Unidentified Eel

[merry78]

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone could help me identify my new eel. I bought it as a Golden Tailed Eel, but cannot find this name anywhere in my books, on the net etc. It look a bit like a snowflake eel (laterally compressed tail, dorsal/caudal/anal fins continuous), has barbels (two sets), is mottled yellow/beige in colour and does not burrow into the gravel. It is currently around 4 inches long and is peacefully living in a small (5 gallon) tank with a male betta. It has caves which it utilises, but it's not super shy. I am prepared to upgrade the tank size as required by growth. I have read that most eels are carnivorous and like bloodworms, small fish etc. I am currently feeding freeze dried brine shrimp and intend to get some bloodworms tomorrow. I am keeping it currently at pH7.3-ish and 26 degrees C.(i think this might be something like 78-80F, not sure). Water is medium hard. Any advice at all greatly appreciated, as it seems happy enough but i am not comfortable keeping a fish i know nothing about. (i asked at the pet shop and they know nothing!) Pleeeeeeease help me and my eel!!!!

 

[DiscusAngel]

are you sure its not a weaher loach...

heres one,

 

[severum boy]

Two pairs of barbels eh?
No 'normal' eel from the Mastacembelidae family has barbels. These are the most common eel that you can find in fish stores.
Do you have a photo of it? Obviously, the clearer the better, but anything helps us to see its body shape and judge what it could be.
Have a look on the internet to see if it looks anything like these: Mastacembelus armatus, Macrognathus circumcinctus, Monopterus albus, Mastacembelus zebrinus and Mastacembelus erythrotaenis.
It will need a new tank now as it is already too big for the 5gal tank. Assuming it gets to 30cm, it will need a 90cm tank to live in. Smaller sp. can be kept in smaller tanks, but bigger ones need much bigger tanks.

 

[the biffster]

it sounds like a clarius catfish
these too have barbels and can grow to about 18" in a short time scale

 

[severum boy]

It could be a catfish or a loach if its got barbels. Have a look in a few books or on the 'net to see if you can find anything it looks like.

 

[merry78]

It could be a catfish or a loach if its got barbels. Have a look in a few books or on the 'net to see if you can find anything it looks like.

thanks very much everyone, he matches the weather loach photos quite closely but.... His dorsal fin is right behind his head, and the pictures of the various types of weather loach show their dorsal fin to be about halfway down his body. Maybe this is a maturity thing? Also last night the weather changed from cold and dry to rainy and he did frequently hover at the surface and then swim backwards (that's so cool to watch) to the bottom.
Advice on feeding, habits, personal experience greatly appreciated.
I have a 21 gall tank that is cold, (ie 8-20 deg C, not sure what this is in F, goldfish sort of range, anyway) and i noticed on a few sites that weather loaches are supposed to be fine at this temp. Any thoughts?

 

[merry78]

hey, more info, i checked out a really good lfs today, and i am pretty sure he's a rendahl's catfish (a bit similar to a tandanus, sort of). anyhoo, the guy there gave a pretty positive id and had a small amount of info on water conditions, habit etc. He says they're incredibly tough and not very fussy about water temp, pH and brackish/freshness, and will eat most foods. Anyone disagree or have more thoughts on the topic?

btw, thanks so much for the help, sorry about my stupidity/newbieness! Just wanna keep da fishies happy.

 

[the biffster]

have you got a pic of it you can post

 

[Lateral Line]

Have a look at this site click on Catfish then Queensland. There are a few pictures there. Interesting find, I've never seen one of those before, but then I suppose it is a "local" for you!

 

[merry78]

Have a look at this site click on Catfish then Queensland. There are a few pictures there. Interesting find, I've never seen one of those before, but then I suppose it is a "local" for you!

thanks very much, i am now thinking that he is a Hyrtl's, as there is no seperation between his anal and caudal fin like there is with the rendahl's. Wow, this poor catty will be undergoing an identity crisis! just goes to show, a confident LFS guy is not necessarily right! Anyone kept a Hyrtl's before? Thoughts or comments anyone?