Lesser Spiny Eel 

Macrognathus Aculeatus

Community – with caution.                                                                                                             

Macrognathus aculeatus (Lesser spiny eel) is the smallest of the commonly seen spiny eels (tyre track and fire eels being the others) and it is more suitable for home aquariums than its giant relatives, a minimum of a 36 inches tank should be used to house this fish. Offer a sand substrate since the fish likes to burrow, plants are best left out since the eel/s will continually uproot them. They are not fussy of water parameters but the extremes of hardness and pH should be avoided, neutral water is best.

Current Size – 15cm

Adult Length – 38cm

Temperature Range – 24 - 28°C

pH Range – 6.5 - 7.5

Special Requirements - Prefer slightly hard water.

Tanks Mates and Compatibility – Being predators they should only be combined with fish that are over 3 inches, smaller fish will be eaten.

Feeding – Like with all eels feeding can be difficult, most eels will only accept live foods at first so try bloodworms, daphnia, glassworm, brineshrimp and black mosquito larvae, larger specimens should also take river/ghost shrimp. Once the eel is feeding confidently live foods can be swapped for frozen.

We recommend:

We always aim to supply the fish as close to the purchase size as possible. On rare occasions if this is not possible we will contact you.

The fish are selected at random however you are welcome to make a note on the order and the fish manager will do his best for you, requests are dependent on stock at the time of your order.