Fire eel and Aus lungfish
- Thread starter Jimr
- Start date
I had a single Fire Eel for years, and it started out shy but quickly became a greedy and aggressive eater. What little I have read about the Aus Lungfish seems to indicate that they are slow and clumsy feeders. I would think that a Fire Eel would outcompete the lungfish and gradually stress and starve it.
Considering the rarity and cost of an AUL, I personally would not even consider risking a small one like that with any tankmates.
Considering the rarity and cost of an AUL, I personally would not even consider risking a small one like that with any tankmates.
I'm just guessing that you haven't had that eel for very long. Xanthism is just a colouration; a xanthic eel shouldn't have any different behaviour than a normal one, other than the normal slight variation from one individual to another. My own experience with Fire Eels is limited to just one fish, and he quickly developed into a bold, aggressive feeder. Another one, bought at the same time by a friend, followed that same type of progression, i.e. started out as a shy retiring little recluse but grew rapidly into an active, overbearing in-your-face eating machine.
Those two eels also grew fast, whereas the AUL is apparently a slow-growing species.
So, yeah, definitely keep a close eye on these two if you place them together, not just at first but as an ongoing thing as they grow and mature. Good luck, I hope you keep us posted. That AUL is a dream fish of mine, but will certainly remain so; I can't realistically imagine that I'll ever own one, so I need to live vicariously through keepers like you.
