Marble Moray Eel - tiny one. Don't know much about these, always thought they were salt water! Silver Arowana - looked quite impressive until I googled it and found out they grow in excess of 1 meter! Saddled Birchir - also looked cute, but Google tells me they grow to 75cm. There should be a disclosure requirement for LFS to put up the size the fish will grow into! I'd appreciate any info on the eel (or just on fresh water eels in general). I'd love to keep one (once I get my big tank) as long as it is humane and they get along with the other fish. I know very little about eels.
Can try to contact @SHiBBY as well as he is one of the eel guru's around here and he sure does have a passion for eels.
Salmon Africa kept two of the "Freshwater Morays" for a long time - go scratch in his posts.... Some great pics too.
If it is a true moray, it will eventually need at least some salt in it's tank. The young are found in pure fresh water, where the suppliers catch them and market them as fresh water fish, because it will be easier to sell them this way. However, as the eel grows up, it will need more salt in it's water until the water is either strongly brackish or fully marine. If you plan on keeping one, I suggest setting up a brackish water tank. They rarely, if ever, get this size in captivity. Most attain just over 30cm, which is still a large fish in any case. Agreed, but lots of shops will say anything to make a sale. There are other eels around, just be sure to read about about them before purchase. As far as freshwater eels go, look into spiny eels. There are a wide variety of them, ranging from 30cm (eg: peacock spiny eel) to over a meter (fire eel). They're very friendly fish but be sure to be knowledgeable about their requirements, such as large tank size, sensitivity to medications, hiding places and their ability to escape tanks easily. Regards
Awesome thanks! Will definitely do some reading and if I ever get one it will be from someone on this forum and not a LFS!
Well, it seems that most that needed to be said has been said. Morays are awesome no doubt, but despite being sold as freshwater fish they really do flourish in brackish setups. Still, I'm sure you'll be able to keep them in fresh water if you REALLY wanted to, but no guarantees on lifespan (and if you really think about it, it's a bit cruel. It would be like keeping people in a low-oxygen tank). If you're up for an interesting read, go and compare marine and freshwater fish on a biological level on Wikipedia.org. After that you will understand what really makes a fish fresh or saltwater. I love morays because they seem to have skin rather than scales that flops around a little with the current of the water. They look so soft and peaceful, deceitfully of course. They are fairly slow moving (and sometimes a bit boring) when the are idle, but don't underestimate them. Just like most of the fish I like, they'll have no problem chowing smaller tankmates. So you can pack away those pellets and start breeding guppies! And you will need to choose tankmates wisely, because if it will fit, they'll chow it! That being said, I am by no means an expert on eels. I do love them, and my love for them has led me to some interesting reads. I especially wanted a moray (see http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/s...mnothorax-Polyuranodon-(Freshwater-Moray-Eel) ) but after reading up about their requirements, I decided to let it slip and rather went for ***exceptionally awesome yet, as per agreed T&C, presently unidentifiable fish*** which has brought me many hours of pleasure, and currently resides in @CharleyFXST 's awesome aquarium seeing as I sold my 4ft a few months ago. In my honest opinion, rather go for a Spiny Eel like Tim said. Yes, they aren't REAL eels, being classified as "elongated fish" but they will accept pellets in some occasions, and they actually become tame enough to hand feed and practically pet! Depending on the species spiny eels can range from 15cm up to almost 1m if you are lucky enough to keep what I deem the best of the best, Fire Eel! They have minute scales so they still have the soft appearance of the moray, with the exception of being notorious escape artists. If there's a hole, they will find it and escape. It's not uncommonto find your eel hanging out in your sump if you have an overflow setup..! Whatever you choose to do, make sure that you're educated around the requirements in terms of feeding, water parameters and adult size before buying.
Well, keeping BL fish is to be strongly discouraged and for a good reason too! They're definitely not on there because they're too awesome to keep, although it might feel like it sometimes. The majority, if set free in local waters, can devastate our natural fish population. Uninformed/misinformed aquarists who keep these fish might grow tired of them and decide to set them free, and before you know it, the Vaal dam has transformed into a 1914 boxing ring..! The first step of course is knowing the risk, the second is avoiding these species when browsing for a new family member at the LFS, and if by some divine miracle you innocently, minding your own business, happen to land one of these species, handle it responsibly. I would NEVER encourage anyone to kill it. If South Africa has teached us anything, it should be that even illegal aliens and criminals deserve to live. So do BL fish IMO...
Criminals????????? Get serious, read these and get back to me if you do not change your mind. http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/6-keer-geskiet-en-dalk-verlam-20111211 By the way, he is dead, we don't know if his mom is going to make it, and his dad is still in ICU.
Perhaps you misunderstood. I fully support the death penalty for criminals who deserve it. I was merely referring to the hippocracy of letting criminals live while people dont think twice about flushing innocent fish just because they're on a "list"...
Think before you make statemenst like the one you have made....... Obviously you have never gone throught something like this........May it NEVER happen to you...........
Back on topic (sort of) - would you recommend any eel (or eel-like fish) for a 2m tank that it would have to share with Oscars?
To be honest...not really... if you build a big cave system of rocks maybe,but Oscars got a habit of looking at elongated fish as snacks....
I suspected as much. On the fish compatability chart it indicates "sometimes compatible". I'm buying Fub4r's 2m tank with Oscars and Severums. Was hoping an eel could be added to the mix, but I don't want to offer the Oscars' live snacks.
If you can get hold of a BIG Tyretrack or Fire Eel(50cm +) - and pack out a good,stable rock pile....maybe....
The Oscars are still small. But I'll first get the tank setup and running, take pictures and rough measurements before considering the issue again. (This will only happen in Jan)
Run it by Fub4R, we discussed Fire Eels..and he ALMOST went for TWO 45-50cm specimens INSTEAD of the OScar, Severum mix he now has. Now that he decided on the cichlids... I suggest, a Polypterus, or a Knife Fish...Black Ghost or African Knife. Polypterus are going to disregard the other fish, as long as Fub4r has grown them to >100mm. Likely to have more compatibilty points, and the food isn't as critical to be live (messy, meaty)or as specialised to have to alter the Oscar/Severum diet to the detriment of being wasteful
As a shop owner I don't believe it is not my sole responsibility to inform of the size a fish might grow to! As a responsible future fish owner you should be doing some research before just buying a fish! When it comes to the fish that could become a future problem in a tank I would rather not just have them in the shop thus avoiding the possible temptation of an unsuspecting customer to buy! Told a customer, just yesterday, that if his tank was not well established, at least 6mths no problems, than I was not prepared to sell him Elephant noses.
