Do they uproot plants? I’m thinking elodea and some sort of carpet plant? Will these guys uproot it all?
My M. Circumcinctus (half-banded spiny eel)
- Thread starter magpie
- Start date
Depends on the substrate. If ur using something like seachem flourite then not to worry. Even if it gets a bit uprooted just replant.
Other option is keep one area sandy w/o any plants and see if the eel will bury there and chill out. My old eel would do that quite often.
3.5" maybe - doubt he's 4 inches - I can measure him tonight. The tank lights are off right now. He's definitely gotten thicker but not a notable amount longer. Supposedly they typically get to about 6" typical, 8" occasional. Slow grower in my experience (got him at around 2" almost 1.5 years ago) - and this guy's a little pig.
But it’s a good point to note that may be a 6 inch version of this would eat a rummy nose? I don’t know that I trust something as small as an endler but… this guy seems way more interested in things like worms. I don’t think I would try any expensive shrimp with them.
I'd say possibly, and maybe more as they got bigger? I have sand, mine mainly digs around in the sand to look for snails. For the most part, he prefers to hide and hang out under leaf litter, branches, plant leaves etc. I've never seen him bury himself like other eels. Not sure if that's normal for the species. I have a bunch of plants including crypts and he doesn't bother them at all, but my plants are well-established so that helps. I don't have any carpet plants per se.
I also have a lot of floating plants, which keeps the light dimmer so maybe he doesn't see the need as much since there's so much cover otherwise? This little tank is kind of a jungle - I kind of let it grow wild with occasional cleaning off of the fuzzies that grow on my wood, etc.
Still love the little guy. Very peaceful, curious, out and about a lot, and a big food beggar. He doesn't bother a soul, just does his thing. He'll eat out of my fingers, too.
I took a photo a couple of weeks ago. You can kind of see his mouth. This is next to a chunk of frozen cube. Maybe I see it as small because I'm used to bichirs?
He's always been with other fish and doesn't even seem to notice them. Eats right alongside the cories and the ram, etc.EDIT - image doesn't want to attach. Will try again in a minute.
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Ok. That sounds like good advice. I am planning one of these eels for my 90 gallon community and the only substrate rooted plants I am getting are crypts for the specific reason that they have deep/complex roots to stop the eel digging them up. The eel would be one of the last fish I add and I am hoping to find one at a decent size of 3 or so inches to make sure it can compete for food and isn’t possibly eaten by a Raphael I’m also getting. How long do you think I should leave the crypts to deeply root before I get the eel?3.5" maybe - doubt he's 4 inches - I can measure him tonight. The tank lights are off right now. He's definitely gotten thicker but not a notable amount longer. Supposedly they typically get to about 6" typical, 8" occasional. Slow grower in my experience (got him at around 2" almost 1.5 years ago) - and this guy's a little pig.
But it’s a good point to note that may be a 6 inch version of this would eat a rummy nose? I don’t know that I trust something as small as an endler but… this guy seems way more interested in things like worms. I don’t think I would try any expensive shrimp with them.
I'd say possibly, and maybe more as they got bigger? I have sand, mine mainly digs around in the sand to look for snails. For the most part, he prefers to hide and hang out under leaf litter, branches, plant leaves etc. I've never seen him bury himself like other eels. Not sure if that's normal for the species. I have a bunch of plants including crypts and he doesn't bother them at all, but my plants are well-established so that helps. I don't have any carpet plants per se.
I also have a lot of floating plants, which keeps the light dimmer so maybe he doesn't see the need as much since there's so much cover otherwise? This little tank is kind of a jungle - I kind of let it grow wild with occasional cleaning off of the fuzzies that grow on my wood, etc.
Still love the little guy. Very peaceful, curious, out and about a lot, and a big food beggar. He doesn't bother a soul, just does his thing. He'll eat out of my fingers, too.
I took a photo a couple of weeks ago. You can kind of see his mouth. This is next to a chunk of frozen cube. Maybe I see it as small because I'm used to bichirs?
EDIT - image doesn't want to attach. Will try again in a minute.
I wouldn't worry about it too much myself. If you're adding the eel last, it should be fine in my opinion. Like I said, mine isn't a major digger in general, so he'd be fine with a completely newly planted plant.
If it becomes a problem, you could always add some river rocks near the base of any plants to keep them from digging around those areas.
If it becomes a problem, you could always add some river rocks near the base of any plants to keep them from digging around those areas.
