Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis aka Bangles mottled eel or Indian mottled eel

[thebiggerthebetter]

Got this guy Aug-Sept 2015 from Ray Chan of Amazing Fish.

Almost never see it. It hides and, most amazingly, also this is the only fish of ours that is able to swim through pump output pipes against 2500 GPH through a 2" pipe that is 15' long and go from one 240 gal to the other as there are two tanks on the same 5000 GPH pump.

It's been 3.5 years with us but seems to not have grown. It probably has grown but what I am saying, it is not significant enough. This is surprising to me as the common size of the eel is 80 cm - 120 cm, and max is 200 cm.

From seeing it feed 2-3 times over all this time, I think it prefers pieces of thawed fish.

Regrettably and ironically all I got so far on it are glimpses in this video. When you see something that looks like a moving shoelace, that's it Amazingly too no predator in either of the 240 gal tanks, including an 18" juruense catfish, 14" bullheads, 16" VATF, 24" tig, 18" LSN catfish, etc. has eaten it.

So you know what it looks like a bit haha:








Ours looks close to this one:

 

[Reiner]

Very cool fish

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Finally was able to get some poor shots of our guy. A far cry from the brown and yellow adult beauties from Google I posted above.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

The remarkable eel has been doing well but probably wasn't feeding as well as it could as it doesn't like pellets, or not much, and the cut pilchard and herring pieces are often too big for it to swallow. About a year ago I've switched to thawed whole 2" glass minnows to feed our 240 gal tanks and the little guy seems to have taken to them and started growing. Nothing tremendous but at east it is noticeable.

Nov 2019. Begins at 1:50 minutes:

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

As I said in my prior post, the eel started finally growing length and girth wise on appropriately sized glass minnows, ~1.5"-3". It attacks them with vigor and purpose.

Probably around 18" now at 6 years old or so.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

We lost power last week. When this happens the pumps stop and the makeshift screens made out of the tupperware bowls float up, the ones off which resident fish knocked off the rocks that weight the bowls down.

Sadly, this happened in the tank where the eel was this time. So it found a way into the 500 gal 17'x2' sump through the drain for the first time in 5 years. Then at some point it climbed out of the sump... and I found it dried up like a museum holotype specimen on the fish room floor some time later... Almost all moisture left its body causing it to shrink badly.

Such is the gloryless end of this try.

Just as I was so happy that I found the feed, the glass minnows, that the little guy liked so much and has been growing on it like never before.

 

[vincentwugwg]

oh no... sad to see Viktor... i know that feeling. So hard to get some of them to finally feed, and then @#$@ happens.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Apr 2016, 0:00-3:15 min:

 

[Umbra]

Damn that sucks, sorry to hear that you lost it. They aren't the fastest growing fish, fed an appropriate amount as juveniles they grow about 6-8" per year and slow down as they get larger. Like morays, they can be moody and go on hunger strikes which certainly doesn't help the growth rate. Those enormous 5'+ eels you see in pictures and videos are ancient, like 20++ years old. Females do grow significantly larger and faster than males, so perhaps the specimen you had was a male?

They are a popular food fish at all stages of their lives and most of the fish from the pet trade originate from aquaculture operations. They are collected and sold as small as glass eels. To this point, I've got a bunch of tiny (3-4") Anguilla marmorata that I'm growing out - when I got them they were still partially transparent. These eels are some of my favourites, they have so much personality and are very intelligent much like the big morays and congers.