alexyay Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Please feel free to move this, I'm not sure what section it's supposed to go in - sorry I know very little about fire eels, but I may be getting one from my father who was told by the person who gave it to him that they stay small (and of course, didn't do research) - after getting interested in him I Googled them to find out they can grow to 36", and will probably feed on the rest of his fish once he gets bigger :facepalm:. Of course, he probably hasn't been fed enough because of the lack of research that my dad's done - currently he's feeding about a block (I'm not sure what to call it) of frozen blood worms a day, but it was a lot less before. He's had the fire eel about 8mnths and it's around 8", at my best guess - how big would they usually be do you think at maybe 8-10 months? What age do they usually become fully grown? Approximately how much do you think you spend on feeding an adult fire eel per month? I don't want to take this on if I can't afford it, and we'll find someone else to adopt him, but after looking at Youtube videos of fire eels, I think they're beautiful fish and I'd love to have it (I'm not sure how happy my mother would be about this, but Dad thinks that he's been feeding on the baby guppies in the tank and I'd like to take him before he gets any bigger). I'm currently paying for 3 rats and I'm still in school so I don't have too much to spend on him, but I think that I may be able to get some financial support from my father. Are there any supplies that you would need specifically for a fire eel and what would the costs be? I was originally looking into getting a 130-250L tank for a betta fish, but those plans may change now - what size tanks do you recommend? Does a 250L sound OK or would a 300L do better? Currently we're looking on TradeMe for tanks, but are there any other places that you can get tanks reasonably cheap? Would you need specific filters and heating for fire eels? I'm sorry for the amount of questions I've asked But thank you for reading all of this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 I haven't had one myself but in the little bit of research I've done they live in relatively swift flowing streams in the asian tropics (india, indonesia etc.) so like to have sandy bottomed tanks with plenty of caves and hiding places scattered around. The one thing I did note was one website suggested 1 eel per 200L and don't have more than one in a tank. So a 250L for the eel alone should be fine. They're often seen in aquariums with other large fish from the area and I'm sure Henward/Fruju/Darvid R etc. will be here soon to offer some real advice but if you're going for a 250L I'd say all you'd want is the fire eel so as to not overcrowd the tank. You could put some other smalled fish in with it but chances are they'd become dinner. They're very cool fish. I hope it works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 If you get it off bloodworms and onto frozen shrimp from the asian supermarket it will be a lot cheaper to feed. Yes they can get massive, but are also fairly flexible so keeping a 16" eel in a 250L tank is nothing like keeping a cichlid or barb of the same size in the same size tank. Big fire eels usually get snapped up fairly quickly, so I'd say rescue it, fatten it up and if/when it gets too big for your tank or you find its costing too much to feed then move it on. Normally I wouldn't encourage that kinda thing [buying a fish with out the ability or intention to house it for life] but in this case it sounds like the best option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted July 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Cool! I might end up going for a 300L, depending on what I can afford. I'll tell him about the shrimps tomorrow. I'm also not keen on people having animals without being able to care for them for their lives, but I think it's the best situation for it at the moment (and his fish) - I'll talk to him about the idea of selling it later on, but he also said that if I decided to go off to uni or something like that or was unable to look after it, he could take everything and keep it for the remainder of its life - I'd just have to show him a lot of research before I send any animals to him :facepalm: Probably an important question - he lives in Auckland and I live in Tauranga, can they travel in cars and how does it work? Like what do you need to put them in and how do you keep the temperature the same in a car? I'm a beginner (I had goldfish when I was very young, but otherwise I've never had fish) - so I'm pretty much completely new to all of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Probably an important question - he lives in Auckland and I live in Tauranga, can they travel in cars and how does it work? Like what do you need to put them in and how do you keep the temperature the same in a car? Temp isn't really a concern unless its the middle of winter and outside for a long period, just put the bag in an insulated chiller bag or poly box and it should be fine for the drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REEVESTA Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Feed grated prawn or shrimp. It's alot cheaper than bloodworms and they will grow faster and be more healthy eating it. Also make sure you get it hand tame. They are awesome fish, good luck :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted July 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 How many shrimp per day do you think we need to give him (he's only 8" but he's probably older than what his length shows)? I'll tell Dad to work on hand taming him (which is the part that I'm looking forward to the most!), he's really scared of hands at the moment though (I have a rat at home who wasn't socialized as a baby so I'm used to being patient). What tank I'm going to get (I need permission from my Mum before I do all of this first anyway) is a confusing quest for me, though. I like the already made-up branded ones (I'm not sure what to call them, but they're the fancy ones at stores) but would those at all leave room for things like extra filter piping and things like that? Or would you have to cut a hole in the top to fit things through? