# Eel tankmates



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

i will be getting a 23 gallon tank soon (30 x 12 x 15 inches) and decided on getting a peacock eel. what will be some good upper water tankmates. i think it would like the bottom to itself so no bottom feeders please (cory cats, shrimp, or other bottom feeders) mid-upperwater is prefered. Thanks for any offers


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

also anything else i should know about this fish would be greatly appreciated
that includes:
- parameters
- subtrate
- decor
- food


----------



## frogman5 (Mar 13, 2007)

google is your friend

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Eels/PeacockEel.php


----------



## Suess00 (Sep 5, 2008)

I bought a Peacock Eel a pretty good while ago and I would recommend you just buy one per tank. If you would buy another male (cant tell unless you cut them open) they will fight over territory. 

When I first bought mine and put him in my 75 gallon tank with one Pleco I could hand feed him over couple months worth of practice and he would always be out and about. It was awsome and never read anwhere of them doing that.

THEN i bought some Clown Loaches and the Eel became a little shy but I could still hand feed him and he would swim on my hand.

My Wife bought 6 Plays and as soon as they went into the water I RARELY see my Eel Eddy. Eddy does not like Platys and will eat their fry and he is about 6-7 inches right now. 

In my opinion you will need a bigger tank and when you buy one make sure he is a bright color not a dark color. Also look at his tail and make sure its wider then his body and has spots, it looks awsome. If the Peacock eel that your buying does not have that he is stressed and not a good choice.

Also have alot of hiding places and make sure you got smooth gravel for him and they love Frozen Brime Shrimp and really love Frozen Bloodworms.

Best tank mate in my mind is one Pleco and some Ghost shrimp which you will see him eat in a REALLY COOL way, he circles around them and strikes it.

That stuff up there is out of personal experience. He is so shy right now I cant even get him out of my 75 gallon to move him into my 150 gallon because he is so fast and hides so good.


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

well i went to petsmart yesterday to get a pleco for my 29 gallon. i went to go look at the eel they had. Macrognathus aculeatus is what they had. I am not sure if they are the real peacock or is M. siamensis the real peacock eel? 

Suess: can i feed him carnivour pellets and ghost shrimp/feeder guppies? and i read that a piece pvc pipe can make a good hiding spot but i dont know how large the width should be. how fat do they get? would 1-2 dwarf gourmais work? thanks for the help. 

Also is sand ok for them?


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

i think i will make it a oddball comm. tank. what other oddballs could go with it? thanks in advance


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

so heres what i will do:

2 amazon puffer(s)
1 peacock eel
3 cories

will this work?


----------



## Suess00 (Sep 5, 2008)

I dont recommend the puffers. The Eel will not get fat but pretty long. I never recommend feeders to no one unless you raise the feeders yourself.

My Eel main diet was frozen Bloodworms and Beef Heart and he would only eat Frozen Brimeshrimp if he did eat in a couple of days and that is what I placed in the tank for my Clown Loaches. Meanwhile it will be good to have some Ghost shrimp in your tank anyways so they can act as a clean up crew and maybe for a midnight snack for your eel.

My recommendations would be frozen Bloodworms and Frozen Beaf Heart and he will love that for sure.

Let me warn you with sand my 150 gallon has the white sand you buy at Petsmart and it is a pain to keep clean and it needs some good filtration. On a positive note the eel would love it. Also if you want Petsmart has the natural smooth gravel stones that look quiet nice and that is what I got my 75 gallon full of. 

I will try to get some pictures posted of my Eel and the tank he is in.


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

does anyone else know if these two will get along. i know that they are both non-aggresive.i will still do some more research on them, but from what i have read, they both are non-aggressive and the eel just needs tankmates that are over 3". i will do research but odesn anyone else think they could be housed together?


----------



## Guest (Apr 13, 2009)

what happened to your Saltwater option?!


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

Guppy talked me out of it. i dont have enough experience with freshwater to even be thinking about saltwater. you on the other hand have experience. he also has experience. once i have kept enough fish and gotten enough experience, i will get a saltwater tank


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

its too early to decide. after thinking, i know i would like to keep oddballs, but i would like to have the feeling of breeding more than it so i think i am going to keep some sort of breeding pair instead. but if i know myself, i will change my mind VERY soon!


