Synbranchiformes

This is a great oddball species for the Tanganyikan community tank, although it is not as attractive as the closely related Aethiomastacembelus ellipsifer. It is rarely seen in the hobby. The species in the family Mastacembelidae are known as "spiny" eels because the dorsal rays are stiffened. Care must therefore be exercised when handling them to avoid injuries. Spiny eels also have no swim bladder, an adaptation to their benthic lifestyle....

Very rarely seen in the hobby, this species makes an interesting oddball addition to the Tanganyikan community tank. The species in the family Mastacembelidae are known as "spiny" eels because the dorsal rays are stiffened. Care must therefore be exercised when handling them to avoid injuries. Spiny eels also have no swim bladder, an adaptation to their benthic lifestyle.....

One of the newer and prettier spiny eels in the hobby, M. zebrinus was previously considered a member of the closely related Mastacembelus genus. Care should be exercised when handling spiny eels, as the common name is derived from the sharp dorsal rays that can easily puncture the skin of a human....

The tyre track eel is also referred to as the white-spotted spiny eel. A member of the spiny eel family, which range across tropical Asia and Africa, Mastacembelus armatus is one of the more common species available to the hobby, along with the peacock eel ((Macrognathus siamensis)and the fire eel (Mastacembelus erythrotaenia). These species are all from Asia but there are some members of the family from Africa that are occasionally seen for sale. These majority of these species are from the ...

M. ellipsifer is a stunning eel that makes a nice 'alternative' species for the Tanganyikan community tank. The species in the family Mastacembelidae are known as "spiny" eels because the dorsal rays are very hard. Care must therefore be exercised when handling them to avoid injuries. The swim bladder in these eels has also disappeared completely, an adaptation to their bottom-dwelling lifestyle. The African species such as this one can be distinguished from their Asian relat...

A member of the spiny eel family, which range across tropical Asia and Africa, Mastacembelus erythrotaenia is one of the more common species available to the hobby, along with the peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis)and the tyre-track eel (Mastacembelus favus). These species are all from Asia but there are some members of the family from Africa that are occasionally seen for sale. These majority of these species are from the Afromastacembelus genus, with the most common representative being the...

An incredibly hardy species, M. albus has the ability to travel over land for short distances if kept moist and as mentioned above, often burrows into moist earth (sometimes up to a depth of 1.5 metres!) in order to survive dry conditions. It has only a single gill slit, located on the bottom of the throat, that allows it to trap air in its specially adapted gills. These contain an accessory breathing organ, which takes the form of a pair of lung-like sacs at the rear of the gill chamber. In thi...