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Spiny Eels, family Mastacembelidae
Spiny eels are found in Asia and Africa, usually in freshwater habitats but sometimes in slightly brackish water. As such, a few species can be considered for inclusion in low salinity brackish water systems (SG 1.005 or less).
Species that occur in brackish water include:
- Macrognathus aculeatus, to 38 cm
- Macrognathus aral, to 60 cm
- Macrognathus pancalus, to 18 cm
- Mastacembelus armatus, to 75 cm
Spiny eels are not easy to keep. They are easily damaged by abrasive gravel, and then secondary infections, likely Aeromonas and Pseudomonas spp., quickly set in. Another major problem is feeding them. They will not accept dried or flake foods, and tend to be slow at feeding time even when the right foods are offered. Worms, especially earthworms, as well as insect larvae and small crustaceans are the favoured food items. By choice they feed at night, but once settled into the aquarium they become more willing to feed by day. Spiny eels are best not mixed with other nocturnal species such as catfish; that way, any food put out at night will be eaten by the spiny eels alone.
Social behaviour varies. The spiny eels in the genus Macrognathus tend to be gregarious and are best kept in groups; by contrast species of Mastacembelus are territorial and can be very aggressive towards one another. All species are predatory towards fish that are small enough to swallow whole. Large species like Mastacembelus armatus can easily manage taking fish as large as swordtails and mollies.