Fire eel

The camaro show

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 13, 2017
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so guys I got a few new fish I went up to get a gold nugget pleco ($60) and ended up also getting a fire eel I have been wanting for a long time ($50) and a pair of red head geophagus ($60) and my fire eel ate the day I got him and was active but now he's hiding inside a decoration all I can see is his mouth anyway to get him from hiding?
 

Angelphish

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Dec 13, 2015
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Georgia
so guys I got a few new fish I went up to get a gold nugget pleco ($60) and ended up also getting a fire eel I have been wanting for a long time ($50) and a pair of red head geophagus ($60) and my fire eel ate the day I got him and was active but now he's hiding inside a decoration all I can see is his mouth anyway to get him from hiding?
Fish Tank Travis Fish Tank Travis
 

Fish Tank Travis

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2016
3,277
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Dayton, OH
so guys I got a few new fish I went up to get a gold nugget pleco ($60) and ended up also getting a fire eel I have been wanting for a long time ($50) and a pair of red head geophagus ($60) and my fire eel ate the day I got him and was active but now he's hiding inside a decoration all I can see is his mouth anyway to get him from hiding?
About all you can do is remove the decorations that he can hide in. I have three of them and they all hide all day long, but they start to come out as soon as it starts getting dark.

How big is the fire eel you got and how big is the tank you have for it?

It's great that you already got it to eat. What are you feeding it? Does it come out of the decoration to eat?
 

Fish Tank Travis

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2016
3,277
2,157
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Dayton, OH
He's about 7-8 inches and it's a 90 gallon tank with about a 30 gallon sump I feed it frozen blood worms out of a turkey baster and it hasn't yet he only sticks his head out of the decoration
Mine would come out in the late evening but they also had the tank all to themselves, so there were no other fish to spook them. If it's eating, I wouldn't worry much. It will come out when it starts to get bigger and more comfortable. You can try feeding it red wigglers and see if it will take those. It's best to get it on a variety of foods but that can take time and some of these guys are so stubborn that they never end up taking any other foods.

Just make sure there aren't any decorations that it can become trapped in. It's possible that as they grow, the holes to their hiding spots might become too small and eventually they might not be able to get out.

As far as tank size goes, you will probably need a larger tank for it within the next year or two. Once these guys start eating, which yours already has, they start growing a lot. Within two years it could easily be 24" long, and will still have a ways to go. They usually grow to around 30", but it's not at all uncommon to see them reach up to 40". A 90 gallon is just not big enough for it as it grows that large.
 
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