Adjai - 2013-01-02 I purchased a Yellow tail Tire Track eel two months ago. It was approx. 4 inches and very thin. I was told this eel only grow to 7 inches. Well... Jaba is a hefty 3/4 of an inch thick, wide whatever and 7 inches now, so I'm not sure where this is going. I'm confused. I purchased because it was advertised to grow only 7 inches. Is there a tire track species that only grow to only 7 or 8 inches?
laure - 2012-09-29 I've had my tiretrack eel for a few months now and I noticed he/she is getting meaner to my other fish. It used to be a super sweet fish but it's just gotten totally agressive. Even when I changed out my tank it was attempting to gnaw on me even though I didn't feel it. It was just very strange. I've started calling him/her my little convict because he/she is just turning into a dreadful jerk. any suggestions?
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Clarice Brough - 2012-09-30 They do eat small fish naturally, and some can get grumpier with age. But I'd start by checking the habitat as it may have to do with the tank being too small and/or not enough hiding places.
Lauren - 2012-12-31 he lives in an 80gal tank with a pacu, angelfish, ghost knifefish, shovelnose cat. hes claimed this big cave all to himself even though hes still semi small. he hasnt reached his full length not by a long shot. idk whats wrong with him but hes made himself clear about his cave, the other fish let him eat first, and hes happy most of the time. i just dont know why he can have such a mean streak. the other fish dont bother him. he really likes to go after the pacu but i think thats because hes shiney. my eel loves shiney things. i had this silver ring on once when i was feeding them and i learned my lesson haha. he almost went ape crazy trying to get to it so i keep it in the aquarium now cuz he liked it so much, but i just dont know whats been gettin into him with his attitude. :/
big T - 2012-12-20 I've been away for some time letting my friend feed my fish. When I got home today I've found my spiny eel's eyes have a white crust over them? Can anyone tell me what I need to save his eyes?
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Jeremy Roche - 2012-12-20 This usually happens from water condition. May be friend over fed? Test water right away. Lots of products on the market to help cure.
Trev - 2008-05-24 Adults can get up to 3' or 36". I have a fully grown adult in my home who is very peaceful though I do say, keep your tank lid on tight. If you have the room and knowledge to keep this fish, do so! It's very rewarding and hard to describe with not many people taking a liking to eels. Believe me, you'll enjoy every minute of keeping one of these beautiful animals.
Jeffrey Hill - 2010-11-21 I purchased 3 tire track eels about 2 months ago and to my surprise I woke up this am to find about 2 dozen eel fry swimming around in my tank. So I guess they do breed in captivity. Any advice for caring for these little guys?
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Anonymous - 2012-05-13 lets see some pics of these
Jeremy Roche - 2012-05-14 They sell liquid fry food at the store.
Shawn Handley Jr. - 2012-04-04 Could I put one of these in a 40 gallon breeder. I already have in it one red hook, one green terror, one rocket gar, one gold severum, one 9 inch pleco, 2 peacock eels, and 5 cory cats(1 albino, 3 juli, 1 spotted).
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Jeremy Roche - 2012-04-05 It all really depends on the current sive of your fish and how much space you are taking up with gravel and decor. I would think you would need a bigger tank to comfortably add this eel.
Shawn Handley Jr. - 2012-04-05 All of the fish except for the pleco are under 5 inches.
Jeremy Roche - 2012-04-06 you should be good now. But they are all going to grow.
JT - 2010-04-19 A 55 gallon would not be suitable housing for this fish. A standard 180 gallon is the absolute minimum, though some argue that a 300+ gallon tank is required. Also, why is there a picture of a zigzag eel (of the genus Macrognathus) in this article that is supposed to be about tire track eels (of the genus Mastacembelus)?
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Drafina - 2010-10-02 Doesen't depend on the Tire Track eel, I mean some don't get to be huge.
