# eel in 15 gallon?



## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

would an eel be alright in a 15 gallon tank with 2 platies 2 guppies 1 gourami 3 bala sharks and 2 tetras and 2 cories?


----------



## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

What kind of eel? a spiny? there's quite a few of those, fire, tire track, zig zag, peacock, and a few others. or an american eel? ropefish is eelish, ive heard polypterids referred to as dinosaur eels, dragon eels are probably dragon/violet gobies. i doubt youre talking about south american electric eels. but it's probably some kind of spiny eel, in which case maybe a zigzag or peacock wouldnt eat those fish, but still may not be able to fit in a 15 gallon. peacocks eat tiny fish like fry from the platys and guppies. i guess you could with those....

the balas are not good fish to be in a 15 gallon, they need a 55 and up, eventually outgrowing that. they get like a foot and then some.... i would remove them.


http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball, Spiny Eel.htm are some spiny eel identificaion.

edit: spiny eel pattern in my avatar if you couldnt tell.


----------



## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

The 3 Balas need to go as they do grow over a foot. 
I wouldnt recommend any kind of eel to go in with those fish. 
Tetras need to be in a school of 6+ 
Cories need to be in groups of 6+ too
those two alone would proabably max out your tank.... 
Plus the platies and guppies will eventually reproduce.


----------



## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

my guppy wont.....my male just died today


----------



## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

i didnt have any particular type of eel in mind....just a small one....


----------



## pixycct (Feb 4, 2005)

Most eels are not for everyone.They need mediem to large tanks, and usually do best in species tanks. Spiny eels are the most common and are definitly not for beginners. If you have your heart set on an eel , than you will firstly need a bigger tank than a 15 gal.,and secondly , you should do some reaserch, find what kind of eel you want, and design a tank just for him. This is called a species tank, if you would like to keep other fish with him, I would still first design a species tank for him and then let the other fish be part of his tank.You see what I mean. Eels are not like livebearers where you can just through a few in. They take planning, work, and skill.


----------



## malawi4me2 (Jan 18, 2005)

Even the smallest species of "spiny eels" (which are of the family _Mastacembelus_ and _Athieomastacembelus_ and are not true eels) reach 8-9" in length, and are not suitable for a 15g tank. They're sensitive to water quality, need plenty of places to hide, and have to be housed with very peaceful tankmates. They are very interesting fish, though! 
As a few other members have already commented, your tank is overstocked. The balas need to go, as they do grow to over a foot in length and are pretty active. If you found a home for the three balas, you could add two more cories (they're much happier in at least shoals of four). What type of gourami and tetras are you keeping?


----------



## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

Just because the male guppy died does not mean the other will not reproduce, guppys can be fertilized for I believe 3 batches of babies, so they store the sperm....


----------



## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

i dont think spiny eels need a species only take. they have great noses so they can find the food before it's eaten, they only pick on fish they can swallow, or think they can swallow, and arent too sensitive to being picked on. i wouldnt add any more fish, since it seems there are still some "kinks" to be worked out, like the guppy dying, and your gourami not looking good. nothing dies for no reason, even old age isnt a cause of death.


----------



## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

my gourami and a bala shark died.....i dont know what to do!!!!! it seems like whenever one fish dies, a few other fish die right away too........my remaining bala sharks are swimming really slow and i think some of my fish might have ich....there are little white spots on my bala sharks and my swordtail platy.....what should i do?? should i put melafix in there or something? i dont want the rest of my fish to die too!


----------



## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

Do a 25%-50% water change then I would treat with melafix, and salt... read the back of the bottle and follow directions, use a little less salt because of the cories. Then after treating do the suggested water change on the bottle... i believe 25%


----------

