Tire Track Eel Growth Rate

[jonny5]

so i got my tire track eel about 3-4 months ago and being told at the time that it was merely a spiney eel that wouldnt get much bigger than 12" i was sure it would be fine in my 70g. But i now know they get much bigger.

However, ive been reading first hand accounts and people say thier eel would grow from like 7" to 11" in a month or two. Ive had my eel for 3-4 months and i swear i dont think he has grown an inch. Why could this be? i dont see him eating but i make sure to throw in a decent amount of food at night for the horse faced loaches, dragon goby and knight gobies, one unknown goby and the other aral spiney eel.

 

[simonas]

I didn;t realise you could keep these in bracksih

they can be hard to feed and I;d want to make sure you saw him taking food otherise they can waste away. Mine loved prawn in the past and they can really grow on prawn and then maybe go onto better food

Mine in the past have grown really quickly especially whensmaller

 

[jonny5]

I didn;t realise you could keep these in bracksih

they can be hard to feed and I;d want to make sure you saw him taking food otherise they can waste away. Mine loved prawn in the past and they can really grow on prawn and then maybe go onto better food

Mine in the past have grown really quickly especially whensmaller

hmm your right, but its hard to target feed him because he is never visable, i get to see him maybe once a week. Hes hiding somewhere all the other times. I assume he must be getting some food because no fish can go 4 months without eating something(unless we are talking like trout or something). But hopefully he will be ok, im actually happy about a slow growth rate, i just hope he is well nourished and not wasting. the night dwellers get feed large krill and mysis shrimp, krill for bulk and mysis for nutrients and omega 3's.

but ya certain spiney eel can be kept in brackish, tire track, and zig zag (min is actually a zig zag, titled it wrong), lesser spiney eel. Others like fire eels cannot though.

 

[simonas]

when I have had a fire eel struggle in past I have used earth worms guaranteed to get him eating, you can actually buy them off fleabay. They;re fickle things when they start they won;t stop and you would expect them to start hand feeding as that kind of eel isso greedy

 

[nmonks]

It's actually a bit more complicated that this. Yes, only a minority of species come from brackish water habitats, notably tyre-track eels, peacock eels, one-line spiny eels. But maintenance of all spiny eels is easier if the water is very slightly saline, 1-2 grammes salt/litre. This seems to help in terms of nitrate toxicity and in reducing the skin infections commonly observed on spiny eels and a major source of mortality.

In any case, growth rate depends on multiple factors so it's not easy to predict. Tyre-track eels are actually a complex of species rather than just one species, so on top of the usual issues with genetics, age, diet, and living conditions, you've also got uncertainty over the tyre-track species being kept.

For what it's worth, tyre-tracks don't grow quite so fast as fire eels, and their maximum length in captivity is quite a bit less, 50-60 cm being typical, though some do get quite a bit bigger than that.

Cheers, Neale

but ya certain spiney eel can be kept in brackish, tire track, and zig zag (min is actually a zig zag, titled it wrong), lesser spiney eel. Others like fire eels cannot though.

 

[darkside13]

Hey guys! New here. I have a great tiretrack that I bought about a month and a half ago. He went from 7 inches to a good 11.5 and FAST. I've been feeding him blood worms and beef heart. I have heard that they are VERY picky eaters. He's in with some south americans and a few other oddballs and doing great. 

 

[Nova2112]

Hey guys, I didn't know you can put a zig zag eel in brackish. I am starting up a 125 gallon tank and looking to start off with a snowflake eel and a couple of puffers. but if I could put a zig zag or something like it in there that would be great. the one I have now I feed blood worms and I can feed him by hand.