I can add to this. I observed a pair breeding once, but over the few years I had my adults, never found a baby. I had a heavily planted tank for most of that time, with several hiding spots and a course sandy substrate that would allow burrowing. My females were enormously round (as well as long) most of that time, and I thought I saw abdominal bulges more than once. Now that these have produced at least one offspring, I seriously think that perhaps they might have produced other offspring that were eaten before I could find them.

I think the moral of the story is to keep a heavily planted tank with lots of hide spots to keep the adults happy, but observe the tank frequently (at least once daily) in detail to see if you have offspring once you see fat adult females. My eels were pretty much maintenance free other than occasional water changes and every other day or once every three day feedings which were performed very quickly. My schedule and number of other animals over the last couple of years prevented me from paying close attention to my eels, and I and their breeding activities may have suffered due to this inattention.

Katrina

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