Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive read through the past post but no one has raised this question (specifically) that i have seen. i have a 30 gal Breeder tank. 18" by 3' or so. 12" tall i believe, might be 13". but i was unsure if an eel could be kept in such a tank. The eels available here that i have seen are snowflakes, zebras and ribbon eels. all i read require a suggested 75 gal tank. i only plan to keep one eel.

however earlier it was debated over such a smaller size tank is possible. and this being a breeder is all floor space. eels if i am not mistaken hang out on the ground in the rocks. so if they are not big swimmers they dont (i assume) would need tons of swimming space. i only base this off that i've had experience w eels in the wild and they were in the shallows just about a ft deep.

thanks to anyone who gives me the time of day.

Hmmmm...

Well, I believe the dimensions given are the stats for a 40 gallon tank, but could be off due to the height. In any case, you are correct in that they primarily use the floor space. But, you are missing one important detail. The amount of waste and messy feeding can overpower the standard filtration on a 30/40 gallon tank pretty quickly.

If you are devoted to water changes and getting top notch filtration, you could probably get by with your tank - at least for awhile. Long term you need something in the 4 foot length range IMHO.

Ribbon eels are super sensitive - do your research heavily before you get one of those guys.