# I need help identifying freshwater "snakefish"? (pictures)



## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

:withstup: 
























It even sheds it's skin
I bought this snakefish from the petstore a couple of days ago and I can't seem to remember the name it started like Otoci-something... I just wanted to look up additional information about it. I will try calling the petshop again on Monday any information you may have would be helpful. Thank you!


----------



## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

It's actually a caecilian worm, which is an amphibian.


----------



## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

thanks for your help!


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

_Thyphlonectes_ sp. if I spelled it right. A livebearing amphibian. Endangered species no longer imported, hard to get and pricey when rarely available. They used to be quite commonly seen in the hobby about 20 years ago, but now rare. Grown on farms, but not enough.


----------



## Guest (Nov 5, 2007)

TheOldSalt said:


> _Thyphlonectes_ sp. if I spelled it right. A livebearing amphibian. Endangered species no longer imported, hard to get and pricey when rarely available. They used to be quite commonly seen in the hobby about 20 years ago, but now rare. Grown on farms, but not enough.



Interesting, lately i have seen these showing up on lists, and we have actually ordered several because both me and the boss enjoy them. Maybe they are making their comeback? they are 30 bucks or somthing, not too bad. very interesting creature indeed. i reccommend making sure your top is on tight, and any hole is taped up, cause if its there, they will find it. other than that offer it several kinds of foods, (frozen blood worms, mysis shrimp, live blackworms), and it should do well for you


----------



## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

Yeah, I actually got mine for $18.99 at Petland. Thanks for letting me know what type of food to feed it, I tried brine shrimp so far and it didn't seem too interested. I just put the food in a small water bottle so the worm can get to it before the rest of the fish. The method worked quite well when I had my ropefish. I've learned from researching other websites that they have two sets of teeth but they are harmless if they nip the owner. I like purchasing any unique freshwater fish even though I do have a fair share of livebreeders in my tank. I saw the worm and couldn't resist.


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Back around 1985 they were all over the place, and could be bought for about 8 bucks. Now anything under 20 is almost unheard-of, and 30 is still considered "not bad."
They are being grown on farms, but not many farms, and they aren't very productive when they breed, so we'll probably never see them again in the numbers we used to enjoy.
You know, I've often wondered why more hobbyists aren't churning these out these days? They're livebearers and relatively easy to breed, and the market for them is very good. We've got people cranking out thousands of other critters from Applesnails to Endler's, so why not these Caecilians?


----------

