Electric eel
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The Electric eel
The Electric eel from the Amazon packs a punch, but this is offset by its gracious movement and sheer beauty says Richard Hardwick, who just happens to have two at home!
Copyright © Practical Fishkeeping
The Electric eel, Electrophorus electricus, is an extremely beautiful species, but it is also a dangerous one and requires expert handling.
It is a widespread species throughout the Amazon, notably Peru, Brazil, Guiana and Venezuela, where it prefers weedy backwaters and swamp areas.
The name 'Electric eel' is a little misleading because this is actually a huge knifefish belonging to the family Gymnotidae.
It does, however, possess great power and can produce a sudden burst of electricity capable of knocking a man off his feet - the voltage is said to be around 300V at 1 Amp per metre of fish!
This electricity is created by a series of "electroplates" in much the same way as a car battery. These run the length of the body and are divided into three organs: the main and hunter's organ both produce powerful shocks while the navigator organ, known as the sach's organ, produces a weak electrical field, giving it a 3D image of its surroundings.
The Electric eel usually only delivers a shock to either stun its prey or in self-defence. And it then needs a good many hours to recharge before it can do so again.
I recently acquired a 76cm/30" specimen which I decided to house with my established specimen of 105cm/42". They are living happily together, although one is much stockier and shorter than the other, which makes me wonder if I've been lucky and have a true pair.
If you do decide to take on one of these fish, it is important to use as much protection as you can. Wear rubber gloves and use a large net with a wooden or plastic stick. Providing the handle remains dry, the current cannot be conducted through to your body.
Once settled, they tend not to give out electric shocks. On the odd occasion I have been 'buzzed', which is nothing more than a warning and a slight vibration up the arm.
Their base colour is generally dark brown with silvery, white spots running down the body. Juveniles have a pale brown underjaw. This usually gives way to a slightly more pleasing dull orange in adult fish. With its long undulating anal fin and graceful movements, it makes for an impressive sight indeed.
Bizarrely, all the vital organs in this fish are neatly compacted together just behind the head - even its vent is well forward of the pectoral fins on the underside. It is fair to say that both the head and gut area only make up around 15-20% of the total length of the fish.
Scientists have found that they can regenerate not only body tissue but bone as well. This is being studied in the hope it will help the medical profession. And native Indians use the fatty insulating tissue surrounding the electroplates as a rub-on cure for arthritis.
Little is known about reproductive behaviour. What is known is that males fight aggressively among themselves for the right to mate with a female.
Fact file
Common name: Electric eel
Scientific name: Electrophorus electricus
Family: Gymnotidae
Size: Potentially over 2m/6'6"
Origin: It is a widespread species throughout the Amazon, notably Peru, Brazil, Guiana and Venezuela, where it prefers weedy backwaters and swamp areas.
Guide price: Rarely imported, so prices depend on availability.
Aquarium care: The Electric eel can be kept singly or as a group of three or more, depending on the aquarium size. For a single fish, I suggest a 1.8m x 60cm x 60cm/6' x 2' x 2' as a minimum. Anything more would obviously require a much larger unit with a filter system to match.
Dimly-lit tanks suit them best with a soft sand substrate decorated with tree roots and beech branches. Tight-fitting covers are a good idea, but just make sure there is enough room between them and the water surface for breathing purposes.
Good filtration is essential to break down the capacious amounts of ammonia produced. However, a steady flow is all that is needed because the Electric eel takes 70% of its oxygen by breathing atmospheric air. This is achieved by an accessory breathing organ, situated in the roof of the mouth, that is supplied with blood vessels to distribute oxygen around the body.
Water: Ideally, soft or neutral.
Diet: These fish have huge mouths and appetites, feed on large sprats, mussels, cockles and occasionally sinking pellets. Although they are nocturnal, they soon become accustomed to being fed during the day, even taking food from their keeper's fingers - believe it or not, they do make great pets!
This article was first published in the December 2003 issue of the Practical Fishkeeping Magazine.
The Electric eel from the Amazon packs a punch, but this is offset by its gracious movement and sheer beauty says Richard Hardwick, who just happens to have two at home!
