Tire Track Eel

The Tire Track Eel was described by Guenther in 1861 as Mastacembelus armatus . Found in Southeast Asia and China, the Tire Track can reach a total length of over 28”. It prefers a sandy substrate, as the eel may actually burrow into the bottom to hide. It will also prefer dense vegetation and rocky hiding places. The Tire Track has an elongated body with flatten tail and enlarged dorsal and anal fins. The color pattern is a dark brown with light brown circles. As it is named, this pattern resembles a tire track in the mud. While it will tolerate fellow eels, it can live singly with other larger fish. A night forager, the Tire Track prefers meaty foods, small worms, insects, fish, etc. In the home aquarium it can be fed frozen bloodworms, tubifex, plankton and some sinking pellet foods. It can tolerate a little salt in the water (3 tbsp/10 gallons) and should be treated as a smooth skin fish when treating for parasite infestations. The Tire Track can be trained to take food from your hand and will require a tight fitting lid to keep it in the aquarium.

Detailed information about this animal.