Electric eel breeding

[williesax]

I was thinking of getting a couple of electric eels for my future store me and a friend are doing, my question is how hard would it be to breed electric eels?
I already know that a juvinile could give a mild shock and the full grown one's that can get up to 8 feet give out around 500 volts, and that is anuff to knock you out and back a few feet.

[guppy]

Hiya Williesax, welcome to MFK! I am going to have to watch this thread in case anyone knows. I have never heard of anyone ever captive breeding them. aAt the very least you will need a huge tank or indoor pond, something like 50 gallons minimum for each foot of length for each eel so 1200-1500g for a pair, bigger if possible. I don't even know how to tell the sexes apart.
Given where they are from I would give their home lots of cover like plants, driftwood, and overhangs, with a fine gravel bottom in case they are nesters or stick their eggs to things.
I would also, after conditioning them with high protien foods, raise the temp to 85-88 degrees F. and let the water hardness climb just a little for a couple weeks, then do a large water change lowering the hardness to normal and the water temp down to 78-82 degrees F. to simulate the start of the rainy season. There are a lot of amazonian fish that this works for.
I'll look around and see if I can find any info. Even if you never do this I am now curious to see if it has been done.

[Waldo]

Electrophorus electricus are not hard to breed given they are housed properly. The substrate needs to be made of sand which the male will build a nest in. Female will have to be removed after the laying of the eggs. Male will gard the fry until they are free swimming. These are about as hardy of fish as your going to get but mind you to strap the lid down as they will knock a loose one off. The first electric eel was 2' and jumped out onto the basement floor. It smelled of burned rubber and was not a pleasent experience...
What size do you want to start with? We can bring them in from 6"- 5ft

[williesax]

[B]I am going to start them at or around 6" - a foot. Thanks for the advise "guppy & waldo" before i do the electric eel my frriend and soon to be co- owner of the store is breeding maroon clown fish were starting them in a couple weeks. but thanks for all the advice i will remeber it when i go to start breeding, and i havent herd of anyone captive breeding them, there mostly wild caught, thanks guys

[williesax]

hey im not shure if you guys are into reptiles at all, but were thinking of getting a green andaconda for one of our display tanks, and my female berm. python is going to be in the other tank, there awsome.

[piranha45]

everyone says anacondas are extremely mean and hard to handle

[seighten]

am from michigan... lansing to be exact. you planning on this store being in flint?? hmm, interesting....

besides disposition, anacondas are some of the most massive size-wise for relative length... comes into play as far as housing needs, feeding, "handling" etc.... is a cool display, seen one in the zoo in indianapolis in. but, are some serious things to consider before doing..!!!

good luck with your store!!

[Waldo]

Make sure you keep your anaconda in it's cage. I don't wanna see any little anaconda's in my stomping grounds.

[Vince]

This is very interesting. Did someone say a 1200 gallon tank? DAMN!

[Waldo]

Ponds are a great idea if at all possible. They like to do the swamps. Just use a lighter color substrate so you can see them.

[shoefreak03]

just out of curosity, if the electric eels can emit electricity throught the water, how do you do water changes or stick you hand in the tank, would you be shocked. these seem interesting creatures and would love to try to raise one someday.

[Vince]

just out of curosity, if the electric eels can emit electricity throught the water, how do you do water changes or stick you hand in the tank, would you be shocked. these seem interesting creatures and would love to try to raise one someday.
Yes they emit electrical charges, but only by self defense, and by stunning their prey. When making water changes, make sure you DO NOT touch the fish. One kid working in a fish store netted the electric catfish and tried to touch it to put into the bag. He had a rude awakening. Plus the eels live in water that is stagnant, or poor water quality. They breath air, just like lungfish and such.

[shoefreak03]

so it doesnt emit electricity through the water???

[williesax]

yea i know there massive and when they get 30 foot you dont handle them and feeding isnt as bad as everyone thinks, accually everything isnt as bad as everyone thinks, and the store might be in flint but were not shure were looking around for buildings in different locations.

[williesax]

they do emmit electricity through the water, and dedpending on the size they can put out enough to nock you back on your ass and give you a concution, but as far as handling them you dont and as far as water changes you net them and put them in another tank or a large bucket, and its easy to get them out of the tank, when there up for air or just chilling out there ussually in the corner of the tang all you do is fish them out just watch out for your hands for being shocked or bit. thanks for all your comments

[BGG]

Good info here so far. "E-eels" are very personable fish and typically differentiate between their owners and other people. I kept one several years ago and I didn't get shocked once for the 3 years that I had it. I would go with the swamp-like pond approach to brreding them. And, with e-eels you're already at an advantage compared to other Gymnotid knives, as all of the other Gymnotids (Electrophorus electricus and the genus Gymnotus make up the gymnotids, there are also several other knife families) are very aggressive towards each other while e-eels can be kept together without problems. Andre, I'm going to shoot you a PM about the e-eels... I'm back in the market for some. :D

[Sixx101]

I would do the pond approach as breeding is always done better with more surface area.

[TaratronVaeVictus]

So how does one sex an electric eel?