dat plus eel - advice needed

[hamfist]

Still adapting to my new (first) dat. He's a 5" IT.

He's already eating fish larger than I expected. Fat 2.5" platies are already "disappearing".

The advice I'm needing is for the safety of my Tanginyikan spiny eel, who I love dearly. THe eel is 9" long. Not as chunky as a fat fire eel , but fatter than something like a reedfish. In your experience are dats still attracted to eating eels, despite their length, or is that no barrier to their appetites ?

Would appreciate advice as I really do not want to lose this eel, but would also like to keep the eel in the same tank as the dat if possible. THese eels should top out somewhere around 12-15" BTW.

 

[hamfist]

not sure I described the size of the eel that well. Basically, it is slightly slimmer than the platies that have been eaten, but is obviously way, way longer.

 

[phillydog1958]

I have a dat in with a rope fish and I've had no problems. My rope is of average length and girth. The dat is about 8 inches and has good girth. It probably depends on what you're feeding and how often. My fish don't eat live foods. I feed them bloodworms, silversides, earthworms as treats, and frozen tilapia. If your dat is in the habit of picking off tank mates, you could have an issue.

 

[hamfist]

My rope is of average length and girth.

So, I'm guessing, about 12" ?

 

[prskiller]

I have a fire eel with 6 dats and have no problems. My ngt at 8" swims with my fire eel at night because he knows the eel gets fed at lights out so he tries to steal food from it. The eel is around 12" long.

 

[phillydog1958]

So, I'm guessing, about 12" ?

Yep. He's about a foot long.

 

[hamfist]

Hmmm. Sounds like I might be alright leaving the eel in with the datnoid then. Thanks for your replies guys !