active fire eel

[jennigypsy]

I have recently moved "Templeton", my fire eel into the 55 gallon, with more slow moving fish (the 90 is TOO active-the jd/green terror and the 2 sevs were in there always bickering)
So, now that Templeton's got a more laid back place to be, I see him a lot more (last time I saw all of him, he was about 7-8 inches...today I'd say he's at least 10"!)..
My question is....
What defenses do eels have against predators? ..all that I can figure is disguise & speed-
...my concern is that these fish in the 55 aren't too sure of WHAT he is, or if they like him...(the choc has nipped at him and so has the sev as templeton wandered into their caves)
He 's got his old huge trusty log to live in so he does go there when the going gets tough...

[rsabatini]

I've owned one a while back,there not aggressive by any means but will over power and eat smaller fish,as far as it's only defense against cichlids because of it's lack of aggression would be to hide or swim away,also this eel gets pretty huge(21 inches),once mature they need SPACE I'd recommend no more smaller than a 90gl,once reaching that size IMO a great tankmate for our fully matured sa/ca bruisers.Take care.

[jennigypsy]

hi sab-
thanks for the reply!
I do plan on either putting him back into the 90 after he grows a bit more and that tank has settled down a bit (like maybe me choosing one or 2 bruisers to go...haha..it's like a dark alley right now! JD, GT, salvini, mean sev, convicts..you get the idea)
I can't believe how he's grown..he was maybe 4 inches when I bought him almost 2 years ago...since i don't see him much, you can really see the difference.....what a cool fish.

[rsabatini]

best of luck.

[seered247]

I'm absolutly in love with mine. He is always hiding too. Not sure if its because of the company (salvini, texas, jack,5 silver dollars) or its just his nature.