What is the minimum tank size for a Fire Eel?

jclyde13

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Sorry, what exactly is M. Favus?




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Mastacembelus favus are one of the two main species referred to as "tire track eels." They are nearly identical to Mastacembelus armatus, in both appearance and behavior, but their patterning extends across the belly, whereas the M. armatus has a solid-colored belly, and they stay much smaller than M. armatus. See MonsterMinis' post for further info (MM pretty much covered everything... although for the record, there's no "r" in "favus." :p).


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giant19000

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Get a black spotted eel,zig zag,peacock fire eel gets to big for that 100g
I had my fire at 19" and got to big for my 150 had to find a new home bigger home I couldn't get over it but the thought of him bieng happy made me realize it was all for the right reasons


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jclyde13

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Get a black spotted eel,zig zag,peacock fire eel gets to big for that 100g
I had my fire at 19" and got to big for my 150 had to find a new home bigger home I couldn't get over it but the thought of him bieng happy made me realize it was all for the right reasons


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If a 19" fire eel is too big for a 150, how is a 20"+ dayi (black spotted eel) an appropriate choice for a 100?


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Chub_by

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Yes because some spineys in that name will max out at 8" and some like armatus 40"+ ( There is a member here who lost his, and I'de be surprized if it hadn't pushed 5'... yes feet...)

M. Favrus - 24"
M. Armatus - 40"+
M. Dayii - 24"+ ( ? my guess)
Fire eel - 40"+

.
M. Armatus doesn't grow 40".. in fact, Armatus should max out at 24" and favus at 28".

By the way, Armatus comes from mainland asia ( Mekong area) whereas Favus is from Java and near Indonesian islands. So a good method to find out which one you have is to check where it was collected ;)
 

giant19000

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If a 19" fire eel is too big for a 150, how is a 20"+ dayi (black spotted eel) an appropriate choice for a 100?


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Because I had a black spotted and only reached 15"
The fire stops at 36 not 40 in fact some stop at 26 I think people exaggerate on how big they actually get I do believe they might get that big in the wild but in captivity not even close


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Chub_by

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Because I had a black spotted and only reached 15"
The fire stops at 36 not 40 in fact some stop at 26 I think people exaggerate on how big they actually get I do believe they might get that big in the wild but in captivity not even close


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On an other forum I've seen 38" fire eels that belong to a guy in austria..but your right,normally, in captivity they don't grow bigger than 30" or so.
 

aclockworkorange

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Because I had a black spotted and only reached 15"
The fire stops at 36 not 40 in fact some stop at 26 I think people exaggerate on how big they actually get I do believe they might get that big in the wild but in captivity not even close


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I have seen two fire eels in person at 3 feet long. One is at the Wet Spot Tropical Fish in Portland, OR, and the other is owned by MFK member Shua.
Shua's fire eel is in a 6 by 6' tank and is an absolute beast. It's as thick as my calf. You will quickly realize how tiny a 100 gallon tank would be if you had ever seen an adult fire eel in person (and I'm guessing most people haven't). The simple truth is they're hard to raise and most people kill them long before they get that size.


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jclyde13

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M. Armatus doesn't grow 40".. in fact, Armatus should max out at 24" and favus at 28".

By the way, Armatus comes from mainland asia ( Mekong area) whereas Favus is from Java and near Indonesian islands. So a good method to find out which one you have is to check where it was collected ;)
We have several members who are keeping M. armatus well above 24". I'm not sure where you could be getting your information, but I would stop relying on that source if I were you. As proof, take a look at akskirmish's old armatus: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?359404-My-last-Eel-Pic

As for diferentiating between the two species, a much simpler and more practical method would be to just look at its pattern. A completely solid color on the underside means you have a Mastacembelus armatus; the presence of patterning, which can range from the full "tire track" pattern to just a few spots, on the underside means you have a Mastacembelus favus.
 

jclyde13

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Because I had a black spotted and only reached 15"
The fire stops at 36 not 40 in fact some stop at 26 I think people exaggerate on how big they actually get I do believe they might get that big in the wild but in captivity not even close


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As with Chub_by's claims, we have members here whose personal experience disproves what you are saying. How do you explain the numerous people here who have fire eels well over 36"? And M. dayi get to at least 20", but even at 15" it doesn't make much sense to claim that a 4" difference in length would equate to a more than 50 gallon difference in aquarium size.
 

Loves severums

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Because I had a black spotted and only reached 15"
The fire stops at 36 not 40 in fact some stop at 26 I think people exaggerate on how big they actually get I do believe they might get that big in the wild but in captivity not even close


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On an other forum I've seen 38" fire eels that belong to a guy in austria..but your right,normally, in captivity they don't grow bigger than 30" or so.
:ROFL:
MsMassPoly has one that 40"+...
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...390229-one-of-the-biggest-fire-eels-out-there
 
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