Newbie eel-fan saying hello..and has questions..

[SherriSixxx]

Hi! Am new, just started the fishless cycle in my tank 2 days ago.
Bought some decorations and stones from fish store, but was wondering whether it would be ok to pick up some stones/rocks from the beach/park. and then wash them in ammonia, then rinse with tapwater? Or could that still leave some unwanted, dangerous bacteria into them? So is it a lot safer buying some more from a fish store?

Also, I am going to get a couple of young eels from a fisherman. Does anybody have any experience on these 'common eels'? They look so mega cute, but obviously I want to keep them very healthy, and happy too!

Would really appreciate any help you can give me on how to look after them

 

[drew101]

to keep the eels happy make sure u have plenty of places to 4 them to hide or they will be shy and just stay in the corner or die cause my dad had some and he let me take care of them and they will get big atleast 3 to 4 feet.

 

[Mushroomman]

What size tank? They need a decent space to live as they get about 2 feet, maybe bigger depending on what you have.

Common eels. Like american FW eels?

Its ok to get rocks from the beach, just be sure to scrub them really well, or if you want, even boil them to neutralize anything on it.

You could feed the Eel fish and shrimp, and it would probably take alot of other live or frozen foods.

 

[SherriSixxx]

Thanks!! The tank I have is 48" long, so I quess it must be about 260-300 gallons???
If they'll grow very big, I will, of course, buy a bigger tank. But I think I don't have to worry about that for a while. The eels I will be getting are young ones, approx 7 inches long.
Will put many stones and hiding places for them in the tank. My main worry is how to keep them healthy, as I have never had fish before.

 

[Mushroomman]

Your tank is large enough, so I wouldnt worry about that. I dont think its that big but 48 inches is 4 feet, so it could be a 55g or a 75, depending on height and width.

Id be worried about getting them to eat. Try the live and frozen foods.

You could make a cool lake type look for the tank by getting lake stones and make it look natural, that would be a very nice tank.

 

[SherriSixxx]

Oops, I meant 260-300 litres, not gallons. That would be HUGE!!

Yes, am a bit worried on how to get them to eat, as am sure they will be nervous to start with. Was thinking of giving them live bloodworm

 

[seastaar88]

you can train them to "pole feed." take a pole and screw in a small hook on the end. then put thawed fish, squid, or shrimp on the end and hold it in front of the eel. that's how we fed all the moreys at an aquarium i used to work at.

 

[drew101]

or u could buy cead fish like medium feeders and just let them case them so if they get to big u could jus let them go just like my snake i train hawks and snakes gators where i live like sea world jus not with sea animals....

 

[drew101]

or u could buy cheap fish like medium feeders and just let them case them so if they get to big u could jus let them go just like my snake i train hawks and snakes gators where i live like sea world jus not with sea animals....

 

[Jeanna]

Well I have 3 Tiretrack Eels, 2 young ones and the other adult. The smaller ones are still real nervous, but when I fed them, I make sure I try to feed them at the same time and I use Tubifex worms, make sure they are already soft and just hold it right in front of his face. Eventually they'll know that that's how they're gonna get the food. My big one only eats right from our hand. But I do that cuz the other fish will eat it and he won't get any. So, he comes right up and eats it from our hand. They are sooo cool. Very personalbe fish.
Good luck!!! *celebrate
Jeanna

 

[drew101]

well my dads eels where mean but we let them go

 

[BigDaddy420]

tiretrack eels are really great pets, i had one as a kid, he got very big, probably close to 3 foot in a 75 gallon, we fed him nightcrawlers, and "meal worms" (or whatever you wanna call them) and he also only ate right out of your hand, they seem very timid, dont come out much, but when they do its a treat, they have their own unique behaviour, very fun to watch them.

 

[jeremy]

I noticed that my eel will eat frozen brine shrimp. So that might be another option for you.

 

[phOOey]

welcome to the tank! so your getting common european eels? not sure how big they get, but i've caught a few before and they were really fiesty, if they anything like they're tropical cousins they'll like to bury themselves, i've seen them do this in gravel but sand would be better

 

[SherriSixxx]

Fiesty? Hmm, yes, I think they may be, as they have started their life out in the wild, they have to be very tough to live in the nature! They might even bite me if I try to feed them out of hand??? May try the feeding tube. Or if I buy live worms from the nearby petshop, can I just put them in the tank with the eels? The worms would be moving about, so getting the eels attention and reminding them they gotta eat??