FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hi! I've totally fallen in love with the European eels in the aquarium of a Chinese restaurant (yes, I know they are for eating!),but would love to have a few eels as pets. I understand the European Eel is a ferocious meat eater,so can't be mixed with other fish??? Does anybody have any more info on this? Would other type of eel be more suitable and sociable?

Thank you so much in advance!

There are a few eels sold in the aquarium industry that are mostly compatible with larger fish. Tiretrack, peacock, and fire eels are all from the same family called spiny eels and are the most common. Most of them grow between two and four feet long (depending on species), so you really need a large tank to keep them in. They require either sand or very small gravel to burrow in, and are fond of caves (a length of PVC pipe would work well).

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

Many thanks for your helpful info! What about Chinese/Japanese eels? Any info around for keeping these?
Thanks in advance :-)

I have several types of eel-like fish in my tank all of which are interesting.

Polypterus Senegalus (bichir) is not actually an eel but looks a lot like one.

Spiny Peacock eel - very interesting and likes to hide in my gravel.

African Mud Fish - another great eel like fish.

Weather Loach.

It's probably a Conger Eel, which is a true eel species. There are freshwater ones as well as saltwater ones, and many of them switch between the oceans and the rivers at least once in their lives. They are a staple food fish in many parts of the Old World.

It is possible to maintain them in a home aquarium, but many of them do get large. We have one in a display tank at work, and lots of people say how awesome he is. He lives in a 100 gallon Malawi display tank, and is housed with many medium sized (4.5" long) and large (9" long) cichlids. He keeps to himself and just hides in the rocks, I've never seen him bother another fish.

Here's a link to help...

[link=http://www.fishbase.org/Nomenclature/FamilySearchList.cfm?famcode1=&famcode2=62&Group=species]http://www.fishbase.org/Nomenclature/FamilySearchList.cfm?famcode1=&famcode2=62&Group=species" style="COLOR: #FFFFFF[/link]

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.