I know this topic has been discussed before, but I wanted to center in on one or two specific tank mates. I have an electric eel that is about 2 foot (my best guess is 22in) in a 150 gal sparsely scaped tank. I also have a red tail catfish that is about 1 foot and a leopard catfish that is about 8 in in a 75 gal tank. I would love to get all three of them into the 150 gal. My logic is all three are from the south american areas and live in the amazon and don't really have a reason to interact in the wild. Of course in a 150 gal there isn't much room to avoid each other but I still wonder if it would work. I really like my catfish and do not want to put them in a tank where they will die but if they all could be together that would be awesome. Has anyone tried or heard of this combination of tankmates? If I tried it would there be a chance to save my catfish if it were shocked? I plan on doing the whole speaker trick in the tank before I do anything in order to study the behavior of the eel when live fish are introduced in hopes I could prevent the eel from getting my catfish. Any input would be appreciated.
Electric Eel Tankmate
- Thread starter JakeLindsay
- Start date
Don’t think anyone has tried this. Haven’t seen tankmates with e-eels. Don’t see any public aquariums do this. It will likely not work. Unlikely to save ur catfish if it were shocked, IMO.
If you are so concerned about your catfish I would say go dump the RTC in first and see how it goes ? but in a smaller container such as 150g i do see small spurts of jolts n the poor cat floating up until it wakes up and swims again its just a funny image in my head when im reading this like a fish lava lamp
This will happen if the Redtail Catfish tried to eat Electric Eel
No tankmates except other Electric Eel.
No tankmates except other Electric Eel.
Yeah so I have decided not to try it. After some testing and live feedings I learned at 22 inches the eel is producing around 42 volts for locating and about 298 volts when its hunting. These measurements are some what dissipated through the water but even on direct contact with the probe the readings aren't too far off from this. I have a video of 10 feeders being dumped into the tank of which 3 perished quickly and to my surprise a day later 6 are still alive but I'm just going to assume he's not hungry. With permission I'll post that link but I am new so I guess I am not allowed to.
The surviving feeders are not dead because they were not subjected to the killing discharge used by the eel to subdue prey. But they are certainly feeling the constant string of low-voltage navigational discharges the eel produces as it moves. Low voltage shocks aren't deadly, but they certainly are not fun and no creature should be exposed to them at all, let alone on a continuous basis as your suggested tankmates would be.
It's not just about keeping your fish alive; they are supposed to be treated humanely and with an eye towards their quality of life as well. Constant shocks 24/7 don't fit that description. Add to that the fact that when you feed the eel, it will produce a kill shock...which will impact the other fish in the tank whether or not they are the intended targets.
It's not just about keeping your fish alive; they are supposed to be treated humanely and with an eye towards their quality of life as well. Constant shocks 24/7 don't fit that description. Add to that the fact that when you feed the eel, it will produce a kill shock...which will impact the other fish in the tank whether or not they are the intended targets.
If you really want tankmates, Synodontis catfish are apparently immune to the electricity produced by electric fish. I've heard of them working with electric catfish so they might work with an electric eel*.
*With an electric eel, your options will be limited to something the size of an upside down catfish. Larger species will probably be large enough to be seen as a worthwhile food source for the electric eel, even though really small fish (like the upside down) will likely be left alone.
*With an electric eel, your options will be limited to something the size of an upside down catfish. Larger species will probably be large enough to be seen as a worthwhile food source for the electric eel, even though really small fish (like the upside down) will likely be left alone.
Perhaps Synodontis are resistant to the low-voltage discharges produced by many "typical" electric fish such as Mormyrids, and maybe even the navigational clicks of the eel...but there is no way they could withstand the several hundred volts produced by a large electric eel when striking prey in the tank, even if the prey is not the Syno itself.
Can you cite some references for this assertation?