Peacock Eel And Striped Peacock Eel

[Starfishpower]

i have a peacock eel and petsmart is starting to carry stripped ones. will they be friends like regular peacocks are to each other, or will they be astranged?

 

[nmonks]

I'm assuming these are Macrognathus siamensis and Macrognathus aral. They should get along fine. But I'd recommend getting at least two of each species so they have "friends" of their own kind.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Starfishpower]

ok. unfortunatley my eel died a few days ago. he was doing great, eating out of my hand, being active and displaying his nocturnal colours during the day. but then i brought home a second one and it died a few days after i got him home (the guy at the lps took FOREVER catching him, i dont htink iv ever seen so much incompetency in a lps employee before) since then the first one i had started to act weird. quite eating, changed colours, acted scared all the time. it really made me mad cause he was doing so well, particulaly since i hear al the time about how they are so hard to keep and what not. so right now my attention is turned to turning my 10 gallon into a lush little planted tank. iv gota build a new hood for better lights first. i think i might started a journal for it, idk. thanks for the info anyway though, ill keep it in mind if i decide to get some more eels, i really did like them.

 

[nmonks]

Spiny eels are "difficult" because people treat them like ordinary community fish, which they're not.

They're sensitive to bacterial infections, the prime cause of which is skin damage. So you should keep small species at least in tanks with sand, never gravel.

Although they're not always found in brackish water, keeping many species in slightly brackish water does seem to help (it helps if you research this aspect before buying, as only some species are brackish water tolerant).

They're difficult to feed because they lose out if forced to compete with loaches and catfish, so they should always be kept as the only nocturnal, bottom-dwelling fish. They do need fattening up immediately after purchase, as the chances are they haven't eaten for weeks. Worms, especially earthworms, are ideal.

Macrognathus spp. are at least somewhat social, so keeping them in groups will help. Mastacembelus spp. are territorial and potentially aggressive to one another, so again, do your research here.

They jump out: keep the tank covered, and where possible install floating plants (real or plastic).

Cheers, Neale

 

[Starfishpower]

thanks Neal, ill look into brackish water conditions next time. i do think its worth noting that when i started reusing conditioning salt after he got "ill" he started to act more normal. i was able to fatten him up when i got him home. he got really fat there for a while actually. i did do all that other stuff right, you and a bunch of others on this forum helped me out a lot with that back when i got started. my only real guess is that the second eel brought in some kind of disease or he needed some salt in the water. idk but either way im turning my attention to planting my 10 gal. tank and then i think im gona try raising young senegal bichirs in it.