What the heck is this!? WITH PIC!

Lubbinloaches

Lubbinloaches

Large Fish
#1
Sep 16, 2004
170
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49
Fort McMurray, AB
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#1
Well, I'm hoping someone can help me here. I actually picked this guy up at Walmart of all places. I never buy fish there, but always have to go see what they have....ya never know!!

This little guy was in with a bunch of Dojo loaches...obviously got mixed in with the shipment. Best part is that I got him for free!! The girls at Walmart were so freaked out by it that they gave me the net and said "take it or throw it out".

I've done lots of research, but I'm totally stumped though. Sad to say but I don't even know if it's a amphibian, fish, or snake!!! LOL I'm guessing it's some form of legless amphibian though. He has no fins to speak of, totally scaless, no snake like tongue. He definitely has no swim bladder...sinks like a stone. But he seems quite comfortable in water....although he does come up for a gulp of air every 20 minutes or so.

Any guesses??? Possibly some sort of caecilian worm??
 

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Fruitbat

Fruitbat

Large Fish
#3
Jan 6, 2004
330
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70
Garland, TX
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#3
Not an amphibian, I don't think. Looks like perhaps one of the Synbranchid eels (swamp eels) or maybe one of the 'sand eels' that have been coming in to some local fish stores around here. The lack of fins makes me think swamp eel, however, as does the fact that it comes to the surface for air every so often. If you get a chance to look at the area beneath its head, see if you can spot a single gill opening down there. If you can...it is a Synbranchid eel. Another characteristic is that, after coming to the surface for a 'gulp' of air, the region behind and beneath the head will swell visibly.

If it is, indeed, a swamp eel...they can eventually reach about 5 feet in length and are definitely carnivorous. Smaller fish will begin to disappear.
 

B

BrownBullhead

Large Fish
#5
Dec 11, 2004
236
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16
[Canada] Ile-des-Chenes, Manitoba
#5
LubbinLoaches: What you have there is a "Rope Fish" or "Reed Fish". They are fairly docile except around very minute tetras or guppies which they will TRY to eat. These guys are shy to lights in the aquarium, so watch for him after lights out. They enjoy shrimp pellets, tubifex worms, and fresh shrimp chopped VERY small. They are also known as "Reed Fish" and the proper name is Erpetoichthys calabaricus. There is a profile on this site @ http://www.myfishtank.net/freshwaterprofiles.php?profile=137 , although, the picture in the profile is actually a bichir, which genus I am not sure!? Anyway, I hope this helps you out.
 

Fruitbat

Fruitbat

Large Fish
#6
Jan 6, 2004
330
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70
Garland, TX
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#6
Definitely NOT a 'Rope Fish' (Erpetoichthys calabaricus). You'll note immediately the lack of pronounced 'lobed' pectoral fins which all Polypterids have and also the lack of the peculiar dorsal 'finlets' which give Polypterids their name. By the way....the picture in that profile on the 'Rope Fish' is a picture of Polypterus senegalus, NOT Erpetoichthys calabaricus.

This is what a 'Rope Fish' looks like:



Notice the obvious 'ganoid' scales, the tubular nostrils and (though they're folded down in this picture) the row of dorsal finlets.

Here's a more up close and personal shot. In it you can see the 'lobed' pectoral fins typical of Polypterids:



Good thinking though, BrownBullhead. Swamp eels and rope fish are superficially similar in many ways.

-Joe
 

Fruitbat

Fruitbat

Large Fish
#8
Jan 6, 2004
330
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Garland, TX
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#8
vivalagourami....

Rope Fish are relatively sociable, for a Polypterid, but they'll do quite nicely on their own as well. Keep in mind that they can eventually reach 24 inches (though I rarely see them over about 18 inches). They're very tolerant of water conditions and like a hiding place or two. They also like planted tanks and will spend quite a bit of time hanging about in the plants. Because they're so serpentine, they can get away in a relatively small tank for their length (a 20 gallon tank would do quite nicely and a 10 gallon tank will be adequate for quite some time).

Like all Polypterids, Rope Fish will thrive on a diet of 'meaty' foods. Mine are particularly fond of frozen blood worms, small pieces of shrimp and pieces of frozen silversides. They also like pieces of earthworm and will eat Hikari Carnivore Pellets that are broken up into suitably-sized pieces.

One major caveat is that Rope Fish (like most 'snakey' fish) are consummate escape artists and it is essential that you make sure all of their possible exits from the aquarium are well secured.

-Joe
 

Lubbinloaches

Lubbinloaches

Large Fish
#15
Sep 16, 2004
170
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49
Fort McMurray, AB
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#15
No worries of that!! LOL My zebra loaches have made him their new toy! I actually feel a little sorry for the eel. That loach in the picture is my smallest fish in the aquarium...and oddly enough is giving this new eel more grief than all the other fish combined. If the eel gets any bigger I'll begin to worry...but right now he's definitely on the bottom of the food chain!
 

Lubbinloaches

Lubbinloaches

Large Fish
#17
Sep 16, 2004
170
0
0
49
Fort McMurray, AB
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#17
I threw in a plastic plant (yes I know...tacky) and allowed it to float on the water surface just so he would have something to clime out on. Oddly enough he spends most of the day basking on that plastic plant with a lot of his body out of the water.

I did some heavy pruning of my aquarium plants recently, but I'm sure they'll soon be back at the waters surface. Until then though my eel has to settle for a somewhat tacky place to sun himself.

So I'm not too concerned about him getting harassed. He always has a place to get away!! He also LOVES getting into my CO2 diffuser and hanging out in there. If it looks inexcessible this guy proves otherwise!!!
 

D

Denewernhen

New Fish
#18
Jan 7, 2011
1
0
0
Peru
basnulta.co.cc
#18
Чернобыль ста

Сегодня в новостях прочитал, что Чернобыль становится заповедной зоной. Как оказалось, отсутствие человека в "зоне отчуждения" поспособствовало быстрому восстановления первозданной природы. Ожидали ли вы, что Чернобыль - сможет стать заповедной зоной, спутя 20 лет после ужасной аварии и экологической катастрофы?
 

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