looks awesome! I think i wil take them. I'm going to redesign my aquarium around March/May
And what about the water with like PH an GH what is the best for them ??
And the design of the aquarium? i'm thinking about pvc pipes in the sand and a lot of rocks. do they ruin plants??
(1) about water parameters, since the tiger eel lives in tropical rivers in Indonesia and North Australia, about several kilometers away from the estuarium, I suggest you try to recreate those parameters, including the temperature (which is very important if you don't live in SE Asia). Think of a river with very strong currents, rocky bottom, and has direct access to estuarium. The water will be hard ph and with variable salinity (from pure fresh to a bit of brackish contamination).
(2) about aquarium design, I have seen people around here keep tiger eels in very bare tank, no ornaments whatsoever, and the eels thrives anway. On the other hand, I also saw them in very beautifully aquascaped FW aquariums with various plants, so I guess it's possible.
But please keep in mind that these are eels, and eels loves to (a) hide and (b) digging into substrates. So, there must be some kind of arrangements possible to ensure that they won't dig out your plants.
You have the right idea by introduce PVC pipes with sand and rocks. Tiger eels got stressed if they cannot hide, so if you could provide a pipe for hiding it's very good.
One interesting note: My own eels in fact are very fond of rearranging their aquarium. For such slim animals they are surprisingly strong. Very often they dug out their PVC pipes and overturn the clamshells and broken corals and bogwoods, and put those wherever they like. They seem to like to stack everything in a corner and hide under those as a community.
(3) additional info: All long fishes, especially tiger eels, WILL make attempts to escape from your aquarium. It's in their instincts, honed by millions of years of evolution in living on rivers, which often became dried-out during hot seasons. Even mine try to escape every now and them
So, please keep the top of your aquarium covered, and do not max out the water on the aquarium, if your aquarium height is 100 cm, it's better not fill it all the way but please keep it in 60-70cm to prevent escaping. Especially when your tiger eel has become bigger/longer (say, 50cm or more) then be extra careful, as they can actually "stand" vertically against your aquarium wall and "climb up" using "S-shaped" movements, or they can also climb the filter and use the filter cables to slither out.
