Fire Eel

A natural introvert, the Fire Eel (Mastacembelus erythroataenia), is found dwelling in South-East Asia's shallow, slow moving freshwater riverbeds. In its native country, the fire eel is a food fish, highly prized among the locals. While the Fire Eels shape makes it easy for them to burrow into the riverbed, when they are searching for food, they can be seen swimming through thick vegetation or swimming towards the surface. Fire Eels are a large species of the spiny eel family. They are named spiny eels because of the spines on their dorsal fins, and their long slender bodies give them an eel-like appearance. Looks can be deceiving, and members of this family are not true eels due to the fact that a true eel will not have spines. Members of the spiny eel family are simply elongated freshwater fish.   With a lifespan of 10 years, a fire eel has the potential to reach 3ft in the wild or more closely to 1.5 ft in captivity. You will need a spacious tank of around 75 gallons or more optima