TankBud

Barred spiny eel

Macrognathus pancalus

Also known as Pancalus spiny eel, Indian striped spiny eel, Yellow tail spiny eel

FreshwaterFish

Barred spiny eel (Macrognathus pancalus)

Care at a glance

Temperature
73–82°F
23–28°C
pH
6.5–7.8
Adult size
7.5 in
19 cm
Minimum tank
42 gal
160 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Mastacembelidae
Origin
Ganges and Brahmaputra lowlands

Overview

The barred spiny eel is a small, burrowing spiny eel for a sand-bottomed tank. It is a step up from the easiest fish.

Did you know

The barred spiny eel is one of the few spiny eels that tolerates the slightly salty water where rivers meet the sea. Most spiny eels are strictly freshwater, but it turns up in near-brackish ditches and estuary edges.

Caring for the barred spiny eel

Give the barred spiny eel at least 42 gal (160 L) and a tight lid, since it can slip through small gaps. It spends the day buried in sand and comes out at dusk to work the bottom. Lay a fine, soft sand bed it can dig into, with some plant cover, bogwood and gentle flow.

Keep the water at 73 to 82°F (23 to 28°C) with a near-neutral pH of 6.5 to 7.8. A little marine salt does it no harm. Feed meaty foods such as frozen bloodworm, blackworm, tubifex and chopped earthworm. Be ready to start new imports on live food.

Keep just one per tank, since it lives alone in the wild. It will squabble with its own kind unless the tank is large and broken up with hides. It is calm toward larger tank mates but treats anything small enough to swallow as food, so avoid tiny fish and shrimp. Like most of its relatives, it has no reliable record of breeding in home aquariums.

Good to know

The barred spiny eel, Macrognathus pancalus, also goes by pancalus spiny eel, Indian striped spiny eel and yellow tail spiny eel. It belongs to the Mastacembelidae, the spiny eels, named for the row of short spines set ahead of the soft dorsal fin. It is one of the smaller members of the family, with a slender body. Like the rest of the group, it uses a mobile, probing snout to sift the substrate. The fish in the trade are wild caught.

In the wild

The barred spiny eel comes from the lowland Ganges and Brahmaputra. It lives in ponds, ditches and slow, weedy rivers.

Common questions

What size tank does a barred spiny eel need?

A barred spiny eel needs at least 42 gal (160 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a barred spiny eel need?

A barred spiny eel is comfortable at 73–82°F (23–28°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.8.

What does a barred spiny eel eat?

A barred spiny eel eats meaty foods such as frozen bloodworm, blackworm, tubifex and chopped earthworm. New imports may need to start on live food.

How big does a barred spiny eel get?

An adult barred spiny eel reaches about 7.5 in (19 cm).

Related species