DCallele Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 (edited) Here are a couple of pics - very difficult to get the whole tank so the whole tank pic is kind of crappy. The second one is a bit of a closer view of the right hand side. Most of the eels prefer the rocky side to the planted side during the day. At night, they tend to like to burrow in the planted side. There is an above tank trickle filter on the right and a second, 33 gallon tank on a rolling platform underneath. The val in the front needs trimming so people can see all the other plants behind it. Oh yeah, it is a 6 foot long, about 180 gallon, plywood tank. David Edited January 12, 2006 by DCallele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCallele Posted January 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 And, the right hand side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarfan Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 very cool. thanks for posting these.it's a very nice tank. love the eels. what kind/sizes are they? haven't seen an eel tank before so this is quite interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklehead Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 Very cool, I like the plants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCallele Posted January 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 Occupants are: Tire track Eel - 14" Tang Leopard Eel - 12" Tang Leopard Eel - 9" Fire Eel - 10" Black Spotted Eel - 8" All of them are actually "spiny eels": fish that are shaped like eels, not true eels. These species will all grow to somewhere between 20" and 40" max. I am *really* looking forward to seeing them at full size; only a few more years! Their main diet is earthworms, sometimes some shrimp or beef. Plecos: 2 - Albino - 2" 2 - Bristlenose - 3" Loaches 3 - Weather Loach - 7" - 9" 1 - Horse Face Loach - 6" (There used to be 2, but the tire track ate the small one!) I finally got a picture of this fish last night. They have to be the most difficult fish to photograph that I have ever experienced. They are very skittish and their bodies are somewhat translucent so focussing can be difficult if you want to get their "feelers" in macro for example. Must say that I sure do have fun feeding and playing with these guys. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsmith Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 (edited) Their main diet is earthworms, sometimes some shrimp or beef. Where do you get your earthworms (surely you don't have enough in your garden), and what type of beef & shrimp do you feed them? I'm sure you've mentioned this b/f, but what size tank do you have them in? Do they like playing in the plants? This is a very appealing set up Edited January 12, 2006 by johnsmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCallele Posted January 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I get the earthworms from one of the local fishing shops during the winter. During the summer, every time it rains hard I am out picking earthworms :-) The beef is beef heart or minced stewing beef. The shrimp are just pieces of blanched cocktail shrimp. The tank is 6' by 2' by 2'. Surprisingly, only the black spotted eel spends a lot of time in the plants. The others tend to like to lurk in the rocks by the edge of the plants. You might have noticed that most of the time, that is the background in my pics. That said, I do feed them on that side of the tank so that may be affecting their behaviour. Highly recommended fish if you feel like handling their food needs David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Very nice. Are eels easy to care for or time consuming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsmith Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Highly recommended fish if you feel like handling their food needs Sounds like it could get pricey. I'd be worried about the worms in my yard b/c my wife likes to spray the weeds with chemicals when she gets fed up with them. Something to keep in mind for the future though, for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCallele Posted January 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I feed them every second day, and that takes about 10 minutes: chopping up the worms and feeding the individual fish appropriately sized portions. Other that that, 30 to 50% water change every 2 weeks. That's it The fish density in the tank is so low that nothing else is necessary. Just make sure that the entire lid is covered, or that you have at least 4 to 6 inches of air between the water and the lid (possibly even more). Otherwise, you are likely to find someone who has tried to evolve a little too rapidly! OK, that was a little obtuse: they will jump out of the tank and try to walk to the next pond... The only difficulty that I have had was in getting them to eat after shipping. They were on frozen brine shrimp when they were much smaller then I tried to transition them to straight frozen foods but did not have a lot of success. Once I gave in and started feeding worm chunks, I have never had another problem. I might have been able to train them to frozen foods but the Leopard Eels (sp. elipsifer) are wild caught, generally considered difficult to ship, and not exactly cheap so I just didn't have the heart to risk them... Just came up from feeding them tonight. They poke at my fingers, looking for food. Sometimes, they even "bite" my fingers to see if they are food but it doesn't hurt: more like a pinch since they have no real teeth to speak of, just a bony plate on the top and bottom. Then, they will swim through my fingers and curl around just like tree snakes do on branches. Lots of fun! David David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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