30" fire eels
- Thread starter headbanger_jib
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Breathtaking beauties indeed, Jib! Such vivid colors and demeanor. Eye candy.
What have they been eating for you throughout the years with you? I tried my hand at a dozen of these, perhaps 5-6 times and always failed, mostly due to finicky feeding habits but the last time or two it appeared like some disease they contracted. Only the tire tracks and black spots have survived fine for me but they are of a very dark color, especially the tire tracks don't show their usual attractive pattern. My bottom is bare. I wonder if this is because of that. ... Let me rephrase it... The tank's bottom is bare...
What have they been eating for you throughout the years with you? I tried my hand at a dozen of these, perhaps 5-6 times and always failed, mostly due to finicky feeding habits but the last time or two it appeared like some disease they contracted. Only the tire tracks and black spots have survived fine for me but they are of a very dark color, especially the tire tracks don't show their usual attractive pattern. My bottom is bare. I wonder if this is because of that. ... Let me rephrase it... The tank's bottom is bare...
Thank you Viktor
They are difficult to feed and take a lot of time to settle down, when they are new.
It's imperative to keep em separate and get them on to regular food, before adding them to the main tank.
One of the best foods to give when they are new is, earthworms and live macrobrachium or neocaridina shrimp. As this would be their natural diet, they will feed without any issues.
They will like some tunnel like caves, I use hollow flooring tiles, that have big holes.
Out of the three that I grew for years, one of them took nearly three years before I got him to eat anything other than shrimp. Took another year to get the other two to eat fish fillet.
Transition was,
earthworms and live macrobrachium -> frozen macrobrachium -> fish fillet and pellets.
My training tank was also bare, and only had tunnel like caves.
Seeing yours makes me try again, perhaps starting with a dozen... With the last few I had success with frozen bloodworms - they took to it after a week or so with me, then started taking fish pieces in a few months on their own. I was so glad. At about a foot+, they developed some kind of disease, spinning out of control or not being able to swim, only float due to an air pocket inside or some such. It sucked.
The ones I tried before just wouldn't feed, no matter what I offered, and eventually starved to death. It's horrible to watch.
Have you noted any effect of the bottom on coloration? And also lighting? I keep mine pretty dim all the time and wonder if this is also why they are so dark and the pattern is unresolved. Here they are:
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...retrack-and-3-black-spot-2-in-240-gal.698735/
The ones I tried before just wouldn't feed, no matter what I offered, and eventually starved to death. It's horrible to watch.
Have you noted any effect of the bottom on coloration? And also lighting? I keep mine pretty dim all the time and wonder if this is also why they are so dark and the pattern is unresolved. Here they are:
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...retrack-and-3-black-spot-2-in-240-gal.698735/
I have a 26 incher. He won't touch earthworms but he loves krill and tilapia. Will even hand feed.
Saw that thread, you're a brave man, keeping a tig in a tank with so many rocks.
Very sad that you lost your fire eels after getting them on cut fish. What fish were you feeding them. In my experience some fish meat doesn't bode well, in my case clarius magir meat caused bloat and death of many bichirs, and this was with hardly 4-5 feedings.
The Color doesn't depend on the substrate Color or the brightness of light used in tank, they are not like tire tracks, these can get very bold and very friendly, mine are so aggressive during feeding, they would start pulling on the skin of my hand, if they didn't find the food immediately, they will also come out of the water at the top of I hold food. Not able to find that videoi had put on youtube.
