Australian Swamp Eel

About

The Australian Swamp Eel (Ophisternon gutturale) is a serpentine freshwater fish native to the swamps, slow backwaters, and stagnant ponds of northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, where it spends most of its time buried in soft bottom sediments or tucked into dense aquatic vegetation. It can breathe air directly, which lets it persist in low-oxygen environments that would stress most other fish, and it can even survive brief periods completely out of water. A handy adaptation for a creature living in habitats that can shrink or dry seasonally. In the wild, your best shot at spotting one is with a flashlight along heavily vegetated banks after dark, which tells you everything you need to know about its habits in a tank: this is a nocturnal burrower that values cover and will spend daylight hours largely out of sight. Despite that cryptic lifestyle, it's actually rated as a reasonable choice for hobbyists willing to accommodate its needs. A soft substrate for digging, plenty of hiding spots, and a well-secured lid, since eels of this type are notorious escape artists. Males are known to construct and guard nests, which is an interesting behavioral quirk if you're considering a breeding project. They reach a respectable length, so a large tank is necessary from the start.