Mastacembelus erythrotaenia

Fire Eel

Classification

Mastacembelidae

Distribution

Recorded from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Habitat

Usually inhabits sluggish lowland waters including floodplains and slow-moving rivers.

Maximum Standard Length

36″ (100cm)

Aquarium SizeTop ↑

48″ x 24″ x 24″ (120cm x 60cm x 60cm) 500 litres. (Can be kept in smaller tank when juvenile)

Maintenance

Tank should be well planted with floating plants also used. An abundance of hiding places should be provided as this species likes to hide away during the day. Bogwood, rock caves and PVC piping are all suitable for this purpose. Sand should be used as substrate as the spiny eels often like to bury themselves. Dimmer lighting will encourage the fish to venture from its hiding places more often. A close-fitting hood is required as the eel can find its way through the smallest of gaps. Water flow should be fairly gentle as the fish mainly inhabits areas of still water in the wild.

Water Conditions

Temperature: 75-82°F (24-28°C)

pH: 6.0 – 7.0

Hardness: 5 – 12°H

Diet

Wild fish are omnivorous and consume a variety of smaller fish, aquatic invertebrates, plant matter and detritus. Prefers meaty foods such as prawn, krill, and lancefish. Live and frozen foods can also be fed, however these foods alone are unlikely to be enough to sustain larger fish. Some specimens will also accept vegetable matter, although this is fairly rare.

Behaviour and CompatibilityTop ↑

Generally peaceful community fish, although care should be taken to ensure tankmates are too large to be considered prey as this species does eat live fish in the wild. It is recommended to only keep one fire eel per tank as they may be aggressive to conspecifics. This can sometimes be avoided by keeping the fish in groups of five or more individuals.

Sexual Dimorphism

Female is fuller bodied when inbreeding condition.

Reproduction

Has been occasionally bred in the aquarium but this has been accidental.

NotesTop ↑

A member of the spiny eel family, which range across tropical Asia and Africa, Mastacembelus erythrotaenia is one of the more common species available to the hobby, along with the peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis)and the tyre-track eel (Mastacembelus favus). These species are all from Asia but there are some members of the family from Africa that are occasionally seen for sale. These majority of these species are from the Afromastacembelus genus, with the most common representative being the Tanganyikan spiny eel (Afromastacembelus tanganicae

The family is named ‘spiny eels’ due to the presence of spines running along the back of the fish. These are harmless to humans.

The fire eel is also a food fish in its native countries.