My 27" fire eel escaped yesterday

[Wet Whiskers]

That's a close one! Glad that he made it! I told you, that's an eel! Fish doesn't move. Fish flop!

Hahaha. You're funny, but I'm still right! Seriously though, it was freaky to watch him move just like a snake. I would be really interested in getting video of one moving out of the water for comparison, but I'd never pull my guys out to do so, obviously. I mean I felt like I was watching my old red tailed boa. While all this was going on, part of my brain was thinking about how amazing it was that I was staring at convergent evolution between the true eels, snakes, and these fish. Did you know there is even a legless lizard, Anniella pulchra, that most of us would swear was a snake?

Sorry, you're giving me a hard time, and probably dont care at all, but I thought it was so cool!

 

[dodgefreak8]

do you have any picks of this guy??

 

[Wet Whiskers]

do you have any picks of this guy??

Not real current ones. I'll try to grab some tonight when I feed. Norbert isn't the looker of my three, but he's the biggest. The others have much more color and are catching up fast. Norbert came home because of his awesome, friendly personality. He was an emaciated 18" when we got him. We got him all fattened up and then he started growing again. My two younger ones were 7" tops when I got then two years ago. They are now 23 and 24+", and growing. Each one has a different personality. Norbert is the most chill and watchful. Not sure how old he is. Captian Jack is the intense, fat pig. He's a garbage disposal for a fire eel and his size and growth reflect it. Kelso is the best looking, and he's the smallest, though he just went through a growth spurt and seems to be catching up. Because of his size he's always been a ever so slightly over powered during feeding time. I try very hard to make sure he gets his share. As he's catching up, it will be interesting to see how his scrappy personality evolves. They are very peaceful with each other still. They're in a 180 gallon now and will be moved to the 600 once I build my pond for the catfish.

I'm starting to move, so I'll see if I can find some time/energy to get some photos up.

 

[kjfan1]

X2 on the pics

 

[Wet Whiskers]

Sorry about no pics yet. I can tell my time is just going to get eaten up like crazy right now. However, I at least can report that Norbert doesn't even look like anything happened. He's eating well, and I can't even see a scratch on him. He got a water change today instead of you guys getting pics. I figured you'll live, he won't, so water change it was.

 

[tigrey]

wow your eel gets down, thats crazy he survived. thats what happens when you take your fish out to measure. ive seen so many people do it on mfk imo i think it is dumb to stress out the fish for a measurement.

 

[Wet Whiskers]

wow your eel gets down, thats crazy he survived. thats what happens when you take your fish out to measure. ive seen so many people do it on mfk imo i think it is dumb to stress out the fish for a measurement.[/]

???? I had to take a tin foil barb out to measure him to sell him and four others?!? How is that dumb? Norbert got out all on his own... It's not like I pulled out the measuring tape just to see how big it was. I needed to verify what I was selling.

 

[tigrey]

thats why you make sure you get good at measuring with your eyes, that is dumb because why not just look at the fish and take a guess instead of trying to take him out and tweaking out your other fish. common sense, just let your fish bee. you can also put a measuring tape next to your tank to give you a little clue if your off. next time you might wanna think about it before you actually do it.

 

[mamapuff]

thats why you make sure you get good at measuring with your eyes, that is dumb because why not just look at the fish and take a guess instead of trying to take him out and tweaking out your other fish. common sense, just let your fish bee. you can also put a measuring tape next to your tank to give you a little clue if your off. next time you might wanna think about it before you actually do it.

Err.. I bet if you take a poll of how many fishkeepers here have taken out a fish to measure, you would be a little surprised. If someone is going to pay a good chunk of change, they shouldn't have to rely on someones "eyeball" measurement. I have a horrible sense of judgment when it comes to that. I thought my RTC was at 9 inches, but doing a wc a few days ago, and massaging his gills (thanks Jenn), I measured him and holy moly I was off. He's 12.5 inches.....

Example: If you are getting a fished shipped to you that your buying, and say its a discus for example. The person you are buying from says it's a 7 inch discus, and you are paying $200 for it, and it arrives and its only 4 inches (which yes makes a difference in price......) most fishkeepers would be pi$$ed to pay that price for that size fish, when they were told something different.

If you knew the OP, even just from the forums, you would know what a fantastic fishkeeper she is. Please read the entire thread before you comment on something she didn't even do in the first place. Only after youmisinterpreted the thread did she state she did in order to give a buyer a measurement.

 

[kjfan1]

Pics Yet?