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Help ID spiny eel
Posted: 17 May 2005, 15:05
by Caol_ila
Hi!
Bought 2 of these fellows labeled as "African Spiny Eel" for 3 euros/each. The bigger one shows blue and red markings on the dorsal fin. About 8 and 5 cm long.
Any ID help would be apreciated.
Heres some (big+crappy) pixx:
eels in bag
eel
eel
eel
eel
Posted: 17 May 2005, 16:46
by Caol_ila
Posted: 17 May 2005, 17:00
by Silurus
I would guess Mastacembelus frenatus.
Posted: 17 May 2005, 18:56
by Caol_ila
thank you
do i see that right that this is a rarely kept species? havent found much about them...
Posted: 17 May 2005, 22:16
by Caol_ila
Posted: 18 May 2005, 10:42
by Mike_Noren
I can't ID mastacembelids (except for some of the most common), but you're aware that if that is C. frenatus then it'll grow quite large and have a tendency to consider any fish that fits in its mouth as lunch?
Oh, I forgot - if you're looking for info, that species has also been called Afromastacembelus frenatus and, if I read Eschmeyer correct, the present name is Caecomastacembelus frenatus, so you may want to do a search for those names too.
Posted: 18 May 2005, 11:41
by sidguppy
definitely not frenatus!
frenatus has tiny eyes (these have bulging eyes!), and frenatus has a lightcolored band on the back and dark sides wich gives the impression of the colors being "up side down".
Also frenatus is a very elongated species.
are these African or Asian? the proportion remind me a bit of Asians wich tend to be less elongated than the spaghetti-like species of Africxan rivers.
Posted: 18 May 2005, 11:43
by Caol_ila
Hi!
The wholesaler said they came in from Nigeria.
If they get that big they get into a tank with the big Synos
Erwin wrote to me that all african Spinyeels have been moved back to Mastacembelus
M.spp. from the Niger River
M.nigromarginatus
M.loennbergii
M.decorsei
Posted: 19 May 2005, 00:58
by Caol_ila
Posted: 24 May 2005, 10:28
by Caol_ila
Posted: 24 May 2005, 10:59
by sidguppy
nope, those are Africans allright.
I think Caecomastacembelus frenatus or C cryptacanthus.
I've kept exactly those fish, as shown in your last post!
unfortunately they're not that easy to keep. they're quite fragile, escape-artists (the tiniest hole in the hood and you'll find them dried up on the floor!), slow eaters (easily outcompeted for food by catfish) and highly territorial to each other!
a 500 L tank was too small for three 5" specimen....
unfortunately I couldn't get more; 3 was all they had.
And IME many Mastacembelids are best kept single or in a group of at least 5 (7-8 is better), to spread all that pent-up nastiness.
Posted: 24 May 2005, 11:13
by Mika
Sid i`ve send to you pm a week ago. Sorry to intterupt this thread, but this seems to be only way.
Posted: 24 May 2005, 12:03
by Caol_ila
eases my mind a lot that its not armatus...
Posted: 25 May 2005, 16:00
by sidguppy
Mika, that pm never made it....I just checked and no pm with your nametag on it.
armatus can be vicious devils; agressive, piscivore and downright nasty.
not to mention 3/4 meters in length when adult.....
but armatus doesn't have the dark flank and light dorsal region these have; they have a very typical brown "net" print superimposed on a light background.
highly variable fish, but this pic shows what an adult armatus looks like
