I caught it in the pond at the nature center yesterday, and I have a few questions. What can I feed it? How long do they live? How big can they really get, and how fast do they grow? Can he get along with bluegill, madtom catfish, or other native VA fish? Is there a way to tell its gender? I'm heading to the pet store today to get a filter, substrate, plants, and food, and I'll head to the local stream to grab some wood and rocks. I've done as much research as I could online, but theres not exactly a whole lot of info on them, not even here on MFK, I guess thats because most people consider them a 'trash fish'. I guess its fortunate that I can appreciate him/her, since I am a huge reptile geek and I'm absolutely fascinated by his snakelike movements. Anyway, this is my first ]\/[onster fish, so wish me luck!
Got me an American eel!
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I know a few people at http://forum.nanfa.org have kept them, you can try asking over there. From what I know of them, females get three to four feet long, while males stay smaller; they are very good escape artists and require a secure lid. They will eat any fish small enough to fit in their mouths.
Are you sure it's an eel? They aren't normally in ponds unless they've been put there by someone; they are more typically found in rivers and estuaries. There are some large eel-like salamanders in Virginia, including the lesser siren, greater siren, and two-toed amphiuma; I suspect you have one of those.
Post pictures if you can!
Are you sure it's an eel? They aren't normally in ponds unless they've been put there by someone; they are more typically found in rivers and estuaries. There are some large eel-like salamanders in Virginia, including the lesser siren, greater siren, and two-toed amphiuma; I suspect you have one of those.
Post pictures if you can!
they grow big. my dad cought 1 6 feet llong and as big around as his are. they need HUGE tanks.. they also need salt water. well i think its the females that live in salt water. im not 100% SURE. HERE find the info here
www.aqualandpetsplus.com
www.aqualandpetsplus.com
Sirens and amphiumas are quite different beasts 
I am 100% sure its an American eel, I am a huge nature geek and I know the local wildlife quite well. I work at the nature center and we have 3 of them on display, I see them all the time, but I dont interact with them as much as the other animals. Our pond is connected to a stream, which is quite full of eels, I've encountered 4 of them in there. I suspect it came into the pond travelling through, but was trapped when the water level lowered, now the nearest standing water in the stream is quite a distance away for an eel, even if they can travel over land a bit. It could have been placed there by someone, we do have people fishing there occasionally. Either way, its in a tank now
The tank is rougly 30 gallons, and is rather deep for its size, so I will not fill it up all the way, so for now it will be unable to get all the way out of the water. I'll take some pictures sometime this week after I set up the tank, right now its pretty bare and ugly. All I have in there is a rock with a hole through it with some floating pond plants and a fake plant I used to keep in my gecko tank, just as some temporary cover.
I am 100% sure its an American eel, I am a huge nature geek and I know the local wildlife quite well. I work at the nature center and we have 3 of them on display, I see them all the time, but I dont interact with them as much as the other animals. Our pond is connected to a stream, which is quite full of eels, I've encountered 4 of them in there. I suspect it came into the pond travelling through, but was trapped when the water level lowered, now the nearest standing water in the stream is quite a distance away for an eel, even if they can travel over land a bit. It could have been placed there by someone, we do have people fishing there occasionally. Either way, its in a tank now The tank is rougly 30 gallons, and is rather deep for its size, so I will not fill it up all the way, so for now it will be unable to get all the way out of the water. I'll take some pictures sometime this week after I set up the tank, right now its pretty bare and ugly. All I have in there is a rock with a hole through it with some floating pond plants and a fake plant I used to keep in my gecko tank, just as some temporary cover.
I'm not a big fan of aqualandpetsplus, the majority of their care sheets (at least for the reptiles) are absolutely horrid. I have read that link before, and just about all there is about them in 5 pages of a google search, and some surfing around this forum
By the way, right now he/she is only about 6-8 inches long.
By the way, right now he/she is only about 6-8 inches long.