JT - 2010-11-14 Drafina: No, it doesn't. Every specimen will reach about 30" in length if given proper care. If it stops growing before it gets to 30", that is a sign that it is likely unhealthy, which is usually due to the presence of high nitrate levels in the water (which is a side effect of not providing an adequate volume of water).
Samuel - 2011-07-08 I own a 120 Gallon freshwater tank, full of about 10 cichilds (3 South American, around 5-7 South African), two Balla Sharks, a Green Terror, a Black Ghost Knife Fish, and my tank has allot of small crevices for a Eels to live in. I was wondering what type of Eel can I put in my fish tank and which one would be best and safe?
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Charlie Roche - 2011-07-09 Rule of thumb is your tank should have one gallon of water for each inch your fish are going to be when they are adults. You also have to subtract gallons for gravel, plants, decorations, filter etc. An example is the Black Ghost can go up to 20". So allowing for gravel, decorations, etc, I would recommend a 25 gallon tank. Your circhlids can go up to 6 - 8 inches so there is another 80 gallons. Then you have the tire track and they can go two feet. That doesn't even include your eels, green terror and sharks. I wouldn't add any more and I would recommend, to be on the safe side, you get another tank and split these fellas up a little. Sorry about that. Good news is you can justify another tank. Bad news is you should do some re-arranging.
Alex Burleson - 2012-01-01 Depending on how aggressive your cichlids are, the best species for your aquarium would be:
With these species, you'd need to purchase more larger, adult specimens, with the risk of your cichlids attacking them, if they were much smaller.
Enjoy!
Joe - 2012-01-01 One inch of fish per one gallon is not true and should never be used to calculate how many fish to put in your tank. Dont want to a argue. Just putting a Correction out there.
Example: A 24" black pacu cant go in a 24 gallon tank. or a fifty. or barely wedge into a hundred. You have to account for Girth, temperament, skittishness, and a ton of other factors.
jack - 2011-06-17 I have a 12 inch tire track, a small rope, and a good amount of gouramis and bottom feeders. There is some hiding spots, but today I noticed something absolutely insane. A new 6 inch Tire track wrapped around the heater. How is that possible? I could understand seeing some small fry if I purchased my Tire preggers, but a 6 inch without me noticing is completely impossible right?
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Charlie Roche - 2011-06-18 Obviously it is possible, it happened. Could have come from the store and just didn't notice and it hid.
One look at the Tire Track Eel and it's easy to see how they received their common name!
I put it in a 5000 gallon tank it grew to 59.
I purchased a Yellow tail Tire Track eel two months ago. It was approx. 4 inches and very thin. I was told this eel only grow to 7 inches. Well... Jaba is a hefty 3/4 of an inch thick, wide whatever and 7 inches now, so I'm not sure where this is going. I'm confused. I purchased because it was advertised to grow only 7 inches. Is there a tire track species that only grow to only 7 or 8 inches?
I've had my tiretrack eel for a few months now and I noticed he/she is getting meaner to my other fish. It used to be a super sweet fish but it's just gotten totally agressive. Even when I changed out my tank it was attempting to gnaw on me even though I didn't feel it. It was just very strange. I've started calling him/her my little convict because he/she is just turning into a dreadful jerk. any suggestions?
They do eat small fish naturally, and some can get grumpier with age. But I'd start by checking the habitat as it may have to do with the tank being too small and/or not enough hiding places.
he lives in an 80gal tank with a pacu, angelfish, ghost knifefish, shovelnose cat. hes claimed this big cave all to himself even though hes still semi small. he hasnt reached his full length not by a long shot. idk whats wrong with him but hes made himself clear about his cave, the other fish let him eat first, and hes happy most of the time. i just dont know why he can have such a mean streak. the other fish dont bother him. he really likes to go after the pacu but i think thats because hes shiney. my eel loves shiney things. i had this silver ring on once when i was feeding them and i learned my lesson haha. he almost went ape crazy trying to get to it so i keep it in the aquarium now cuz he liked it so much, but i just dont know whats been gettin into him with his attitude. :/
I've been away for some time letting my friend feed my fish. When I got home today I've found my spiny eel's eyes have a white crust over them? Can anyone tell me what I need to save his eyes?
