Peacock Eels

[molotov256]

Hi there!

I bought a peacock eel at an LFS today... I just went in to buy a pleco, but this eel really caught my eye. He's in my 55g tank with 2 gouramis, 2 cichlids, 5 columbian catfish, 2 plecos, and a small crayfish...

After I got him in my tank and swimming around (happily, it looks like), I did some reading online about peacock eels, and learned:

1) feed them live food like brine shrimp and earthworms
2) keep a soft substrate, because they spend most of their time burried in the ground with their head poking out to breathe

I have gravel in the tank now, but I'd be willing to switch it to sand or something if it's necessary for the eel, becaues he's super cool looking. I don't have any experience with live food, though. I used to feed oscars frozen brine shrimp; would that work? Anybody who has experience with these guys would be a big help!

Thanks in advance,
Andrew

 

[Toirtis]

Sand is best, fine gravel is good, and gravel can suffice if you have plenty of low-profile hiding spots. Frozen foods work just fine...all my peacocks, fire, tyretrack, and barred spiny eels do just fine on a combo of frozen mysid shrimp, frozen bloodworms, etc, although I do like to treat them with occasional small live earthworms and feeder guppies.

I am a bit concerned as to the crayfish, though, as he may well predate your eel.

What sort of cichlids do you have?

 

[molotov256]

Thanks for the quick reply - I'll stop by an LFS today and get some frozen food for him. The crayfish doesn't worry me too much - he's pretty small, and I think the cichlids would eat him before he tried to get the eel. They're 2 medium sized african cichlids, once is a yellow racer (not a scientific name, lol), and I have no idea what the other one is, but it's orange. Based on what I read, cichlids and peacock eels are good tankmates, for whatever reason. Is that correct?

 

[ROXIE]

I feed mine red worms in the morning and frozen bloodworms in the evening before the lights go out, I do put shrimp pellets in there but he prefers the live better, he even takes care of my Platty fry, which is a treat for him.

 

[spence0416]

I'm pretty sure the eel will eat small crustasions which will include crayfish

 

[Toirtis]

I'm pretty sure the eel will eat small crustasions which will include crayfish

Yes, but the eel would need to be significantly larger than the crayfish.

 

[molotov256]

I grabbed some frozen bloodworms after work yesterday for him, but he doesn't seem to be too interested in them, either (but the cichlids loved it). When there's food in the tank, he just swims into the bottom corner, and keeps on swimming around there. Are eels bottom feeders? Maybe he's eating when I'm not looking or something?

If I were to try to give him live food, what would I give him? I have no experience with live food at all, but I'm sure my cichlids would appreciate it if I started.

 

[molotov256]

Hmm, I just read from this site (http://boeing_dude.tripod.com/id237.htm) that a peacock eel "Feeds on average of once every three days." Does that sound right?

I keep on reading more and more about using a soft sand substrate for the eel. How does sand affect water changes? I'd imagine that a siphon would suck out a lot of the sand, too, which sounds like a pain to me.

 

[ROXIE]

I go to the local bait shop and buy the red worms, just chop 1 or 2 of them into small pieces, mine goes nuts!!!! I have alot of plants in mine so he's pretty much happy hanging on them, at times he will bury himself, I do have a tank that I put sand in and is cycling.

 

[Toirtis]

Hmm, I just read from this site (http://boeing_dude.tripod.com/id237.htm) that a peacock eel "Feeds on average of once every three days." Does that sound right?

Young ones eat daily or eveery two days.

I keep on reading more and more about using a soft sand substrate for the eel. How does sand affect water changes? I'd imagine that a siphon would suck out a lot of the sand, too, which sounds like a pain to me.

Not if you keep the siphon a few inches above the bottom....I do water changes on 4-7 sand-bottomed tanks daily, and the amount of sand I inadvertantly suck up in a week would easily fit in the palm of your hand.

 

[molotov256]

This forum rocks- everybody's so helpful, thanks!

I read a few articles about good sands to use, and I ended up buying some play sand at home depot for under $3. I've been using the bucket method to filter and rinse the sand, and I'll keep half the tank full of gravel and half the tank full of sand for a few weeks to make sure I don't get rid of all the good bacteria and send the tank into a cycle again. I think the poor eel is really freaked out now, though, lol. He got into my tank about 2 days ago, and I've already ripped apart his world and started changing the substrate... I figured it would be better for him in the long run though, because now he can burrow and dig and whatever else it is these eels do. During all my digging and rearranging and all, I didn't see the crayfish once... wonder what happened to him?

