New Fire Eel!!

[ravensfan73]

Hey guys,
I just got my self a Fire Eel for my 55. I know imma be flamed for it, but i plan on upgrading. It was some-what of an impulse buy, but I have always wanted one so I have researched it alot. It's pretty small, about 4-5in, and while i have heard that they are very finicky eaters especially when young (and new), he has already eaten some of the tilapia that i was planning on cooking for dinner. Just wanted to see what y'all think about it. I am really excited, and am open for any suggestions

 

[ravensfan73]

In the bag:

In the tank:

 

[aropwn]

WTF y are the pics so big

 

[ravensfan73]

idk. they upladed that big..hah

 

[fishfanatic80]

i would feed black worms or blood worms instead of tilapia and your right you will need a bigger tank

 

[ravensfan73]

He has been hiding recently and i have not seen him in 2 days. is this a problem, should i move him to his own tank for now, while he grows?

 

[pbass510]

i dont think you need to upgrade yet its pretty small like when i had mines in my 55g

 

[aropwn]

i dont think you need to upgrade yet its pretty small like when i had mines in my 55g

pbass510 r u still in the RTC compation or di you RTC die???

 

[lungfishlover]

i have a 4-5 inch fire eel too - it will hide a lot and are very finicky eaters - mine will only eat king tiger prawns lol!

 

[MonsterMinis]

most new spiney eels will hide.. they are also generally very docile fish. So aggressive tank-mates will also drive them into being very reclusive. Try offering food at night.. as for feeding... offer a wide array of foods if possible! My fires where very hard to intro to new foods once they decided on nothing but nightcrawlers. and atm my black spotteds love them as well. Tilapia is a good food as far as I'm aare to offer, but variety is key to success imo with any species. Fires seem to be more insectivorus then other fish, so on-top of the tilapia, bloodworms ( look at the nutrition content, and be wary of a eel that exclusively decided to take these. I've nevers een much good growth in spineys fed a majority.), live black worms, mysis shrimp.. and anything and everything you can try along those lines would be good to add. pellets are also very good imo to stuff into tilapia peices or other foods. to encourage a broad well-balanced diet for it. as it grows you may try adding nightcrawlers, and other larger invertibrate foods to it's diet.

I would be wary of adding fish to it's diet in excess, as this will likely encourage it to try and consume tank-mates possibly... I had a tire track that once eating fish... started hoovering anything that would fit into its mouth. If you plan on keeping it with smaller fish you may want to consider this, particualrly offering live.