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Get it onto prawn or shrimp rather than bloodworms for better growth. DavidR pretty much summed it up for you though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Fire eels are cool, ive got 2 growing up together in a 500ltr, they get on well but from what i understand that may change as they get bigger, if it does one can go into my 800ltr which will keep them happy. The branded tanks like Aqua One etc do look nice but i prefer a normal glass tank because you can specify what dimensions you want e.g. wide tank, tall tank or long tank, also easier to customize with heaters, filtration, power heads etc and usually cheaper. If you add what area you are in to your profile someone may have something suitable to sell you at a reasonable price. Last of all enjoy :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted July 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 We tried to feed him some brine shrimp today, he didn't want that or the blood worms (the other fish eat a lot of it too, which is why I want to get him in a tank on his own sooner rather than later) My father has decided that if I can't take him, he may set up either his current tank for his current fish or the fire eel (who I have now named Kevin) and buy a new one for him - which is great. Would a 400L be OK for a fully grown fire eel, or do you need something bigger? I'm glad this may work out and that hopefully soon enough he'll be much happier in a new tank :happy2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 We tried to feed him some brine shrimp today, he didn't want that or the blood worms (the other fish eat a lot of it too, which is why I want to get him in a tank on his own sooner rather than later) My father has decided that if I can't take him, he may set up either his current tank for his current fish or the fire eel (who I have now named Kevin) and buy a new one for him - which is great. Would a 400L be OK for a fully grown fire eel, or do you need something bigger? I'm glad this may work out and that hopefully soon enough he'll be much happier in a new tank :happy2: 400L would be extremely cramped, minimum 6ft long by at least 2ft wide I would say for a large adult. But you could get away with the 400L for little while, more as a grow out tank rather than permanent residence. Hope this helps. Good filter needed too as they produce a heavy bioload. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Agreed with Fraser, a 400L tank (depending on the dimensions) would be a good home for a long time, but even that might not do for life. I've found some fire eels will get huge quickly, my old one which I bought at 40cm was only a couple of years old and growing quickly still, others seem to slow down once they get to a bit over a foot. Who knows why. Brine shrimp probably isn't the best, try shrimp/prawn, fish fillets (raw) or maybe even beef heart (not ideal but cheaper than bloodworms). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted July 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 We'll start him on shrimp then I'm not sure as to what's happening, whether Dad can afford such a large tank and whether it's too much to take on or not. I'll have to ask him tomorrow. I did manage to get a couple of photos of Kevin though - it's difficult getting photos of him where it's basically complete darkness :dunno: he only usually comes out when it gets dark though - but he's got such pretty colours when you do see him in the light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 buy prawns, RAW from supermarket. asian or normal supermarket, they are relatively cheap, on sale you can get them $10 to 13 per kilo, you feed half a prawn, dont feed too much as they digest pretty rapidly, meaning your water will fowl if your filter isnt up to it. so just half a prawn, when you can see some food bumps in the belly thats all good. temp , i suggest 25 to 28. i keep mind 28 to 29, hot days even 30. but generally 28. prawn is good, cheap j ust dont ever feed it cooked prawn!! as for size, it will get big, if you can get your fire eel to 36 inches, i will drive to tauranga and take it from you and adopt it :thup: it will take a couple years estimated for a fire eel to reach that size, probably more and some never reach that size, its not as easy as it sounds to get your fire eel to get to that monstrous size so i wouldnt worry yet. if your tank is lightly stocked, 250 to 300 litres should be ok, just give big hiding caves or pipes, will be alright! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 this is my Tire track eel un known age, got it when it was about 45 to 50 cms long. now its about 70cms, maybe a tad smaller, but its the height of my tank which is 72cm. i dont know how long it took to get to 50cms, but it took me 2.5 years to get it from 50ish to now!! so its not quick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b16a2 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 my fire eel was only ever fed blood worms before i bought him but now quite happily eats chopped up prawn and live earthworms, one idea you could try is just to use the bloodworm to lure him out to the surface and when he gets close remove the bloodworms and hold a small piece or prawn instead and see what happens, this will also get him used to feeding from your hand. could also try seachem's garlic guard/entice, ive never used either of these products but some one on the forum may have some experience with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 i have never had any fire eel, or eel species here in nz that will not readily convert to p rawns that is raw! starve it, with in a few days, it will eat prawn. cut the prawns to long very thin strips, it will think they are worms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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