Fire eel
Mastacembelus erythrotaenia
No photo yet
The fire eel, a lowland spiny eel from Southeast Asia, lives in slow rivers and floodplains and eats insect larvae, worms and some plant matter. It is the largest of its family, reaching 1 metre. It has declined in parts of its range due to fishing.
- Scientific name
- Mastacembelus erythrotaenia
- Family
- Mastacembelidae
Fact sheet
General
- Water
- Freshwater
- Group
- Fish
Taxonomy
- Family
- Mastacembelidae
- Order
- Synbranchiformes
- Synonyms
- Macrognathus erythrotaenia, Mastacembelus argus
Origin
- Native region
- Ásia
Water
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
- pH
- 6–7
- General hardness (GH)
- 5–12 °dGH
Size and lifespan
- Adult size
- 100 cm
- Minimum tank (volume)
- 432 L
- Minimum tank (length)
- 120 cm
Behavior
- Temperament
- Semi-aggressive
- Social life
- Solitary
- Swimming level
- Bottom
- Diet
- Carnivore
Care
- Care difficulty
- Moderate
Conservation and trade
- IUCN status
- Least concern (LC)
Spotted wrong data on this page? Let us know