Re Mystery eel "Am I simply thinking doom and gloom" (RMF, second opinion on the ID?)   8/25/09
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Hello everyone
These are the pictures Neale requested I send to help him help me identify my freshwater eel ("am I simply thinking doom and gloom?" was the original e-mail). I don't know if it is obvious by the pictures but his head is fairly pointed with very small clear fins (pectoral? the two little ones on each side) just shy of the head, his belly is nearly white with a small amount of the grey colour on top bleeding into the white in the form of small spots. I could not really see gill slits perhaps they are at the bottom of his "neck". I was previously mistaken and he does appear to have both a top (dorsal?) fin that goes around his tail and is at the bottom to.
It is completely clear and barely visible (I doubt you'll be able to see them as they are transparent and I could barely see them without the camera) It starts at about an inch from the head ("eel" is about 6.5" maybe 7.5") and goes all the way around to the bottom stopping about a little more than an inch from where the top one began. He has very small black eyes found close to the snout he burrows tail first into the substrate and burrows all the way in, not any of him is exposed. I have never seen him with his mouth open so can't help with what his teeth are like. Sorry the pictures aren't that great he appears to be camera shy and the camera batteries died, as it was 3 am I thought it might be rather inconsiderate stomping about trying to find new batteries and the little beast has proven highly allusive so I am sending these pics even though they aren't the best, sorry. I have never seen it eat and so far no missing fish but I am worried he is starving to death, he appeared to eat a few marine pellets when I left for a bit but he might have just stirred them into the sand lol he was not at all impressed he couldn't burrow.
<Well, I really do need a good view of the head and pectoral fins to be sure, but I'm fairly confident that this is some Anguilla (True Eel) species, a juvenile specimen at the moment, hence the pale colouration.
Almost without exception, Anguilla offer a pair of characteristics that aquarists should be aware of: they get rather large, and they are highly predatory. They aren't difficult to keep -- we had one at university that
lived in what was little more than a bucket -- but they are notorious escape artists and can be difficult to house because of this. Anything small enough to be eaten will be eaten. They can be kept in big tanks with
similarly robust fish, things like catfish and large carp, and kept properly can live for decades. Water chemistry and water quality are of remarkably little importance. All species are extremely similar in shape,
size and temperament, and telling them apart is consequently very difficult. Although never popular aquarium fish, they are widely traded as food fish, and some end up in the ornamental fish trade. The only other fish you might consider is Pisodonophis boro,
<<I do concur. RMF>>
sometimes sold as the Glass or Rice Paddy Eel, a brackish-water predator that gets to about 90 cm in length and feeds at night on invertebrates and small fish. It isn't commonly traded, but in recent years has been sold with a little more regularity than before. There are some comments on this species on my Brackish FAQ, here:
http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Projects/FAQ/6iglasseels.html
Telling Rice Paddy Eels from True Eels isn't easy, but Rice Paddy Eels are much more slender, have weaker dorsal and anal fins, and a more tapering tail; Rice Paddy Eels also have thick corneas over their eyes to allow them to dig through the sediment without damaging their eyes.>
I have tried researching Fishbase and other databases however, most pictures are of adults and I just can't quite match it to anything else. I appreciate any help you can give on the matter. I hope you all have a
pleasant evening and thank-you very much for the site it is very helpful I hope I didn't miss a post that would have told me what this guy is. I just don't want him to eat the rest of the tank mates (if he gets giant) or to starve because I am not feeding the right thing, also the concern that the people I got the tank/fish from might have unknowingly bought a saltwater "eel" on accident, they weren't big into research/knowing what the fish were =0).
<Neither eel is a "good" aquarium fish, and if you can't tell them apart, keeping either in slightly brackish (SG 1.003-1.005) conditions would be wise, since that will be appreciated by both. Eels are easily distinguished from loaches (such as Pangio) which have barbels around the mouth and spines in front of the eyes. Spiny Eels are also different, having whopping great spines along the dorsal and anal fins as well as very odd, trunk-like noses. Moray Eels are similar to true Eels, but lack pectoral fins.>
Speaking of starving I am wondering if I am feeding my fish enough, I realize you get this question often and I am sorry to bug you with it again, but I find the pinch measurement confusing as everyone's "pinch" is
different. I have a 90G tank (any suggestions to alterations in stocking would be appreciated)
*1 dwarf Gourami
*4 platies 2- 3" / 2- 1"
*5 1/2 inch white cloud minnows
* 3- 3" turquoise rainbows (might get 3 more)
*3 weather loaches 7", 4" and 3" (plan on getting 3 more)
*2 Plecos one "common at 2.5"(will have a new home at 8inches) and one bristlenose at 8"
I feed them about 1/2 a pea size flakes 2x per day 5 different types alternating days for variety, alternating days they get marine sinking pellets and tropical crumble sinking pellets about 1/4 pea amount fed at the same time as the flakes, 2x a week they get sinking algae wafers 2, 1 time a week they get mysis frozen shrimp 1/2 cube, and than once a week they get sinking bottom feeder pills. I know they say what they will eat in 5 min but the stuff that goes to the bottom dissolves slowly and the loaches and Pleco's can't bite it so they worry it and get it as it dissolves. I don't want to overfeed them because I know that isn't good but they ALWAYS look hungry to me ROFL I know they probably aren't but I want them to get enough. Oh and once a week they get peas that are skinned. I also have a planted aquarium with several plants and duckweed available for casual grazing.
<Provided your fish have gentle rounded, convex bellies, and when viewed from the front the flanks aren't concave, you're feeding them just fine.
Most aquarists over- rather than under-feed their fish. It's a good idea to provide algae wafers a couple nights per week for Plec-type fish, 1-2 being adequate for Ancistrus species, and 4-6 being more appropriate for the larger Hypostomus and Pterygoplichthys species.>
Again thank-you so much for your time and all of your guys'/gal's efforts it is a great help and very interesting to read your articles and answers to questions. Hope you all have a pleasant evening/morning, I am going back to bed lol 4 am is WAY to early lol.
<Cheers, Neale.>