Striped eel or tire track eel or...

[Matteus]

so I have had my eye on eels for the last few months but not really expecting to get one seeing the prices. Today visiting a friend who started a new lfs I saw these little guys for $10 for a striped eel and $16 for a tire track eel.made the mistake of asking about them..
They instructed me that the striped eel only grew about 1’ but the tire track is a bit more.i can’t seem to find any info or even pics of a fw striped eel? Looks like the tt gets closer to 2’. So I asked the guy to pick me out the biggest sptriped so I could try it out with a cheaper eel, looks to me like the one I ended up with is looking more like the tt. But I’m brand new so just wondering if anyone here knows about these guys. I know I shouldn’t impulse buy fish but I plan to give it the best home possible.


I am familiar with the basics of eels and large size, scale less, cover everything up top even lower the water level etc. They seem to be carnivores and typically start on frozen or live then can be trained to take pellets. I’m fine with all this, if there is anything that I missed please feel free to let me know.

 

[Matteus]

 

[Matteus]

I took these pics because I had a feeling I would never see it again...

Unfortunately these pics still really suck and don’t really showcase the colours or markings well. And I can see it but it will never show up on camera as it’s hiding very well in the driftwood in my tank. Will update with more pics as soon as I get them.

 

[Matteus]

My guess is tire track but I would be happy to be corrected if wrong. I like the pattern reminds me of a python I used to have.

SharptoothBass T thefredpit , you guys seem to know your stuff here. Any thoughts?

 

[Joshomaru]

Such a cool looking weirdo!
And the eel is cool looking, too....

 

[SharptoothBass]

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My guess is tire track but I would be happy to be corrected if wrong. I like the pattern reminds me of a python I used to have.

SharptoothBass T thefredpit , you guys seem to know your stuff here. Any thoughts?

TT

 

[Rob909]

Yes, definitely a tire track. I don’t know how big your system is but I really love fire eels! Your tire track will burrow under the gravel and sharp gravel could lead to injury. Sand is recommended but I’ve seen them live fine on gravel. If you can’t find it, look for just the little nose poking out of your gravel.
I don’t have experience feeding tire track eels, but if they’re as picky as fire eels, good luck getting it on pellets!!! I hand feed my eel and it makes it much easier to trick him into trying new foods but pellets are still a no-go! Can’t wait to see updates on the growth!

 

[Matteus]

Great thanks guys. This is my 70 gal grow out. The substrate is mostly sand but some is a bit heavier grain. Once it is big enough my 180 has straight sand. When these guys are big can they go with chichlas? I have seen fire eels with them before but not sure if I have seen tt with the bass. I assume it would be fine once big enough..

 

[Rob909]

I’d say with extreme caution. I’ll look for the photo, but it was a p bass with a big clown knife sticking out of its mouth. Ever fish for bass? They love worms lol. That eel would have to be pretty much full size. The spines on the fins would help but it’s no guarantee.

 

[Matteus]

I’d say with extreme caution. I’ll look for the photo, but it was a p bass with a big clown knife sticking out of its mouth. Ever fish for bass? They love worms lol. That eel would have to be pretty much full size. The spines on the fins would help but it’s no guarantee.

Yes I am seeing this already playing out. It’s crusing around the tank quite fearlessly and the larger bass are very curious to it’s worminess. I was originally planning to move the bass to the big tank next week but I might do it today to hopefully avoid any incident. The eel is between 1-2” longer than the bass but I don’t know if they really care about that. Lol