American Eel

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Hmm - dont know where I came up with that idea, but it would appear that you are right.

Here is some good reading from the nanfa site: http://www.nanfa.org/fif/Ameel.shtml

And an article on their captive care: http://www.nanfa.org/captivecare/american_eel.shtml

Lets fill this thread up with pictures, testimonies, information etc...and hopefully it will sticky or something.

Thanks.

That being said - what you said about size earlier appears to be increadibly varied. "Land Locked" eels get much larger, apparently also with no sexual dimorphism.
 
Seriously cool native fish - although native to Wisconsin they rarely are seen here due to the incredibly long journey they would have to take to make it.

On top of that they are well hidden in there habitats here - the luckiest people are East and Gulf Coast people who can catch them as they come back from spawning.
 
I see a few others want some - PM me if you actually want one, or several.
I just wish there were an easier way to distinguish them from European Eels - they are about 1-1 1/2 feet in length.
 
Just spoke with the guy - they don't come in until spring/summer. BUT, they are farmed, and are true Americans. Now that I know this, I'm definitely getting some!
 
Adult American eels Anguilla rostrata breed and then die in the Sargasso Sea. The young either swim east or west. Here in the North America, they show up along the coast line about this time of year (depending on location) as "glass eels" or elvers. They enter freshwater and spend the majority of their lives in rivers and lakes/ponds. Females typically head for lakes/ponds and spend upwards of 15-25 years in these environments and typically grow larger than males. Males will also head for lakes/ponds, but are also likely to spend their lives in rivers and don't grow quite as large.
As someone stated, their population is declining in North America and in other parts of the world do to, in part, over-fishing and loss of habitat. The elvers are caught and sent to China/Asia to be raised for food. Sub adults are caught for bait, especially for striped bass. Adults migrating back to the sea are also caught for food and eel skin products. They also face the challeng of hydro-facilities. Eels and turbines don't mix.
 
Xiao said:
I'm not keeping them anymore as they're not legal to own here, but I now keep Anguilla japonica, close enough I suppose. One of them (which I had to rescue from the other eel, was getting bullied to the point of starvation) is now extremely tame and will lift its head completely out of the water to feed from my hands. They're awesome fish.
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Where did you get your japonica from?
 
Good points spot fin.

If these are farmed it will truly be great news. Although I am un aware of anyone being able to farm A. rostrata...however the Japaneese have bred the asian eel I believe. Cool fish no matter what. The aussie one is awesome. (Why does australia have all these cool, weird, unique animals that they refuse to part with! Makes life difficult as a fish person)

Ozarker said:
The most recent issue of American Currents (the NANFA mag) has a cover story on the American Eel.
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Can you post a link? Im new to all this NANFA stuff.
 
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