This usually happens from water condition. May be friend over fed? Test water right away. Lots of products on the market to help cure.
Adults can get up to 3' or 36". I have a fully grown adult in my home who is very peaceful though I do say, keep your tank lid on tight. If you have the room and knowledge to keep this fish, do so! It's very rewarding and hard to describe with not many people taking a liking to eels. Believe me, you'll enjoy every minute of keeping one of these beautiful animals.
I purchased 3 tire track eels about 2 months ago and to my surprise I woke up this am to find about 2 dozen eel fry swimming around in my tank. So I guess they do breed in captivity. Any advice for caring for these little guys?
lets see some pics of these
They sell liquid fry food at the store.
Could I put one of these in a 40 gallon breeder. I already have in it one red hook, one green terror, one rocket gar, one gold severum, one 9 inch pleco, 2 peacock eels, and 5 cory cats(1 albino, 3 juli, 1 spotted).
It all really depends on the current sive of your fish and how much space you are taking up with gravel and decor. I would think you would need a bigger tank to comfortably add this eel.
All of the fish except for the pleco are under 5 inches.
you should be good now. But they are all going to grow.
A 55 gallon would not be suitable housing for this fish. A standard 180 gallon is the absolute minimum, though some argue that a 300+ gallon tank is required. Also, why is there a picture of a zigzag eel (of the genus Macrognathus) in this article that is supposed to be about tire track eels (of the genus Mastacembelus)?
Doesen't depend on the Tire Track eel, I mean some don't get to be huge.
Drafina: No, it doesn't. Every specimen will reach about 30" in length if given proper care. If it stops growing before it gets to 30", that is a sign that it is likely unhealthy, which is usually due to the presence of high nitrate levels in the water (which is a side effect of not providing an adequate volume of water).
I own a 120 Gallon freshwater tank, full of about 10 cichilds (3 South American, around 5-7 South African), two Balla Sharks, a Green Terror, a Black Ghost Knife Fish, and my tank has allot of small crevices for a Eels to live in. I was wondering what type of Eel can I put in my fish tank and which one would be best and safe?
Rule of thumb is your tank should have one gallon of water for each inch your fish are going to be when they are adults. You also have to subtract gallons for gravel, plants, decorations, filter etc. An example is the Black Ghost can go up to 20". So allowing for gravel, decorations, etc, I would recommend a 25 gallon tank. Your circhlids can go up to 6 - 8 inches so there is another 80 gallons. Then you have the tire track and they can go two feet. That doesn't even include your eels, green terror and sharks. I wouldn't add any more and I would recommend, to be on the safe side, you get another tank and split these fellas up a little. Sorry about that. Good news is you can justify another tank. Bad news is you should do some re-arranging.
Depending on how aggressive your cichlids are, the best species for your aquarium would be:
Zig-Zag-Eel
Black Spotted Eel
With these species, you'd need to purchase more larger, adult specimens, with the risk of your cichlids attacking them, if they were much smaller.
Enjoy!
One inch of fish per one gallon is not true and should never be used to calculate how many fish to put in your tank. Dont want to a argue. Just putting a Correction out there.
Example: A 24" black pacu cant go in a 24 gallon tank. or a fifty. or barely wedge into a hundred. You have to account for Girth, temperament, skittishness, and a ton of other factors.
I have a 12 inch tire track, a small rope, and a good amount of gouramis and bottom feeders. There is some hiding spots, but today I noticed something absolutely insane. A new 6 inch Tire track wrapped around the heater. How is that possible? I could understand seeing some small fry if I purchased my Tire preggers, but a 6 inch without me noticing is completely impossible right?
Obviously it is possible, it happened. Could have come from the store and just didn't notice and it hid.