Tanganyika spotted spiny eel
Mastacembelus ellipsifer
Also known as Ellipsifer eel, Banded Tanganyika eel
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 75–81°F (24–27°C)
- pH
- 7.8–9.0
- Adult size
- 17.7 in (45 cm)
- Minimum tank
- 79 gal (300 L)
- Temperament
- Mostly peaceful
- Social behavior
- Solitary
- Tankmates
- Tankmates with caution
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- No record
- Rarity
- Rare
- Origin
- Lake Tanganyika
- Family
- Mastacembelidae
Overview
Keep the Tanganyika spotted spiny eel singly, as it is solitary and defends space against its own kind, though it suits a hard-water community of larger rift-lake fish. It threads rock seams and buries in sand along the shore, staying near the bottom and foraging as the tank settles. It is peaceful with tankmates too large to eat but will take small fish, so keep companions medium-sized and calm rather than tiny. Feed meaty foods such as earthworm, prawn, mussel, and frozen items like bloodworm and krill. A tank of around 300 liters with sand, deep rockwork, and a firm lid suits it.
In the wild
The Tanganyika spotted spiny eel is endemic to Lake Tanganyika, living near shore where rock gives way to sand and mud. Like other rift-lake fish it needs hard, alkaline water: a pH around 7.8 to 9.0 and warm temperatures near 24 to 27 C. Give it a sand bed to bury in, piled stone with crevices to thread, and the clean, oxygen-rich, stable conditions of the great lake.
Good to know
Mastacembelus ellipsifer, a member of the spiny eel family Mastacembelidae, reaches about 45 centimeters. Its name refers to the oval, ellipse-like blotches patterning its cream-and-umber body. A nocturnal hunter of small fish and invertebrates, it is one of more than a dozen spiny eels found only in Lake Tanganyika. Captive breeding is unrecorded.
Did you know
Lake Tanganyika is famous for its cichlids, but its spiny eels tell the same story: more than a dozen species of Mastacembelus evolved in that one ancient lake and live nowhere else, a small radiation all their own, and ellipsifer is one of them.
Common questions
What size tank does a Tanganyika spotted spiny eel need?
A Tanganyika spotted spiny eel needs at least 79 gal (300 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What temperature and pH do Tanganyika spotted spiny eel need?
Tanganyika spotted spiny eel are comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 7.8–9.0.
How big do Tanganyika spotted spiny eel get?
An adult Tanganyika spotted spiny eel reaches about 17.7 in (45 cm).
Where to buy
Some links may not be the exact species or variety.
…or ask your local fish store.
Appears in
Keeping Tanganyika spotted spiny eel?
Track water tests, reminders and stocking fit.
Planning tankmates
See how Tanganyika spotted spiny eel fits a stocking plan. Open the stocking calculator
Add to your site
Show this species on your own site: a shortcode for WordPress, or an HTML embed for anywhere else.
Related species
Tanganyika striped spiny eel
Mastacembelus plagiostomusFreshwater13.8 in (35 cm)79 gal (300 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
Eyespot spiny eel
Mastacembelus notophthalmusFreshwater17.7 in (45 cm)106 gal (400 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)Tin Win's spiny eel
Mastacembelus tinwiniFreshwater17.7 in (45 cm)106 gal (400 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
White-spotted spiny eel
Mastacembelus alboguttatusFreshwater19.3 in (49 cm)106 gal (400 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
Marbled spiny eel
Mastacembelus favusFreshwater19.7 in (50 cm)119 gal (450 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Blackedge spiny eel
Mastacembelus nigromarginatusFreshwater19.7 in (50 cm)106 gal (400 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)