 

[ROXIE]

NO. I don't think that any fish should only be fed once every three days, all of us are taking care of all of these species that require different needs as far as water, chemical quality, light and etc. but they ALL need food like us.

 

[molotov256]

I still feed my fish every day!!! i wasn't suggesting I stop feeding them, lol, I was just trying to figure out why the eel didn't seem to be eating much.

He seems to be doing okay. His behavior isn't what I expected, though. Is this normal?

He spends almost all the time swimming up and down the side of the glass with my catfish. He doesn't hide in the sand like I thought he would. He also doesn't come eat with the other fish, even when I'm feeding them some really nice looking frozen bloodworms... (I havent had a chance to find a bait shop to get red worms yet, but I have not forgotten about it). Now, I'm used to the catfish not coming up to eat with everybody else, because they never really did, they just seem to go after whatever hits the bottom. The eel doesn't seem to even be doing that, though.

Does anybody else have one of these guys (peacock eels)? How do they act in your tank?

 

[spence0416]

From what I know about these guys ( I have never kept one so this is second hand info) they are not very agressive eaters so you may not see them eat very much. Also when they do decide to move around its usually just as you described. I have heard lots of stories about them escaping tanks so thats probably what yours is trying to do. Also heard that they only bury themselves if they feel there is a threat present in the tank.

Try training him to eat by using a turkey baster with the blood worms. When he is lying still somewhere just shoot a small amount of food toward him. Pretty soon he should learn that the turkey baster means dinner time. Some have been trained to be hand fed.

Here's a good link with plenty of feedback for you:
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/geel1.html

 

[Melody]

Mine eats out of my hand, Its so cool. It took him two weeks to eat anything, at least that I saw. I was really freaking out! The pet store guy told me that they eat flakes, but that is an all out lie... Mine have never ate flakes! Actually I just got me second one just the other day, He still hasnt ate for me, but Im not too worried about it. I think they are pretty hardy, and He'll be ok...

 

[ROXIE]

Yes, mine will eat out of my hand also, mine is such a friendly one, it is so neat whenever I come up to the tank, he is there at the top waiting for his worms! As far as the flakes he he, I agree, I will as a treat put some shrimp pellets in when I turn out the lights, but I really can't say if he eats them.

 

[molotov256]

That's good to know that they're not aggressive eaters. He seems healthy, so I hadn't been too worried, but it seemed odd that I didnt see him eating like the other fish.

How did you guys get your eels to come to the top for worms, or eat out of your hand for that matter? Did you do the turkey baster method?

 

[Melody]

I first started out with live black worms. I would drop them in the water and he would come out when all the other fish were freaking out. I dont think their eyesight is all that great, because he would swim right past one of the worms and never see it. I finely took a pinch of black worms and stuck it right in front of his nose. he sniffed around and found one of the worms. The first time he took one out of my hand it startled me. His whole body jolted! He looked like a little kid slurping up a piece of spaghetti! Then the pet store ran out! I tried frozen blood worms... no luck, but my Tiger barbs thought they were pretty tasty. I then got some freeze dried tubifex worms, Hikari, they come in cubes. It took him a little bit to figure out I had something, but I would take the cube and smash it on the glass and all the other fish would hit it, he finally found it, but I was concerned about him getting enough. until one evening my gourami snached the cube off the glass and started to take off with it. My Peacock Eel chased him down, took the worms out of the gouramis mouth and went back to his cave. Darndest thing I had ever seen. Brave little guy. Well to make sure he had time to eat his fill, I started to put my hand over the cube with just enough space for him to get by it to eat. My tiger barbs would still nose their way in, so I started to hold the cube. The eel would actually come up out of the water and eat sometimes. I finally cupped my hand under the water and he just crawled in to eat his tubifex worms. He wont do it to my husband or the kids. It must be the smell of the person. Give him time, he'll get there!

 

[spence0416]

After going through this post I decided I had to give a peacock eel a shot. Cool little buggers aren't they!

 

[Melody]

Here is a head shot of my Peacock Eel, Henry.