CAC
Formerly: Catfish Are Cool
Common name/s: Half Banded Spiny Eel, Half Barred Spiny Eel, Zig-Zag Spiny Eel
Scientific name: Macrognathus circumcinctus
Family: Mastacembelidae
Origin: Asia
Maximum size: Up to 8" in the wild, 6" is what I have observed in captivity
Care: Very nice fish, easy to care for and from what I have seen, shows little interest in other fish, apart from other spiny eels. Mine would often join in and follow two Macrognathus pancalus (Barred or yellow tailed spiny eels) which were much larger than him. Very outgoing eel, and often busy, rushing around the tank and the front glass try to get attention. As with all eels, secure the tank fully. Mine has been inside the filter before, and they can escape from openings at the surface. Not great with live plants. Will often try to dig them up, however mine gave up when he found them too hard to uproot. Needs (and I cant stress this enough) a sand substrate. A nice fine one, like children's playsand is best, just wash out thoroughly any silt and other particles. They will bury in this sand, and their skin is very delicate, using gravel can and will cause skin problems. As for water, anything goes really, neutral is best. Lighting is fairly unimportant, but for best results use a light that doesn't illuminate every corner of the tank, so that shade is provided. This way they will be much more happy to come out of hiding. The tank should be decorated with plants (live if you want to have a try), and lots of bogwood for hiding spaces. A tank of around 30 gallons is what I would recommend, and its best to keep them with other spiny eels (of similar size or the same species) and just watch for aggression, thought they normally get on fine.
Feeding: Live food is best to start off with. Try live bloodworm, brine shrimp and then use foods like frozen bloodworms as their staple diet, with other small crustaceans for variety. Other foods to try can include chopped cockles, muscles and prawn, although mine wasn't too keen. Mine eats as much as it can at each and every feeding, stuffing itself until they were coming out of his gills!
Sexing and breeding: Unknown
Comments: Great species, best fish I've ever owned is this species. Very active and curious, much more so than other eels I have kept or observed. Has some needs, like sand, a secure filter and lid, some friends and hiding places, but other than that a great fish for the oddball community.
Mike
My fella about to eat:
Macrognathus circumcinctus (left) with Macrognathus pancalus (right):
Macrognathus circumcinctus with female halfbeak:
Scientific name: Macrognathus circumcinctus
Family: Mastacembelidae
Origin: Asia
Maximum size: Up to 8" in the wild, 6" is what I have observed in captivity
Care: Very nice fish, easy to care for and from what I have seen, shows little interest in other fish, apart from other spiny eels. Mine would often join in and follow two Macrognathus pancalus (Barred or yellow tailed spiny eels) which were much larger than him. Very outgoing eel, and often busy, rushing around the tank and the front glass try to get attention. As with all eels, secure the tank fully. Mine has been inside the filter before, and they can escape from openings at the surface. Not great with live plants. Will often try to dig them up, however mine gave up when he found them too hard to uproot. Needs (and I cant stress this enough) a sand substrate. A nice fine one, like children's playsand is best, just wash out thoroughly any silt and other particles. They will bury in this sand, and their skin is very delicate, using gravel can and will cause skin problems. As for water, anything goes really, neutral is best. Lighting is fairly unimportant, but for best results use a light that doesn't illuminate every corner of the tank, so that shade is provided. This way they will be much more happy to come out of hiding. The tank should be decorated with plants (live if you want to have a try), and lots of bogwood for hiding spaces. A tank of around 30 gallons is what I would recommend, and its best to keep them with other spiny eels (of similar size or the same species) and just watch for aggression, thought they normally get on fine.
Feeding: Live food is best to start off with. Try live bloodworm, brine shrimp and then use foods like frozen bloodworms as their staple diet, with other small crustaceans for variety. Other foods to try can include chopped cockles, muscles and prawn, although mine wasn't too keen. Mine eats as much as it can at each and every feeding, stuffing itself until they were coming out of his gills!
Sexing and breeding: Unknown
Comments: Great species, best fish I've ever owned is this species. Very active and curious, much more so than other eels I have kept or observed. Has some needs, like sand, a secure filter and lid, some friends and hiding places, but other than that a great fish for the oddball community.
Mike
My fella about to eat:
Macrognathus circumcinctus (left) with Macrognathus pancalus (right):
Macrognathus circumcinctus with female halfbeak:
