View Full Version : Fire eel. What do they eat besides...
BostonPatriot
12-02-2005, 12:40 PM
Live black worms?
I was at one of the only great fish stores in the Boston(very few) and I saw this guy. I wanted one of these for a while but I didn't want to pay shipping fees to buy one online. Anyways, what do these guys like to eat? I got a couple caves for him so hopefully it will be happy.
joeytoe
12-02-2005, 12:52 PM
As far as i know ( ive never had a fire eel but also want one) theyll eat Shrimp, Worms, an fish. In extreme cases I think you can get them to eat pellets but im not positive.
stotty
12-02-2005, 1:05 PM
my one loved worms red worms at the start lobworms at the end also shrimps and loved a guppy so no small fish in the tank :naughty:
BostonPatriot
12-02-2005, 1:19 PM
Joeytoe they got about 6 or 7 of them over at Tropic Isle in Framingham. They are 29 bucks(about 8" give or take) but I am not sure how much they should go for. All I know is the shipping is more than that to order them online.
snogard
12-02-2005, 1:36 PM
they'll eat brine shrimp, bloodworms, blackworms. and small rosies. the price will depend on where you at. very pricy here in AZ. $50 for 8-9" although you get better deals from time to time.
When we got ours they would only eat bloodworm, but at 24" bloodworm is not an option, we starved them and now they eat prawns ( whole ) and earthworms
here is a pic of them with the rays, they will dive under the rays skirt to get prawns!!!
Steve
redtailfool
12-02-2005, 8:33 PM
The one that i bought ( jumped out soon after ) , loved cut up pieces of shrimp. Its appetite is impressive. For a tiny mouth it eats a lot !
BostonPatriot
12-02-2005, 10:49 PM
How long does it take to hit 24"? How long can I keep this guy in a 75 gallon for?
BTW: Great looking fire eel KOD
thefishofdoom
12-03-2005, 1:23 AM
iv had mine they grow relitively normal mine eats shrimp and black worms loves the worms and thats a good price where i am the $15 for a 4 to 5 incher and no so heathy ive had mine for about 6 months i think dont realy know but grew like 3 inches hope this helps and also they love to dig and are very personable
When I bought mine, it would not eat. But i tried with live worms and that made it eat. Now he eats bloodworms, shrimp, heart of ox, mealworms, fish, mysis and artemia.
I had an 8" one reach 16" in just over a year then sold it before moving, it loved earthworms but also ate any meaty food like raw shrimp meat and clam bits as well as small fish.
BostonPatriot
12-03-2005, 5:07 PM
Ummmmmm are these guys good escape artists? I did not see mine in the tank today. Normally I see a little head sticking out of the gravel. Do they ever completely go under the gravel? I hope I just missed him and his head is in one of the caves or something. I do have a 1 inch opening on each side of the lid.
So guppy you think he'd be ok in a 75 for a while? Thanks for the advice.
BostonPatriot
12-04-2005, 12:49 AM
ahhh he was hiding on me. Found him in a cave. Are we not allowed to edit posts on here? I was gonna change my last one.
Mourinho18
12-04-2005, 12:51 AM
just waited to long before you went to edit. Nice eel though for sure. :thumbsup:
BostonPatriot
12-04-2005, 1:03 AM
Thanks Benfica, I like it alot so far. I just hope it decides to eat soon and doesn't play the waiting game too long like my datnoid did and scared the sh*t out of me(they are hard to find around here and didn't want it to die). I didn't know about the time limit on the posts but I see now.
thanks again
Mourinho18
12-04-2005, 1:05 AM
yeahhh, no problem man. So what are you feeding him now that he won't take? Always sucks to see the fish not take to eating. My little ones went a good couple of weeks without eating. Then i put some tiny neons in as dithers, and they were all gobbled up with the other fish having HUGE stomachs. :)
BostonPatriot
12-04-2005, 1:08 AM
I've tried shrimp, krill, bloodworms, sinking pellets, and scallop. I've only had him a couple days so hopefully it comes around.
Mourinho18
12-04-2005, 1:09 AM
try some tiny neons, worked with me. You'll get him eventually though. Just keep at it. He'll take what your willing to give him soon enough :)
BostonPatriot
12-04-2005, 1:10 AM
When we got ours they would only eat bloodworm, but at 24" bloodworm is not an option, we starved them and now they eat prawns ( whole ) and earthworms
here is a pic of them with the rays, they will dive under the rays skirt to get prawns!!!
Steve
That thing is awesome! Do you have any more pictures of that eel? He has great color!
venwu225
12-04-2005, 1:16 AM
Try target feeding with live earth worms, spiny eels can't resist those.
I always feed my new eels at night, take a thin stick and stab the worm on the end and send it down to the eel, you will probably have to fight the other fish off first though.
BostonPatriot
12-04-2005, 1:18 AM
Try target feeding with live earth worms, spiny eels can't resist those.
I always feed my new eels at night, take a thin stick and stab the worm on the end and send it down to the eel, you will probably have to fight the other fish off first though.
I'll give that a try. Is this a process that you can hopefully get the eel away from in time?
That thing is awesome! Do you have any more pictures of that eel? He has great color!
There are a couple more here :)
BostonPatriot
12-04-2005, 8:41 PM
Wow he is really awesome looking. Thanks! How long did it take for it to get that big? What size tank is he in?
Tucc185
12-04-2005, 9:29 PM
Where'd you get him in Boston? I work at an LFS in tewksbury, (near Lowell), and we have a whole bunch now, ranging from 14.99 for 6" to 39.99 for a gorgeous 14" one. They all eat chopped krill, silversides, feeder guppies and tuffies, and they LOVE chopped earthworms and whole troutworms. Try shaking silversides around on a skewer, sometimes it helps.
Mine eats live earthworms
BostonPatriot
12-05-2005, 12:37 AM
Where'd you get him in Boston? I work at an LFS in tewksbury, (near Lowell), and we have a whole bunch now, ranging from 14.99 for 6" to 39.99 for a gorgeous 14" one. They all eat chopped krill, silversides, feeder guppies and tuffies, and they LOVE chopped earthworms and whole troutworms. Try shaking silversides around on a skewer, sometimes it helps.
Ok Thanks. I bought it at Tropic Isle in Framingham. Where is your place tewsbury? decent size place? I may have to take a ride up.
Ive had mine for about two months i feed him frozen brine shrimp and ghost shrimp i paid 30 bucks for him and yes they do bury themselves completly or at least mine does