fire eel question
- Thread starter matthewkingoftheworld
- Start date
ScatMan;4197969; said:
What they both said.. earthworms and frequent water changes will deffinately stimulate growth in these guys. and ime w/ fire eels if they are reclusive as yours seems to be in the time you've had it.. You've got some form of aggro keeping it from settleing into the tank.. and this can wear on a fish. I do 2 25% WCs a week on my fire eels tank.. and feed them daily as many worms as they can eat. they are thick and very rambunctious, You step into the room and they are out investigating and begging for food.
An inch a month? Ok, got him at 4" hes now 14" 14-4=10" growthLoves severums;4188367; said:
Had him for 2 yrs at a growth rate of 1 " per month... 24 months x 1" per month = 24" growth + 4" original =... I'm confused.
Did you cut half of him off? (J/K)
Ok, I have noticed that some fire eals don't seem to grow well. Do you know how long the person/LFS had him? They are not a fish that always sells quick and can be one that is often forgot about in a store full of fish darting around tanks. I've had them living inside sponge filters for months not realizing they were there. Then one day while redoing a tank an eel falls out of the sponge filter, "when did we get these in?" These fish still did well, but never seemed to grow as quick as a freshly imported baby with an appetite. What I'm getting at is your fish may be stunted.
The feeding could also be the case. Once they are comfortable they will even begin to beg for food. Mine chases down and steals hikari aro sticks before the arowana can even get there. Is this the norm? Probably not, but it is not uncommon, that is for sure. So maybe change a few tank mates, always keep water parameters in check, temp, and just have faith that he will come around.
i have a 220 tank as well as two 60g's. the eel isnt going in the big tank at that size, he'll end up a snack and he's like a little puppy to me and i'd hate to fling him in and him get munched. which has happened on a couple of gambles. when i get a bigger tank he is more than welcome to the 220.
since i started this thread ive been feeding him more and not so much hand feeding him but putting the food near him. i watched him today eat 6 small prawns. i think if keep doing this daily he should start to get bigger.
interesting theory about 'stunting', ive no idea how long he was in the tank before i bought him.
i'll feed him like this for a week and i'll see if there has been any difference. i have several new fish in my assoreted tanks and i can see growth in the already, thats why my eel is annoying me so much.
since i started this thread ive been feeding him more and not so much hand feeding him but putting the food near him. i watched him today eat 6 small prawns. i think if keep doing this daily he should start to get bigger.
interesting theory about 'stunting', ive no idea how long he was in the tank before i bought him.
i'll feed him like this for a week and i'll see if there has been any difference. i have several new fish in my assoreted tanks and i can see growth in the already, thats why my eel is annoying me so much.
matthewkingoftheworld;4199531; said:
they take years to get huge. so be patient. i got mine when he was 3" and now hes 14".
You aren't feeding enough and you aren't being patient. you won't see growth in a week... feed him like this for 6 months or something
I kind of agree. I think he should probably start to see a difference in its growth at least within 3 months, but I also think he should keep feeding it like this permanently, not just for a set amount of time, otherwise it could just end up being underfed again. And to the OP (if you don't already know), you will also need to increase feeding as it grows. I have a 13-14" TT eel and it gets a handfull of frozen krill about 5 days a week.dbcb314;4199556; said:
as regards feeding i dont generally feed individual fish. throw the food in the tank. bish bosh bash fish go mental, food is eaten. the fire eel is different. i could put food in all day and the only way i could garentee he'd eat is by putting it in his mouth. saying that, since i began this post he has been coming out of his den and getting the food. he really only swims about at night. is this normal?
