True freshwater eels?

[Jesse]

True eels (order Anguilliformes) have no pelvic fins and a fused dorsal/caudal/anal fin instead of three separate fins. Here's the fishbase order summary for Anguilliformes:

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/OrdersSummary.cfm?order=Anguilliformes

 

[guppy]

A couple of the worm or spaghetti eels are true freshwater and not catadromous, in addition to o the way they are finned and lacking pelvic bones they also have no gill arches, all the others are eel-like fish.

 

[wolverine]

EVERY BODY SAYS THERE IS NO SUTCH THING AS FRESH WATER MORAYS BUT I HAVE A EEL THAT LOOKS MORAY LIKE AND I BOUGHT HIM FROM A GUY WHO HAD HIM IN A FRESH WATER TANK FOR OVER A YEAR AND IVE HAD HIM FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS NOW

 

[wolverine]

BY THE WAY HE IS ABOUT 20 INCHES LONG

 

[rumblesushi]

That's a gymnothorax tile, sold as a freshwater moray but not a true freshwater fish. You're lucky it's been this long in freshwater, they usually get fungus and die.

Do you have any salt in the water?

 

[dr_sudz]

fire eels are part of the loach family. FYI

 

[wolverine]

no salt in the water it did take about 8 weeks for him to eat after i got him

 

[wolverine]

now he will only eat shrimp

 

[JardiniBoy]

fire eels are part of the loach family. FYI

Does that mean that they can be kept in fully freshwater setups?

JB

 

[guppy]

Fire eels prefer fully freshwater, they can tolerate very lightly brackish but are a FW species.
Wolverine, your eel will grow faster and be more resistant to infections if you add between 1-2 tablespoons of marine salt per 5 gallonsof water, they can go a long time in fresh but like violet gobies they do better with at least a little salt.