Yes spineys ime dont do well with eachother, there are exceptions to the rule but they need their space. zig zags are imo the only spiney that do "good" in groups and other do best in groups... but most get 12" + and are active so need large tanks to house more then one long term successfully. zig zags also take to prepared foods much easier then others. if you dont want to feed live food, your best chance os with zig zags.
another species ive found do well in groups are the african slender eel, or commonly labeled starry night eel. dont have the scientific off the top of my head, but atm i keep 2 one being 12" the other about 5" and they get along great surprizingly. but these are abit harder to find thought becomeing more available, though i have yet to get mine off live black worms.
reguardless of what eels you get i would make sure you have live blackworms on hand for the first week until they settle in and can start being converted or you are chancing loseing them to starvation, other then tank jumpng this is the second most common reason these fish perish in captivity. once they are settled in and bulked up they take to frozen foods pretty easy in general and some have had luck converting them to pellets. most long term spineys are fed fresh/frozen seafoods and worms... personally i feed nightcrawlers, black worms, and frozen krill to our spineys. the occasional peice of fish from what i get for our family also is usually greeted with enthusiasm.
imo zig zags are the easiest to keep and maintain, and a great starter spiney for anyone interested in them. also make sure they have lots of driftwood or pvc tubeing to hide in. they will dig up live plants. but i find mine chilling out in my floating plants regularly. the more hide spots they have the more outgoing they become ime. once settled in and feeling secure they are very personable and quickly "tame". my older eels all hand feed.
