Eel question...

[Filthy Sanchez]

Anyone know anything about this species of eel? A friend sent me this picture and says it's a freshwater (or brackish) and says he knows where to get them. However he doesn't know anything about them so he asked me and I said I'd find out...

[piranha45]

fw eels of that type don't seem to exist
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwmorayeels.htm

[Fish_are_fishfood]

He seems to have close to the same shape as the common American Eel. Does this friend know where to catch them, or buy them? I have seen American Eels change colors from pure white to a dark pale brown, as well as have all sorts of camo colors across their body. I am not certain, but this may be it if it was raised in a certain enviorment, and they are a brackish/fresh/salt water fish.

[Filthy Sanchez]

I'll ask him where he can buy it, I don't think it's a moray either the head doesn't appear to look like a moray too me.

[rumblesushi]

definitely not a moray, looks more like one of the anguilla species.

[Filthy Sanchez]

I was told it was called a mottled eel. I think that an anguilla. How big do they get? Are they cold or warm water? Aggressive or not?

[guppy]

I am not sure if that is a Anguilla marmorata (mottled) or a Anguilla reinhardtii (speckled longfin) Either way it looks quite young. They, like american and european eels do very well in tanks but are wicked escape artists, You need to latch down the lid of the tank or they brace against the bottom and push up the lid. They are catadromous so they breed in the sea then mature in brackish and fresh water. They are extremely adaptable and long lived, The record for a captive rheinhardtii is 41 years. In fresh water they get to adult size but do not sexually mature. These 2 will live happily in temps from the high 50s to the mid nineties before getting distressed, they grow pretty slowly once they reach a bit more than 2 1/2' long, just a few inches a year usually, both species max out at around 80" with the marmorata getting heavier bodied. From the scattered spots my guess is that is the rheinhardtii. here are a couple pics of some larger individuals. Oh yeah, like american eels they are easy to feed, small fish, crays, shrimp, pellets, worms, cut up seafood. Pretty much anything. the one picture is from fishbase, the closeup is from a Tasmanian government site.

[Filthy Sanchez]

Thanks guppy, 80" is a bit bigger than I was hoping for though.

[guppy]

That is very rare, 60" is more likely and you have about 15-20 years to get ready for that size.