratch him/herself up one day and die of an infection?

Yes. Replace the substrate ASAP.

As far as feeding goes, I don't expect him to eat flakes after doing reading. Should blood worms hit the spot? And how often/how much should a growing peacock be eating?

Frozen bloodworms will be consumed, but they're a dubious staple in the long term. Augment with live earthworms and river shrimps, frozen tubifex, mosquito larvae, chopped prawns and other small meaty items. Ensure that there are no bottom feeders (catfish or loaches) in the tank, otherwise the spiny eel is at serious risk of starving. Depending on the size of the tank, a small bristlenose catfish might be okay, but anything faster (like Corydoras) or more aggressive (like botiine loaches) would be poor choices as tankmates.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Macaroni]

Thank you so much for the input! I'll begin replacing the gravel with some sand asap.

The only feeding competition he may have is a young senegal bichir. Will the extroverted bichir beat out the reclusive peacock each feeding time?

 

[nmonks]

Difficult to say; these wouldn't be my first choices as tankmates, but bichirs forage slowly and by smell, so you could get lucky. Only time will tell, really. You could certainly try offering food at different ends of the tank simultaneously, so that each fish will (hopefully) get one batch while the other gets the other batch. Observe the spiny eel carefully though, and make sure it remains plump. Consider using forceps to hand-feed it earthworms and the like: a couple decent sized earthworms every few days would be sufficient, and spiny eels are quite easy to tame.

Cheers, Neale

The only feeding competition he may have is a young senegal bichir. Will the extroverted bichir beat out the reclusive peacock each feeding time?

 

[Macaroni]

I got the peacock some worms today. Ultimately, he sat there, eying the worms pensively as they fell straight in front of him. After the worms sat on/around his mouth for a minute, my bichir came and cleaned him off.

Should I be worried about the eels appetite? I've read from a few places that they only get excited over live food wriggling in front of them, what is the perfect food for a 12cm spiny?

As far as replacing my substrate, what is the easiest/least stressful on the fish way of going about this?

 

[nmonks]

Should I be worried about the eels appetite? I've read from a few places that they only get excited over live food wriggling in front of them, what is the perfect food for a 12cm spiny?

I wouldn't be too worried just yet, because the fish is probably still shy and getting used to its tank. But if it hasn't eaten anything after a week, then worry! In the meantime, try offering multiple small earthworms, and use forceps to place them close by the spiny eel. Forceps make a huge difference because they don't scare fish in the same way as your hands would.

As far as replacing my substrate, what is the easiest/least stressful on the fish way of going about this?

Take the fish out, put them in a bucket with a lid. Remove water, replace substrate. Put water and the the filter back, and then put the fish back in. Simple as that. As ever, when messing about with the tank, do remember to minimise any temperature and pH changes, and it's always a good idea to acclimate the fish to the aquarium water just as you do when buying/adding new fish.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Macaroni]

Got a month under the belt now and the eel is doing a little better. The biggest problem is feeding; whenever bloodworms/mysis shrimp go in, it never lasts long enough to get the eels attention. I have had luck getting him to eat ghost shrimp, and he seems to like snacking on brine shrimp recently as well, not quite as plump as he needs to be I think though. Is an all shrimp diet healthy? How big should they be for feeding live worms? My eel is around 18cm now, so I guess it is growing fine.

A new question though, I'm not quite sure if this is a Peacock Eel or a Striped Eel. It has the peacock spots on the tail, but has a distinct bright stripe down the middle of his otherwise dark body. I'm just curious, as the full grown size between the two is different.

On a side note, a few weeks of gravel seem to have quelled this guys burrowing desires, even in a sand tank now I haven't seen him dig once. As a matter of fact his preferred resting spot is hanging in the tops of plants like my bichir. Eel see eel do?

 

[caitlin01]

Wrong account . . . again.

 

[adam98150]

It sounds more like a Striped Peacock to be quite honest, since you mentioned the bright stripe. I believe you would have to supplement its diet with different meaty foods, if you're still having trouble with feeding continue with the live food, until you are confident he is eating well. He will reach an expected length of 14".

How big should they be for feeding live worms?

I take it you're talking about earthworms? Chop them up.

 

[Straydum]

you shouldn't worry about the burrowing issue. i have a half banded and a peacock and neither of them burrows even though they had sand since day one.

if you're bored of the shrimp diet you could try adding live tubifex or live bloodworms. i believe the bloodworm you tried earlier on is frozen yes? doesn't really work for some. my fire eel loves bloodworms while the other two would not even taste it. either way tubifex seems so do the job.

 

[Macaroni]

you shouldn't worry about the burrowing issue. i have a half banded and a peacock and neither of them burrows even though they had sand since day one.

if you're bored of the shrimp diet you could try adding live tubifex or live bloodworms. i believe the bloodworm you tried earlier on is frozen yes? doesn't really work for some. my fire eel loves bloodworms while the other two would not even taste it. either way tubifex seems so do the job.

Yeah, its rather apathetic towards all frozen foods. I've only seen it eat my neons and some ghost/brine shrimp.

I tried feeding it a live red wriggler moments ago. The writhing worm landed squarely on the eel's head, which prompted him to move to a different location instead of eat. I'll try again a bit later when hes more excitable.

 

[Anguilla82]

I've got a similar problem with two spiny eels i bought a while ago. they weren't exactly plump when i got them and as yet I have failed to get them to eat anything (that i've seen anyway!).
anyways i found some mussels in the nearby canal (zebra maybe?) and put them in for my clown loach who have relished the task of getting onto the mussels.

Anyways who do i see pecking away at the remnance thi smorning but one of the eels!

guess i need to get some chopped mussel for them!

 

[OpalineAqua]

After going down to the lfs today, I spotted the spiny eel and was instantly intrigued. The on-staff assistance assured me it was a peaceful and easy fish to care for, that would gladly accept flake foods.

I now know that most of what I was told is untrue, but I really want to keep this little guy. While labeled at the store as just 'Spiny Eel', I think I am pretty sure it is a peacock, about 12cm. My 20g has plenty of hiding places, and none of the other fish should bother him. After more extensive reading though I don't think this is going to be an easy fish to take care of.

My biggest concern is the substrate; I have thin white gravel. Is he pretty much assured to scratch him/herself up one day and die of an infection?

As far as feeding goes, I don't expect him to eat flakes after doing reading. Should blood worms hit the spot? And how often/how much should a growing peacock be eating?

Thanks for any help! I just want this fascinating fish to live!

You are right. They will not accept flake foods. Live or frozen are acceptable. And change the substrate to sand. They like to burrow, and he would get scratched up.

 

[Ficious]

i bought a small spiny eel many months ago and now he has grown into a 12 inch monster. he began with sand in a communtiy tank and wouldnt eat (or so i thought) for a couple weeks. he then was seen munching up shrimp pellets and algae wafer bits thereafter. he now resides in the 55 gallon and does fine with the gravel. he actualy prefers the gravel over the sand (tank has both). shrimp pellets are by far his fav food and eats about 6 pieces per day