Tire-track eel
Mastacembelus armatus
Also known as Zig-zag eel, Tyre-track eel
FreshwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 75–82°F
- 24–28°C
- pH
- 6.5–7.5
- Adult size
- 27.6 in
- 70 cm
- Minimum tank
- 119 gal
- 450 L
- Temperament
- Mostly peaceful
- Social behavior
- Solitary
- Tankmates
- With caution
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Difficulty
- Difficult
- Breeding
- No record
- Rarity
- Common
- Family
- Mastacembelidae
- Origin
- South and Southeast Asia (India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam)
Overview
The tire-track eel is a big, bottom-dwelling spiny eel for a very large tank. It is best left to experienced keepers.
Did you know
The tire-track eel takes its name from the wavy, broken pattern running down its body. No two eels carry quite the same markings. It often sits with just its head poking out of the substrate, watching the tank until it goes dark.
Caring for the tire-track eel
Keep the tire-track eel in a tank of 119 gal (450 L) or larger, since an adult needs that much floor space. It spends the day partly buried, so the substrate matters more than anything else. Give it a deep bed of soft sand to burrow into, with plenty of rockwork or pipes for cover. It is a determined escape artist, so run a tight, gap-free lid.
Keep the water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. It is scaleless and sensitive to copper, so avoid copper-based medications entirely. Feed it after lights out with meaty foods such as earthworms, frozen bloodworms and prawn.
Keep one per tank, as it is territorial with its own kind. It is otherwise mostly peaceful, but it is a nocturnal predator that will eat any fish small enough to swallow. House it only with robust, larger species. There is no reliable home breeding record, so plan on a single long-term fish rather than a breeding project.
Good to know
The tire-track eel is a spiny eel in the family Mastacembelidae. Its long snout works like a probe, sniffing through sand for buried food. It is a hardy, long-lived predator when its needs are met, and most fish in the trade are wild caught. It also goes by the name zig-zag eel.
In the wild
Tire-track eels live across South and Southeast Asia, in rivers and floodplains through India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Common questions
What size tank does a tire-track eel need?
A tire-track eel needs at least 119 gal (450 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What temperature and pH does a tire-track eel need?
A tire-track eel is comfortable at 75–82°F (24–28°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.
What does a tire-track eel eat?
A tire-track eel eats meaty foods such as earthworms, frozen bloodworms and prawn. Feed it after lights out, since it hunts at night.
How big does a tire-track eel get?
An adult tire-track eel reaches about 27.6 in (70 cm).
Related species
21.7 in (55 cm)119 gal (450 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)White spot eel
Mastacembelus unicolor
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Mastacembelus nigromarginatus
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Mastacembelus erythrotaenia
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Mastacembelus alboguttatus
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