Any one seen a Dragon Eel ?

whipple

whipple

Member
Hey, The guy at the local fish store is realy into the exotics and is trying to get me to buy a Dragon Eel. It looks realy cool and i dont know any one who has one but i also know nothing about them. Im wondering if i can keep one with my puffers (a dog and a pork) and a niger trigger? The 3 of them share a 135 gal with LS and LR and i'm planning on getting a 360 next year. So what do you all think ? Also is he trying to over charge for him at $225.00? From what he tells me it will only get 3 to 3.5 foot long is that right. Any info would be very helpful. Thanks Bill
 
nevurrmore

nevurrmore

Member
Well, if it is a Hawaiin Dragon Eel (Muraena Pardalis) it could be well worth the $225. I've seen them for as much as $700 or so. They are fairly rare and not seen too often and would be an impressive animal to have. They do have fanglike teeth and are more aggressive than some other species of eels though. Good Luck!
 
swtanks

swtanks

Member
From the price, it sounds like he is getting a Mexican one for you. If so, he is overcharging. For the size you mention, $150 max. If it is indeed a Hawaiin, then you are getting it at less than what every other place in the country would pay at cost. If it has bright red and yellow colors and horns, it is the Hawaiin. If it is dull colored and has more black coloring, it is the Mexican. The Hawaiin ones are very gaudily colored. They only get about 3 feet full grown but can and will attack their keepers. The owner of the LFS by me has nasty scars on his hand and arm from the one in the display tank. Absolutely nothing has survived being put into the tank with it. These things make tesselattas look peaceful. They have very large razor sharp teeth and can inflict nasty bites. I keep a shark but after seeing Phils scars, I would never keep a dragon.
 
stupid_naso

stupid_naso

Member
My friend actually has one. I don't know what dragon eel that is, but it is a dragon eel. Now about keeping one has actually been pretty weird. It has not eaten for two months and it's still alive. My friend actually keep it in a 40 gallons tank, with zebra morray, and another smaller eel. And for some reason it's not aggressive as we thought it would be. Then again, this is one of many dragon eels there are.
 
daluminum

daluminum

Member
dragons are tuff.. if you dont know everything about them, then dont try to keep them. I understand he alure of a unkonwn aggresive fish.. but from what little I know the dragon is a very tuff fish and it should not be kept until several 'eels have been kept.. but hat is an awesome price.. but what you have to rememerb is that.. if the guy at the LFS wanst to sell him that cheap.. that means it's probably not a good buy.. either the fish wont eat.. or it has eaten everything in the tank and .... every buyer has returned it..
either way I think you need to do some research before buying the little guy..
:D
 
trigahappynigerog

trigahappynigerog

Member
do a search on the messageboard i recently posted the same questions.. there is a picture of both a hawaiian and a mexican... i forgot the title..they look mean and they will attaack and eat feeders. it probably eat fish that are smaller but never attacked any of my fish.i keep it with a zebra too. if its a hawaiian get it before someone else does.
[ December 21, 2001: Message edited by: TRIGAHAPPYNIGERog ]
 
wrigley11

wrigley11

Member
Okay, I really think it is a mexican dragon eel... at that price there is no way he could sell it with out lossing money. The cost on a hawaiian dragon is somewhere in the 250 - 300 range so I would bet it is the mexican type.
Okay there are a few problems with keep them.
I know all this is true for the Hawaiian but not sure about the mexican type.
The biggest one is that they can cause really bad infections that can kill you if it bites you. They have really bad dental work that allow bacteria to grow that can kill you if it gets in your system... If's nothing like a blue ring or anything but something to think about.
Also they are from the moray family so they get really, really big... the largest one's that I have seen at a lfs store where around 5 - 6 feet long.
They are really cool looking and if you can give them the proper environment I would say get it. However this is not a easy fish that should be jumped into getting with out any thought.
 
whipple

whipple

Member
Right now he's about 8 to 10 inches (realy small) i'm gonna be upgreding to a 360 next year will he out grow that capacity or will a 360 do him ok? right now he would be put into a 135 but my main worry would be will he out grow the 360 planned on ?
 
wrigley11

wrigley11

Member
No I wouldn't see it out growing a 360... However remember that if the eel is only 10 inches long you really have to watch it's diet to make sure it live a long and normal life.
To much or the wrong food and it dies... To little or the wrong food and it dies... get the point.
 
roark

roark

New Member
Sounds like he is talking about a Mexican Dragon which is much less expensive than a Hawaiian or Japaneese Dragon. The Hawaiian goes for around 1000 and a Japaneese which is more colorful still is more. The Hawaiian are very pretty (much more so than a Mexican). Should be compatible with your fish. Takes some time to acclamate and start eating. I just got one in a 180 gallon with a Ray and 2 Lookdowns.
 
J

jcrim

Guest
Originally Posted by Roark
Sounds like he is talking about a Mexican Dragon which is much less expensive than a Hawaiian or Japaneese Dragon. The Hawaiian goes for around 1000 and a Japaneese which is more colorful still is more. The Hawaiian are very pretty (much more so than a Mexican). Should be compatible with your fish. Takes some time to acclamate and start eating. I just got one in a 180 gallon with a Ray and 2 Lookdowns.
Welcome to the boards. FYI, you're giving advice to a question posed 4 years ago. Take a look at the top left corner of each post. Surprising how often this happens.
Your tank sounds cool, though. Got any pics to post?
 
unleashed

unleashed

Active Member
Originally Posted by wrigley11
Okay, I really think it is a mexican dragon eel... at that price there is no way he could sell it with out lossing money. The cost on a hawaiian dragon is somewhere in the 250 - 300 range so I would bet it is the mexican type.
Okay there are a few problems with keep them.
I know all this is true for the Hawaiian but not sure about the mexican type.
The biggest one is that they can cause really bad infections that can kill you if it bites you. They have really bad dental work that allow bacteria to grow that can kill you if it gets in your system... If's nothing like a blue ring or anything but something to think about.
Also they are from the moray family so they get really, really big... the largest one's that I have seen at a lfs store where around 5 - 6 feet long.
They are really cool looking and if you can give them the proper environment I would say get it. However this is not a easy fish that should be jumped into getting with out any thought.
hawiian dragon eels run 1500 and up.at 250 its either a complet idiot in that LFS and dosnt know his fish very well or its value.but most it likely the mexican dragon eel much less valued on the market.omg lol im just as bad i should have looked at the dates too lol ack 4 yrs old
 
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