3Ft Fire Eel

[8inary]

Hi everyone - just wondering how much you would expect to pay at a lfs for a fire eel that is almost 3ft long, any ideas?

 

[england]

think id exspect to see that im my shops at around 40-60pounds...maybe more in some of our shops here

 

[nmonks]

Depends entirely on the quality. £50 for a well-looked after specimen that's eating earthworms and has no signs of skin damage would be money well spent. £20 on a half-starved specimen with white scratches on its flanks would be a waste of money. So rather than looking at the price, look at the quality of the fish and how much you trust the retailer. Are they the sort of place that handles difficult fish? Do they have a reputation for looking after oddballs? Will they properly quarantine new livestock?

If you're looking to sell, don't bother trying to make a profit. For a fish as fantastic as Mastacembelus erythrotaenia, the goal is to find a trustworthy, experienced aquarist you can pass it along to, perhaps even a public aquarium.

Cheers, Neale

Hi everyone - just wondering how much you would expect to pay at a lfs for a fire eel that is almost 3ft long, any ideas?

 

[england]

Im thinking your planning on selling your fire eel, am i correct?

 

[james_fish]

My LFS was a little bit dearer than previous posts. £80.00 was what they were going for.

James.

 

[8inary]

well, to be honest, I have a near 1000ltr tank, I bought a fire eel when it was around 7" for £45. It has now got to near 3ft and is perfect condition. It eats, prawns, and blood worms and flake is also dropped into the tank for other fish, it he/she is perfect.

Now I have other fish dropping eggs into the fake coral and I have now gotten 15 lab fry into a hopsital tank, however the eel is so big he would plow through any coral/rock I put into the tank.

Whilst in a way, I could do with getting without, I dare say ultimately, I couldnt and just curious...heres a vid

http/www.youtube.com/user/8inary

 

[8inary]

even if I did sell - I really would have to know what tank it was going in. When you keep a fish like this, you know its life style....yup I actually said life style.....what it does, what it eats etcetera. I could not know its going into a smaller tank, or a person who hasnt a clue.

the poor thing wouldnt know whats hit it

 

[simonas]

I would have thought a fair few quid 8inary, I paid £80 for a 21 inch one at Pier and they had larger ones for about £140, possibly overpriced but well worth the money in my opinion.

are you selling? if you are and were within a couple of hundered miles from me I;d have it!!!

 

[kniesh]

I just bought one for around 8-10 inches for £17. He seems in really good condition. Be a shame if you were letting him go, that tank looks good for him. Simon, you heading back to oddballs then?

 

[simonas]

I just bought one for around 8-10 inches for £17. He seems in really good condition. Be a shame if you were letting him go, that tank looks good for him. Simon, you heading back to oddballs then?

god knows mate, someone tried to buy the red bellies but I backed out as I wanted to see them grow bigger but if a large fire eel was available then yes!!

 

[always4lora]

I'd pay a fair bit for decent specimen, as for what its worth its what someones willing to pay. A fish shop will probs give you some fish food!

Let us know where you're based as i might be intrested in it.

 

[didz04]

That is a really nice and exciting tank to watch Are the big yellow fish in there malawi kenya cichlids? my malawi used to be boss in my tank but calm and not over aggressive but my johanni had the guts to fight him again and he got him badly...soo badly that my socolofi also used the advantage and attacked him lol as he used to get chased by him, then my Congo tinanti cichlid also joined in and attacked him who jus butts into any fights or tries normally breaking them up lol. Then there was a point where he was getting ragged all 3 ways by the johanni, socolofi & congo cichlids the damage was really bad that the malawi was spinning around slowly and couldn't stay straight now he is in the same tank but in a breeding tank recovering, all his fins are shredded. I know I would have put him in another tank but i have no other setup and also looking for a backup hospital tank. What minimum sized tank would be suitable for a hospital tank considering that my cichlids average around 3 inches?

I'm really sorry 8inary that I am going off topic. I have had 2 fire eels at small size from 5" for £5 to 7" £12, I know that doesn't really help much but never seen a huge fire eel for sale at any lfs. My fire eel that I had looked like it could turn out to be any type of eel as I wasn't and still not sure if they were fire eels at them sizes. Here is a pic of them can someone tell me please if they do look like fire eels

Thanks