----------



## Suess00 (Sep 5, 2008)

Well, it is virtually impossible to breed the Peacock Eels because you can not tell male from female. The thing with the Peacock Eel is that they are very shy and protective fish and any little thing that they do not like they will hide for days and days.

Like I mentioned my Eel hates my Platys and eats their fry but I never seen him attack them but I rarely see him out. Once I removed all the Platys two days later he was all over the place again during the day time and night time and would not hide at all. I placed them back in and he hide all day.

With the size tank you got I would recommend a Peacock Eel and a Pleco and see how that works first.

Also make sure that you get the Peacock Eel and not the Tire track Eel they are way more aggressive and lash out way more. You can tell the difference by the markings on the side but they look the exact same. The Tire Track Eel has markings on the side of him that looks like some Truck Tires and has not alot of spots. The Peacock Eel usually has around 6 big spots on the side.


----------



## nhbadboy1166 (Apr 15, 2009)

I have 2 fire eels over 12" both & tire track eels (spiny eel family) they hide allot & see them mostly at feeding time.Mine arent aggressive at all both me & wife have a fe &tte in each of our tanks .Btw they do get very large up to 36" The fire eel is very colorful & you can eventually get them to eat from your hand & make sure they have lots of caves & hiding places..


----------



## nhbadboy1166 (Apr 15, 2009)

StripesAndFins said:


> i think i will make it a oddball comm. tank. what other oddballs could go with it? thanks in advance


Most my fish are odd balls any ?? feel free to ask


----------



## Guest (Apr 16, 2009)

StripesAndFins said:


> i will change my mind VERY soon!


you need to chill out SAF! sit down, think things through and when you make a decision, STICK WITH IT!


----------



## Guest (Apr 16, 2009)

StripesAndFins said:


> you on the other hand have experience.


its not about the experience each one carries dude. am still learning new things even after keeping live bearers for many many years. each day i take time out to learn something new. like Kurt once posted some where:

FW = An Arm and A Limb
SW = Most Limbs!

this hobby is not cheap! there is always a price we all pay. one way or the other. think it through. thats what i would suggest.

cheers!


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

I have thought it over and decided to change the dimensions and make it 30x15x12 instead 30x12x15. so i will do the eel and a pleco. since the tank is pretty small, which pleco do you reccomend? any suggestions?

Thanks


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

i made a list of fish that i might like with it.

leopard ctenopoma
opaline gourami
upside down catfish
rainbow shark
assorted cories

i have researched the Leopards and upside down cats and heard that people have kept the sharks, gouramis, and cories with them. i would like to have the gourami, ctenopoma, or cats more but i am willing to get the others. any ideas?


----------



## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

If you go with a PVC cave get a long one and bend it with a heat gun. You heat it up in the areas you want to bend and then just bend it slowly. The gray PVC is pretty much made for this. You can also get curvy caves using different elbows. For an eel some bending would just be cool


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

So my petsmart has Macrognathus aculeatus labeled as pea******** eel, not M. siamensis. I know i posted this before but i got no replies. Do you think it really is the lesser spiney eel rather than the peacock eel? any help is appreciated

BTW: what do you guys think of the choices i made for tankmates? which and how many of them would be best for both Lesser spineys and pea************* eels. i want to be ready. thanks


----------



## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

i cant get a 23 gallon. not enough money for materials. i might be able to make a 15 gallon but it all depends. so there goes the eel idea. anyways thanks for the help!


----------



## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

For an eel you really need a much larger tank, like 100g plus, IMO. I don't care what the books say. Those things get big and it is absolutely inhumane to keep a big fish in a small tank. It is the equivalent to making a human live its life in an elevator.


----------



## Guest (May 8, 2009)

Stripes.

u need to first figure out if you can afford the tank. you change your mind and your ideas so many times that its JUST NOT FUNNY! figure out what you want 1st.


----------

