Is it possible to keep a glass eel?
- Thread starter Stuckita
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fish farmer
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Are you asking about American Eel elvers, Anguilla rostrata?
I've never kept a tiny one, but did have a foot long one in a tropical FOWLR tank many years ago. It lived under the UG filter and would come out a feeding time, voracious feeder. I donated it to my LFS when I moved away.
Eels are an aquacultured species so you may find specifics on elver diet through Aquaculture articles.
I've never kept a tiny one, but did have a foot long one in a tropical FOWLR tank many years ago. It lived under the UG filter and would come out a feeding time, voracious feeder. I donated it to my LFS when I moved away.
Eels are an aquacultured species so you may find specifics on elver diet through Aquaculture articles.
Yeah, if you're asking about the elvers, then you could probably keep them, yes. If you're asking about the leptocephalus or true glass eel stage (the stage between leptocephalus and elver), then maybe, and that's only if you're willing to put in a whole lot of time and effort.
So, assuming you're asking about the elvers:
They grow the fastest in brackish to marine salinities. You should be able to feed them things like fish roe, minced fish, minced octopus, live Tubifex worms, etc. (insect larvae if you have some) - the fish roe and minced octopus would be my suggestions - and slowly wean them onto a good quality, powdered feed.
Out of the pellet feeds that I've seen available to hobbyists, I'd normally recommend Otohime or TDO Chromaboost pellets (preferably Otohime in this case, since they're lower fat than TDO Chromaboost pellets, and lower fat is good for the leptocephalus stage of these eels), possibly supplemented by NLS Marine Fish Pellets (though you may need to powder these yourself, as they may be too large; unfortunately, I can't find any specifics on the size of the powder feeds used, so I don't know the ideal size, just that powdered feeds were used; one of them was made into a dough by mixing the powdered feed with water, though, so that may potentially be a useful feeding tool for you*).
However, the reason I say that "I'd normally recommend" them is because krill meal is one of the main components of both Otohime, TDO, and NLS pellets, and the excess fluoride in krill's shells have been shown to cause issues with the leptocephali of these eels as well. So, while there's not really a hobbyist-available pellet feed that I've seen that could adequately replace these pellets - and while I'd still recommend them as a result - I worry that the krill meal could cause issues for the elvers too.
If you want sources, I have plenty I can share (for both leptocephali, glass eels, and elvers), but they're a bit technical and dense.
*The quote about the dough feed, and it's source:
"Before each feeding, the powder diet was mixed with 1:1.2 weight of water to form a dough and then placed on a feeding table for the eels to eat."
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
So, assuming you're asking about the elvers:
They grow the fastest in brackish to marine salinities. You should be able to feed them things like fish roe, minced fish, minced octopus, live Tubifex worms, etc. (insect larvae if you have some) - the fish roe and minced octopus would be my suggestions - and slowly wean them onto a good quality, powdered feed.
Out of the pellet feeds that I've seen available to hobbyists, I'd normally recommend Otohime or TDO Chromaboost pellets (preferably Otohime in this case, since they're lower fat than TDO Chromaboost pellets, and lower fat is good for the leptocephalus stage of these eels), possibly supplemented by NLS Marine Fish Pellets (though you may need to powder these yourself, as they may be too large; unfortunately, I can't find any specifics on the size of the powder feeds used, so I don't know the ideal size, just that powdered feeds were used; one of them was made into a dough by mixing the powdered feed with water, though, so that may potentially be a useful feeding tool for you*).
However, the reason I say that "I'd normally recommend" them is because krill meal is one of the main components of both Otohime, TDO, and NLS pellets, and the excess fluoride in krill's shells have been shown to cause issues with the leptocephali of these eels as well. So, while there's not really a hobbyist-available pellet feed that I've seen that could adequately replace these pellets - and while I'd still recommend them as a result - I worry that the krill meal could cause issues for the elvers too.
If you want sources, I have plenty I can share (for both leptocephali, glass eels, and elvers), but they're a bit technical and dense.
*The quote about the dough feed, and it's source:
"Before each feeding, the powder diet was mixed with 1:1.2 weight of water to form a dough and then placed on a feeding table for the eels to eat."
Effects of White Fish Meal Replaced by Low-Quality Brown Fish Meal with Compound Additives on Growth Performance and Intestinal Health of Juvenile American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)
There is a high demand for white fish meal in the diet of eels (Anguilla spp.). A reduced supply and higher price of white fish meal heavily limit the sustainability of the eel aquaculture industry. It is essential to explore a practical strategy to reduce ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
