Zig Zag or Tire Eels
- Thread starter RobD23
- Start date
why not fires? well heres a sight for spiny eels in general:
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball, Spiny Eel.htm
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball, Spiny Eel.htm
These are two different species of spiney eel. A tiretrack eel can get over three feet long, while the zig-zag eel tops out at about 18 inches. Definitely something to keep in mind depending on the size of your tank. They are predatory but not aggressive. They will eat small fish and shrimp, but generally won't bother anything else. They can be aggressive toward other eels, though, so either keep only one or provide tons of hiding caves or PVC tubing. Some people say their eels hide in the substrate all the time, while other say their eels are out and about and can even be hand-fed. They are great escape artists, so a tight fitting lid with no gaps around equipment is a good idea. Some eels will eat a stple diet of flakes and pellets, but they love beefheart and shrimp, and pretty much any frozen food.
I agree with illustrae, it's actually up to the fish personality if they burry down and stay in the gravel for a time or come out and eat of your hand. Mine eats from my hand. It's also someone who says their eel is only active at the night.
The tiretrack eel may reach ca. 20" in captivity. The water should have a pH at 7 and dH ca. 10. They'll like some some salt. Both M. armatus and M. circumcinctus will eat small fish. I feed mine with frozen food like beefheart, shrimp, bloodworms and mysis.
My tire eel:
The tiretrack eel may reach ca. 20" in captivity. The water should have a pH at 7 and dH ca. 10. They'll like some some salt. Both M. armatus and M. circumcinctus will eat small fish. I feed mine with frozen food like beefheart, shrimp, bloodworms and mysis.
My tire eel:
So I kinda have a weird story/question. In early May 2023, we purchased what was advertised as a zigzag eel from our local Pet Supermarket. We later found out it was a Tire Eel. We only ever had the one. It was in our 150 gallon tank with many different Cichlids, Catfish, and Barbs. It got really large really quickly, and it became aggressive about a month and a half ago and kept killing all the littler fish in the tank, even though we fed it very well, so we took it to the local specialty aquarium store about 3 weeks ago to trade it in to someone who could keep it alone. Anyways we have just discovered over 3 weeks later, that we now have at least 2 tire track eel babies in our tank. Nothing we have read says that they breed in captivity, or that they are asexual, but here we are. It was a baby when we got it, we got rid of it 3 weeks ago, and now there are at least 2 babies in there. We may be the first people this has ever happened to, but we definitely have babies. Kinda crazy! Let me know your thoughts... not even sure where to post our experience since them breeding around other fish is so rare. Thank you for reading!
-Kim and David
-Kim and David
