The zig-zag eel (''Mastacembelus armatus''), also known as the tire-track eel, tire-track spiny eel or marbled spiny eel, is a species of

ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

-finned, spiny eels belonging to the genus '' Mastacembelus'' (Scopoli, 1777) of the family Mastacembelidae, and is native to the

riverine A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

fauna of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The species was described as ''Macrognathus armatus'' by Lacepède in 1800. Other common names for this popular aquarium species are leopard spiny eel and white-spotted spiny eel. This species is not only a popular

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

fish but also as a food fish in its country of origin. Butler, Rhett Ayers, Tire track Eel, Spiny Eel, White-spotted Spiny Eel (Mastacembelus armatus), Tropical Freshwater Aquarium Fish (TFAF), 1995 and Mongabay.com, 2006
retrieved on: 5 June 2007.

Description

''Mastacembelus armatus'' is a large elongated fish that has a snake-like body without pelvic fins. Its anal and dorsal fins are elongated and are connected to the caudal fin. The dorsal fin is preceded by numerous spines.Foster and Smith, Veterinary & Aquatic Services Department, Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc., PetEducation.com, 2007
retrieved on: 5 June 2007. The back is dark beige in color while the head is silver-beige. The body's color is dull brown and the belly is a lighter shade of brown. The body may also be marked with brown circular patterns. The body also have one to three darker longitudinal zigzag lines that connect to form a distinct reticulated pattern that is restricted to the dorsal two-thirds of the body. The eyes have brown stripes running laterally through them. ''Mastacembelus armatus'' can reach up to 36" (91 cm) in its natural habitat but does not usually exceed 20" (51 cm) in captivity. Despite its eel-like appearance, ''Mastacembelus armatus'' is not considered a

true eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

Habitat

''Mastacembelus armatus'' are

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

fish that thrive in highland

streams A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

, lowland

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

, still waters, coastal marshes and rivers with sandy or rocky riverbeds and heavy vegetation. They are common during the tropical summer months and will dwell in canals, lakes and other floodplain areas during the flood season.

In the aquarium

Aquarium maintenance

''Mastacembelus armatus'' are bottom dwellers and occasional

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

diggers and

burrow An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...

ers. Those that are 6" (15 cm) long do well in tanks measuring 36" (91 cm) with a capacity of 35 gallons (132 liters). However, larger ''M. armatus'' necessitate aquariums measuring at least 48" (122 cm) with 55 gallons (209 liters) capacity. Zig-zag eels do well in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

or slightly brackish aquatic environments (produced by adding two teaspoons of sea salt (not iodated) per 2 gallons of water) with 6 to 25 dH water hardness, with pH readings ranging from 6 to 8, and temperatures that are maintained between 73 and 81 °F (23 to 27 °C). ''M. armatus'' tend to uproot plants and disturb decorations.

Compatibility

Although zig-zag eels are often combined with medium to large-sized gouramis, knifefish,

danios ''Danio'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae found in South and Southeast Asia, commonly kept in aquaria. They are generally characterised by a pattern of horizontal stripes, rows of spots or vertical bars. Some species ...

, loaches, Loricariids,

eartheater Geophagini is a Tribe (biology), tribe of cichlids from the subfamily Cichlinae, the American cichlids. It is the sister taxon to the clade which includes the Cichlasomatini and Heroini. Fishes in the Geophagini are distributed from Panama south ...

acara The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is the independent statutory authority responsible for the development of a national curriculum, a national assessment program, and a national data collection and reporting pr ...

s, Cichlasomines and Asian catfishes in a community fish aquarium, they are not normally mixed with small-sized fish, because tire track eels are observed to prey upon smaller fish. Mixing them with fish belonging to the same species is also not recommended. This is because they are aggressive to members of the same fish family but peaceful to other fish species with similar care level requirements, size and temperament.Tire Track Eel (Mastacembelus armatus), Aqua-Fish.net, 2007
retrieved on: 5 June 2007.

Feeding

Being

carnivores, zig-zag eels forage on

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

insect larvae,

earthworms An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

, blackworms and some submerged plant material. In an aquarium setting, they require live foods in their diet such as live fish, tubifex worms,

brine shrimps ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp. It is the only genus in the family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD from Urmia L ...

, mosquito larvae, frozen bloodworms,

cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

, krill and ocean plankton.

Reproduction

Male and female zig-zag eels are only distinguishable when

mature Mature is the adjectival form of maturity, as immature is the adjectival form of immaturity, which have several meanings. Mature or immature may also refer to: * Mature, a character from ''The King of Fighters'' series *"Mature 17+", a rating in ...

. Females are normally plumper than males. Although their fecundity in the wild is high, there are no known successful breeding programs in

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

References

---- {{Taxonbar, from=Q2045293

Zig-zag eel The zig-zag eel (''Mastacembelus armatus''), also known as the tire-track eel, tire-track spiny eel or marbled spiny eel, is a species of Fish anatomy#Spines and rays, ray-finned, Mastacembelidae, spiny eels belonging to the genus ''Mastacembelu ...

Freshwater fish of South Asia Freshwater fish of Southeast Asia tire track eel Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède