Fire eel
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| Mastacembelus erythrotaenia (Bleeker, 1850) |
The fire eel (Mastacembelus erythrotaenia) is a large freshwater fish from Southeast Asia.
[edit] Physical description
The fire eel is an extremely elongated fish with a very distinctive pointed snout and underslung mouth. The body is laterally compressed particularly at the rear third where it flattens as it joins the caudal fin and forms an extended tail. Its colouring is dark brown/grey, while the belly is generally a lighter shade of the same colour. The pattern varies from fish to fish. Usually several bright red lateral stripes and spots mark the body. These vary in intensity depending on the age and condition of the specimen. Usually the markings are yellow/amber in juvenile fish, changing to a deep red in larger ones. Often the anal, pectoral, and dorsal fins have a red edging.
The name "eel" is a reference to the body shape; the fire eel is not a true eel.
They can often grow to a very considerable size in the wild with specimens often exceeding 1.2 m in length. However, due to the limiting factors in the captive environment they usually reach a maximum of around 55 cm even in very large aquaria.
[edit] In the wild
Fire eels natural habitat is slow moving river environments with slow to briskly moving water and soft riverbeds. They occur in the wild over a relatively broad area covering a large part of Southeast Asia including Borneo, India, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Thailand. These are bottom dwelling fish which spend the large portion of their time buried in the riverbed, often with just their snout sticking out. However, they are voracious predatory fish and when hunting will employ all water levels in their search for food.
[edit] In the aquarium
Young fish will generally adapt very well to a community aquarium. Small fish up to around 15 cm can be kept in a tank measuring 24 in / 20 gallons and have been found to be peaceful and undestructive fish (although there burrowing nature means that they can uproot plants and move bogwood etc).
Larger fish are a different matter however. They require far larger tanks and their companions must be of appropriate size or they will form part of the fire eels diet. They are also best kept solitary as they have a tendancy to fight with other fish of the same species.
Fire eels make wonderful tank specimens. They are intelligent fish and will quickly learn to recognise their keeper and even readily accept food from the hand. It is fair to say that among the more commonly kept aquarium fish, only the oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) is capable of forming such companionship with its keeper. Water should be 25-27°C with a pH of 6–7.5. A little salt is welcomed but not essential.
Fire eels will take a wide variety of food including tubifex, fish, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, bloodworms, Cyclops, mussels etc.
Spawning with mature fish (over 20 in) has been reported but is rare and extremely difficult. Use a large tank with a pH around 7.0, a water hardness from 10-15 dH, and a temperature from 27-29°C. They are plant spawners that lay 800-1200 eggs in floating plants. The eggs are clear and measure around 10mm in size. The young grow very quickly and will gorge themselves on as much food is offered. Care should therefore be taken not to overfeed them.
