White-blotched River Stingray
Potamotrygon leopoldi
- Care level
- Specialist
- Adult size
- 70 cm
- Minimum tank
- 1944 litres
- Temperature
- 20–29 °C
Species profile
Tanganyikan Spiny Eel
Mastacembelus ellipsifer
Common names: Tanganyikan Spiny Eel
Recognized speciesOddballs
Adult size
Up to 45 cm
Up to 45 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A keeper who has researched this fish and can match its needs
Think carefully if
- You keep smaller fish, which it may eat
- You cannot provide about 243 litres for a fully grown fish
- You keep shrimp you want to protect
A stunning spiny eel from Lake Tanganyika with a net-like pattern, and an interesting choice for a Tanganyikan tank. Keep alone or in a small group in 243 litres or more.
Appearance and Identification
A stunning spiny eel from Lake Tanganyika with a net-like pattern, and an interesting choice for a Tanganyikan tank. It needs hard, alkaline water, sand to bury in and a tight lid, and it eats small fish.
Check the scientific name when buying, as common names vary between sellers and countries.
Sexes are usually hard to tell apart.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 970–1,220 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 250–375 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 243 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 120 cm
- Minimum group size
- 1
- Recommended group size
- 1
- Activity level
- Moderate
- Flow preference
- Moderate
- Planting preference
- Moderately planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Moderate
Allow plenty of room, use a very secure lid and fit strong filtration. Predators produce a lot of waste, and many are strong jumpers.
Behaviour and Tankmates
A predator that spends much of its time watching and waiting for prey.
Usually best alone, or in a very large tank with others of its size.
Many are intolerant of their own kind.
It will eat any fish that fits in its mouth, so keep it with fish too big to swallow, or alone. It is likely to eat shrimp.
Water Parameters
Fairly tolerant of different water, if it is clean and stable. Keep the temperature steady.
Parameter caveat
Keep up regular water changes, and acclimatise new fish slowly.
Feeding
- Diet types
- Carnivore, Predator
- Feeding frequency
- Daily
- Preferred foods
- Quality carnivore pelletsWorth training it onto these, as they are balanced and clean.
- Frozen prawn, mussel and fishUse a variety. Avoid a diet of feeder fish, which can bring in disease.
- EarthwormsA good food, and most predators take them readily.
A burrowing predator that feeds at night on worms and invertebrates. Offer bloodworm and earthworms.
Feed small amounts, and remove anything left after a few minutes.
Breeding
- Breeding difficulty
- Not commonly bred
- Parental care
- Unknown
Not commonly bred in aquariums, and little has been recorded about how it spawns.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Africa, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia
- Natural habitat
- Lake
- Aquarium contexts
- Planted Aquarium
- Audience level
- Specialist
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Mastacembelus
- Family
- Mastacembelidae
- Species group
- Fish, Oddballs
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- Care level
- Specialist
- Adult size
- 91 cm
- Minimum tank
- 432 litres
- Temperature
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- Minimum tank
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- Temperature
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