# 75 gal Peacock Eel Planted Tank



## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

This tank started back in Sept 2009. Instead of the typical PVC pipe for a cave, I built a 3"(H)x6"(D)x24"(L) cave that doubles as a planter box. The box is actually 6" tall, but the top 3" is full of substrate for plants. The box was built from plexiglass. I also ran some plumbing for both intake and output under the sand and into the cave for water circulation to avoid any toxic buildup. Both pipes have two small holes so hopefully there won't be a major current, just enough to move the water in and out. I drilled other holes as vents at the top of the cave to allow water to flow out and not get stagnant on the ceiling. The main circulation will still take place with a typical spraybar and surface skimmer using an XP3 filter. Unfortunately, I didn't take pics of the cave build, but I'm impressed with the way it turned out. After painting the box black, I used lace rock to conceal it and I added some anubias and ferns to help hide the top edge and soften the rocky look. I planted some Blyxa and a few crypts (green & green gecko) in the front attempting to cover the cave entrance/exits. There are 4 ways for the eel to get in and out, maybe 2 more if the eel can squeeze through the area the plumbing goes in. I used CaribSea Instant Aquarium sand with a generous sprinkle of Ferka Aquabase underneath. The foreground is E. tennellus 'micro' and various Crypt species will be the main plants.

Here are some cloudy pics of the tank from the first night (Sept 8, 2009) 



























Here are pics from the next day after the dust settled and I added some wood.


















You can see two pieces of wood in this last pic weren't quite ready to go in. I have a couple rocks helping to keep things in place.









09/17/09 - Most of the plants went in




































10/16/09 - The eels were added









Size comparison next to the thermometer.









12/2/09 - Plants filling in nicely, added platies (2 males, 4 female)



























02/07/10 - An overhead shot of the top shelf of crypts. These plants have been growing slow and steady. As you can see, they are starting to really fill in the upper shelf.









FTS-









2/10/10 - One of the eels died-unknown causes

03/02/10 - I hadn't seen the surviving eel for several weeks. I was lucky enough to have my camera ready when it made a rare appearance. This is the only good picture I got. I would have to estimate his size to be about 7-8", nearly double from when I first bought him back in October. You can get a real good perspective on his size in this video compared to the orange platies swimming around him.


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## MiKlo (Jun 20, 2008)

Nice planted tank!
Strange fish for in a planted tank but beautiful, though.


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## tha0ster (Oct 2, 2006)

nice setup...but wouldn't the peacock eel tend to up-root the plants?


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

I use to love my peacock eel.


Had him for several years, then one day I found him carpet surfing. =(


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

The eel spends most of his time in the cave. I haven't had any problems with uprooting plants. This is how I normally see the eel, peaking out from the cave under the safety of the plants.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

try releasing some live black worms into the tank. they will dig into the sand and the eel will track them down. great fun to watch.


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

I drop in live black worms a couple times a week, but the platies usually get them. A few made it to the bottom this morning and the eel darted out and grabbed a couple before the platies saw them.


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## londonloco (Sep 25, 2005)

great looking tank...love it!


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## msabat (Jun 7, 2009)

great tank, keep the pics coming


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since I updated this thread. First the bad news, the eel escaped while I was out of town doing an internship for school. He got out one week before I got home.  My friend came over to feed him and found him on the floor dried up instead. I debated tearing the tank down and starting something new, but got a bichir instead. The good news is the plants filled in real nice while I was away. The rock cave is barely visible anymore.

FTS









Left









Right









And of course, the bichir. He's about 3 inches long right now.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

WOW! Your tank has filled in amazingly. Was someone having to dose/feed the plants while you were gone as well? Or just the eel? (Sorry to hear of the loss by the way. )


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

wow you tank looks so good! sorry about the eels...i love bichirs though! great scape~!


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

Thanks guys. My mom took care of the eel for the first 5 weeks, then I had a friend come over for the remainder of the summer. I put in some root tabs just before I left so I didn't have to worry about over-fertilizing and algae blooms while I was gone.


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## wet (Nov 24, 2008)

I've never seen a tank like yours before. It's beautiful! I can imagine how fun it is to hunt for your guys. Your C. 'Green Gecko' is sweet. I'm sorry to read about your last fish.


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

Towards the end, you didn't need to hunt for the eel-just drop in some food. Here's a video my friend made the week before he got out.

