So I went to my lfs yesterday to buy feeders and I'm walking around and I see a tank with peacock eels and tire track eels. They were all about 3-4". The employees couldn't tell the difference when they were that young so I picked one with a darker pattern than the others. I will post a pic this evening so y'all can Id it. My main question is what is the best thing to feed a 4" eel? The lfs said they were doing earthworms but haven't had worms in a while so she's just been dropping in pellets. I know I should have asked to see them eat but I couldn't resist. So far he has been out and about wondering my tank and swimming through logs and rocks showing no fear to any of my other fish or even myself when I get close to the tank. Thanks for any help!
Got me a tire track!
- Thread starter Dahawkster15
- Start date
Live black worms will grow them up fast, once big enough nightcrawlers cut up do wonders. frozen bloodworms will keep them alive if you can't find live blackworms, but shouldn't be used long term. frozen krill, and mysis shrimp also sometimes work. a true TT isn't a finicky eater as long as its meaty and invertibrate based. my old tt also ate feeder guppies ect readily.
Ok what about red wigglers? I'm going to bait shop tonight to see what they have. Is there a way to tell if I have a peacock or tire track besides just appearance? As in behavior? I will also post a pic this evening to see if y'all can tell what it is. Besides my FLG he is my new favorite fish haha. He's awesome. And the usually grow longer and then get plump or do they usually grow wider and longer about the same pace? Thanks!
Peacock's have the "spots" on the back fin, while Tire tracks have a more mottled brown with pattern look. TT's bellys look awesome when they get bigger (white w/ black tracks). Red Wigglers will work fine, he or she will go nuts. I hand feed mine...he eats earthworms, nightcrawlers at the moment. Never tried anything else as he just gobbles those up. Mine is actually too big for the tipped over tiki head he's living in...it's pretty comical. His tail is on one side, face on the other...the body is inside. He rarely comes out...usually just leaving his head out and enjoying the scenery. He'll come to the glass every once in a while when he sees me walk past.
If I look closely at his back fins I can very faintly see somewhat round spots, but the tricky thing is if I look closely at his body I can somewhat see a tire track pattern, but his body is too dark for me to tell. And mine has already found his favorite log. He will poke his head out and look around then go back in and repeat the process all day haha.
it can seem that a tire track has some spotting on it's tail, but it's the pattern...a peacock will have 4 dots on the fins (upper part) that are white outlined black spots. Similar to a peacock. Google Tire Track and peacock eels...you'll find pics. You'll know in about 2 months as peacock eels don't usually get larger than 6-8"...Tire Tracks will blow'd it up. They'll hit 3 feet and be beasts. They aren't as outgoing as fire eels, but they are fun. Peacocks are fairly fragile, so watch his behavior and make sure he's eating. I've had people tell me Tire Tracks are brackish, but mines been in straight freshwater for awhile (+1 year) and doesn't seem to stop growing.
Haha yeah. I want a tire track not a peacock. I really think it is a tire track. I hope they aren't brackish because I have no plans for a brackish tank haha
