Fire eel safety?

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Zkris28

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 25, 2019
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Hi all, long time lurker first time Poster!

I'm recently finishing building my 180g acryllic and 75 gallon sump, she's beautiful!
As of now I will be stocking with a few clown loaches, some angel fish, a very passive frontosa, an Oscar, ornate bichir and of course a fire eel at only 10 inches atm!

I was quite curious about my fire eel, as I've read general information stating the fire eel can be toxic to humans if bit, as well as the slime their pectoral fins produce.. Can anyone shed some light on this? I've read numerous forums here and elsewhere, and nobody has ever mentioned this. Can anyone verify this, and if so to what extent?

Keeping a saltwater tank for awhile I was aware that certain coral such as zoanthids were toxic to an extent , however these warning were fairly easily accessible and states upon sale, Etc.

I like to be hands in with my tanks, constantly cleaning and re-scaping my aquaria and just want to be sure whether or not I need to take certain precautions around my eel...

Tanks getting close to 'full completion' and the rest the fish will be added soon!

Thanks all!

IMG_20190225_021510.jpg
 
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Don’t recall them being toxic.
 
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Zkris28 said:
Hi all, long time lurker first time Poster!

I'm recently finishing building my 180g acryllic and 75 gallon sump, she's beautiful!
As of now I will be stocking with a few clown loaches, some angel fish, a very passive frontosa, an Oscar, ornate bichir and of course a fire eel at only 10 inches atm!

I was quite curious about my fire eel, as I've read general information stating the fire eel can be toxic to humans if bit, as well as the slime their pectoral fins produce.. Can anyone shed some light on this? I've read numerous forums here and elsewhere, and nobody has ever mentioned this. Can anyone verify this, and if so to what extent?

Keeping a saltwater tank for awhile I was aware that certain coral such as zoanthids were toxic to an extent , however these warning were fairly easily accessible and states upon sale, Etc.

I like to be hands in with my tanks, constantly cleaning and re-scaping my aquaria and just want to be sure whether or not I need to take certain precautions around my eel...

Tanks getting close to 'full completion' and the rest the fish will be added soon!

Thanks all!

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That's a nice tank

I think you're confusing a fire eel with may be the pterois species.

Mastacembalus erythrotaenia first off have teeth similar to that of catfish, mine are so damn tame, that they would never let me put my hand in, without biting and checking if it was food.

And about their pectoral fins, they are soft rayed fins, so there's no way they can even scratch human skin, no matter how soft it was.
 
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Shy and secretive, the fire eel may bury itself completely beneath the substrate, or lie in rest with only its snout extending from the sediments. If alarmed, it can quickly retreat into the bottoms. All of the mastacembelid eels have some ability to breath air, a valuable adaptation for an animal in a warm, muddy, sometimes hypoxic environment; rather than using the air bladder for this purpose, they instead rely on gas exchange that takes place through a protective slime layer over their simple gills.
 
Nothing to worry about. They cannot harm you.

Lol, my wife had to pick one of my 24” fire eels off the floor and put it back in my tank when it jumped out. I was a half hour away from home when it happened. She was not happy.
 
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NoobAquarist said:
Copy and pasted:

Shy and secretive, the fire eel may bury itself completely beneath the substrate, or lie in rest with only its snout extending from the sediments. If alarmed, it can quickly retreat into the bottoms. All of the mastacembelid eels have some ability to breath air, a valuable adaptation for an animal in a warm, muddy, sometimes hypoxic environment; rather than using the air bladder for this purpose, they instead rely on gas exchange that takes place through a protective slime layer over their simple gills.
Click to expand...
Very interesting,
 
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