The bichir is much smaller and seems more calm (so far). My son and I check the tank everyday when he gets home from school. It's like a game to see who can spot him first.


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## Aelyph Finrel (Apr 26, 2010)

the tank looks very nice! The eel is interesting and cool!


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I love your tank and your fish. So sad about the peacock eel. I'd have gotten another. Can you get one and keep it with the bichir? Love your cave. It all looks so nice!


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

The eel was very territorial and from all the reading I've done, it seems most bichirs are the same way. If I could figure out a way to put a few pieces of PVC in the cave without disturbing the plants, I absolutely would. Then I would have no problem adding something else.


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

I used to have a Peacock Eel in my 55g tank, interesting creature, and when small fish are started to disappear, I took him to the LFS for trade.


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## unbrokenspirit (Aug 24, 2010)

You've made unusual innovations looks great. I've never seen before.









may if you get a giant tank, you pick arapaima gigas inside it.









nice layout, out of the box. it's remind me back to Jurassic age


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

the video of the eel is great. nice tank! how big will that bichir get? another cool fish.


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## sampster5000 (Jul 24, 2010)

Very cool eel. Sorry what happened! I love the bichir! Awesome looking set up.


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

Thanks for the comments everyone. This bichir will grow to about 12".


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

Everything has been growing so well that a major trim was needed. The ferns especially were invading the crypt space. Here's the new look, a little brighter without so many plants up top.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Very beautiful tank; the cave-planter is a great idea, and I like the idea of a birchir tank. 

What species is the "grass" in the foreground? I didn't recall seeing it listed, though I skimmed through the posts pretty quick. It looks like H. tennlum (E. tennulus).


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Your tank is looking great! How are you keeping GSA off your Anubias leaves? Do you have to dose extra Phos or so you keep the light of them?


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

@mudboots - If I remember correctly, the foreground is Helanthium tenellum. This particular variety can get the pink tips under high light. I don't give enough light for that trait to appear, but it still makes a nice foreground.

@davemonkey - It's hard to see in the pics, but there is a fair amount of BBA on the anubias leaves, mostly the older growth. I cut all the good parts off and sold them, leaving the older algae stuff behind. I was out of town all summer and the tank was basically starved of nutrients other than the few root tabs I put in before I left. Most growth had come to a halt until I dosed a little KNO3 and K2PHO4 when I got home. Then everything started growing real fast. I am now seeing BBA again and have cut way back on the ferts again. I only add ferts once a week if I remember. 

I keep looking at this little mess I made in the middle and I may pull all the crypts out and replant, letting it evolve naturally again. I can see the crypts trying to grow over each other competing for space both above the soil and I'm sure the root zone if pretty full too. If I pull the planter box out, I can also install some extra pvc pipes for caves so I can get some more bichirs or ropefish.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

cah925 said:


> @mudboots - ...This particular variety can get the pink tips under high light. I don't give enough light for that trait to appear, but it still makes a nice foreground...


You might be surprised, but I had this in my 125 NPT and got the pink tips with only 1.872 wpg. I'm not sure if it was the soft, slightly acid water, or perhaps PAR in a larger tank is really that much more intense from the collective fact that I had 234 watts of T5-HO over it...anyway, it was never thick though. I must have not fed it enough and it couldn't outgrow the Marsilea. Yours is the thickest of several patches I've seen. If it'll grow like that I might try it again when I re-set up the tank in several months.


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

Yeah, that grass is funny in this tank. The right side is super thick, tall and green. The left side looks like it is deprived of light _and_ nutrients-barely alive, real thin and a yellow/brown color. 
I'm only using 108W T5HO (2x54W 6500K bulbs) and the bulbs are over the back part of the tank with the crypts.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Gotcha; that makes sense then. Mine had pretty much unimpeded light, and were simply not fast enough to outcompete marsilea. Glad to see you have at least half a thick stand; it's encouraging as I decide what my future scape will consist of.


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## popomon (Oct 12, 2010)

hows the bichir doing? Mine likes the plants, but i never see him  they get pretty beefy, so if you plan on having smaller fish, make sure that their around 4 inches so they can fend for themselves. tetras would probably be decimated


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## cah925 (Jun 23, 2007)

The bichir is doing well. He comes out pretty often, although he slithers through the plants most of the time. I've seen him catch a few ghost shrimp for dinner. It's not quite as dramatic as the eel hunting, but still fun to watch.


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