Copyright © Practical Fishkeeping
The Electric eel, Electrophorus electricus, is an extremely beautiful species, but it is also a dangerous one and requires expert handling.
It is a widespread species throughout the Amazon, notably Peru, Brazil, Guiana and Venezuela, where it prefers weedy backwaters and swamp areas.
The name 'Electric eel' is a little misleading because this is actually a huge knifefish belonging to the family Gymnotidae.
It does, however, possess great power and can produce a sudden burst of electricity capable of knocking a man off his feet - the voltage is said to be around 300V at 1 Amp per metre of fish!
This electricity is created by a series of "electroplates" in much the same way as a car battery. These run the length of the body and are divided into three organs: the main and hunter's organ both produce powerful shocks while the navigator organ, known as the sach's organ, produces a weak electrical field, giving it a 3D image of its surroundings.
The Electric eel usually only delivers a shock to either stun its prey or in self-defence. And it then needs a good many hours to recharge before it can do so again.
I recently acquired a 76cm/30" specimen which I decided to house with my established specimen of 105cm/42". They are living happily together, although one is much stockier and shorter than the other, which makes me wonder if I've been lucky and have a true pair.
If you do decide to take on one of these fish, it is important to use as much protection as you can. Wear rubber gloves and use a large net with a wooden or plastic stick. Providing the handle remains dry, the current cannot be conducted through to your body.
Once settled, they tend not to give out electric shocks. On the odd occasion I have been 'buzzed', which is nothing more than a warning and a slight vibration up the arm.
Their base colour is generally dark brown with silvery, white spots running down the body. Juveniles have a pale brown underjaw. This usually gives way to a slightly more pleasing dull orange in adult fish. With its long undulating anal fin and graceful movements, it makes for an impressive sight indeed.
Bizarrely, all the vital organs in this fish are neatly compacted together just behind the head - even its vent is well forward of the pectoral fins on the underside. It is fair to say that both the head and gut area only make up around 15-20% of the total length of the fish.
Scientists have found that they can regenerate not only body tissue but bone as well. This is being studied in the hope it will help the medical profession. And native Indians use the fatty insulating tissue surrounding the electroplates as a rub-on cure for arthritis.
Little is known about reproductive behaviour. What is known is that males fight aggressively among themselves for the right to mate with a female.
Fact file
Common name: Electric eel
Scientific name: Electrophorus electricus
Family: Gymnotidae
Size: Potentially over 2m/6'6"
Origin: It is a widespread species throughout the Amazon, notably Peru, Brazil, Guiana and Venezuela, where it prefers weedy backwaters and swamp areas.
Guide price: Rarely imported, so prices depend on availability.
Aquarium care: The Electric eel can be kept singly or as a group of three or more, depending on the aquarium size. For a single fish, I suggest a 1.8m x 60cm x 60cm/6' x 2' x 2' as a minimum. Anything more would obviously require a much larger unit with a filter system to match.
Dimly-lit tanks suit them best with a soft sand substrate decorated with tree roots and beech branches. Tight-fitting covers are a good idea, but just make sure there is enough room between them and the water surface for breathing purposes.
Good filtration is essential to break down the capacious amounts of ammonia produced. However, a steady flow is all that is needed because the Electric eel takes 70% of its oxygen by breathing atmospheric air. This is achieved by an accessory breathing organ, situated in the roof of the mouth, that is supplied with blood vessels to distribute oxygen around the body.
Water: Ideally, soft or neutral.
Diet: These fish have huge mouths and appetites, feed on large sprats, mussels, cockles and occasionally sinking pellets. Although they are nocturnal, they soon become accustomed to being fed during the day, even taking food from their keeper's fingers - believe it or not, they do make great pets!
This article was first published in the December 2003 issue of the Practical Fishkeeping Magazine.
^^^^Heh, wow. I have experience, so I'll just say that you need a really big tank. But Oddball covered most of it.
oddball...
Could you post some pics, I would love to see them and I'm sure everyone else would too. They sound really cool.
Could you post some pics, I would love to see them and I'm sure everyone else would too. They sound really cool.