new baby electric eel help!

[tvbbnumber41]

I recently baught a baby electric eel. Hes about 4.5 inches long and I've noticed when i braught him home he has ick. Do i treat it like any other fish? (raise temp, salt, medication, water changes) Also, is there any special care i should know about these guys? Can they be kept with an electric catfish of similar size? Google wasn't much of a help this time. Thanks. Oh almost forgot to add, is there any way to get em off of live food? The pet store owner said he hasn't had one that would accept anything other than the feeder guppies they were giving em.

 

[Google]

I have held saltwater eels and octopi although the two are unrelated I find the best thing to do is start them off with feeder fish then go to high protein pellet

 

[Oddball]

Careful on the meds. Their skin is sensitive to alot of meds. Best bet is to treat with salt and increased temp. These knife fish can tolerate high temps during their naturally occurring droughts. A temp of 86 will help in killing the ich infestation without harming the e eel. At its current size, the e eel will accept cut raw shrimp, live earthworms, blood worms, and black worms. Live scuds in the tank will also get picked off by the e eel. Of course, as the e eel grows, the size of its diet must also increase by adding in larger fish meats, crayfish, etc.

I've watched a special where a nesting pair of e eels killed a crocodile that entered their nesting area. So, I wouldn't suggest any tankmates with this species.

 

[Wiggles92]

Careful with how much salt you use as that will increase the conductivity of the water.

 

[Mikecelicag]

I've owned 5 electric eels ranging from 5 inches to 43 inches and have gotten all of them off of live food. I fed my frozen shrimp, frozen crayfish, cut frozen tilapia, and beef heart. I would splash the water with the food and then they'd come towards it and I'd drop the food. If it's shy you can feed with lights off and even let the food sit there for awhile with lights off. Mine all started eating like catfish, scavenging the bottom for food every time I splashed surface. As for tank mates, there aren't really any other another exact same size electric eel. Larger ones can and will eat smaller, trust me


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