Peacock eel tank - Does it work?

[Catnkit]

I want to have:

2 Peacocks (currently 5" each)
A few Kuhli loaches (3" each)
A few dwarf aqautic frogs
and a few guppies.
Some small shrimp (food/deco)

They'd be in a 20g long, and I'd plan on keeping the eels in there if they stay on the smaller range of the peacock scale (6-12"). I have them in there now with a spattering of each other fish/frog, and so far they seem to have no problems with the others (I caught one eel and the frog poking their heads out of the little hut in there for them, and a kuhli poking his head out moments later. No guppies are missing).

Does this work (at least for a year or two), and how many of each can I have?

I do 30% waterchanges/gravel siphons each week and all my tanks have crystal clear conditions. Still a noob though.

Thanks!

 

[MonsterMinis]

You are tempting fate imo... I've found peacocks to be voraciouse eaters.. anything capable of fitting in their mouth is food. and imo a 20L isn't suitible for more then 1 long-term. you will likely run into aggression issues between the 2 spineys at some point. any of the tank-mates you listed are potential prey, I've seen spineys eat all of them in the past. approx 8-10" is when you'll run into problems if not sooner i'd guess. I have had good luck keeping platies and swordtails with small spineys w/out issues, the spineys will eat any fry born but the adults are to large to eat so are left alone entirely. I've also had good luck with Bumble bee catfish as a scavenger w/ my small spineys. adult dwarf frogs may be big enough... but imo not suitable for mixing with fish in general.

 

[Catnkit]

But 8-10" is too big by my standards to have them in that tank at all, in my post I mentioned they'll only be staying in there if they stay small. I've seen people say PCs can stay around 6-7", so if that's true they should be okay, right?

I thought PCs were the only eel that could be okay with groups? Well, I guess if there's any aggression or if they don't seem to bother the other fish when they're bigger I can move 1 over to the big tank... maybe?

Cat

Edit - I do like swordtails...

 

[MonsterMinis]

zig zags are the smallest and are often confused with peacocks. I would double check the eel sticky to ID what species for sure if you haven't already. zig zags do well in groups ime and are done growing in the 6" range generally. I have seen them larger but not commonly. It is very very common for spineys to be mis-lableed at lfs. if this is the case then your set-up should work okay. you may lose either some smaller fish or shrimp.. but it's unlikely they would eat everything like a peacock would.

 

[terreldactyl]

I would recommend a larger tank. I have one peacock eel at about 8 inches in a 55 Gallon and he is alllll over the tank. They will be much happier with a longer or wider tank. The tank mates seem fine except for the shrimp. I keep my eel fed about 1.5 to 2 troutworms every day at night and he doesnt seem to bother any of the other tank mates(so far).

 

[Catnkit]

I got peacocks because I read all over the place that they're the smallest, and that Zigzags get huge. Why must there be so much conflict over a supposedly proven fact? So frustrating. >< Some sites say peacocks max at 16", 12", 8", 6", others say zig zags max at 2 feet, 18", 14", 8", etc etc etc. Blah. Whatever, I have what I have and I'll love them all the same.

Alright, if anybody is still reading this, how about this setup:

2 Peacocks until 7" then into the big tank (current 4-5") (or one in each tank?)
7 Kuhli loaches (current 3")
3 Dwarf aqua-froggies (1")
1 Bushy pleco (current 3/4 of an inch)
Shrimp and guppy fry (deco/food)