Macrognathus siamensis
Encyclopedia
Macrognathus siamensis is a tropical fish
Tropical fish
Tropical fish include fish found in tropical environments around the world, including both freshwater and salt water species.Tropical fish are popular as aquarium fish, due to their often bright coloration...

 belonging to the Mastacembelidae
Mastacembelidae
The Mastacembelidae are a family of fishes, known as the spiny eels. The Mastacembelids are part of the Order Synbranchiformes, the swamp eels, which are part of the Actinopterygii ....

 family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

.

As an aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

 fish it is known with the common name Peacock Eel or Peacock Spiny Eel.

Description and ecology

Macrognathus siamensis has been recorded to reach a maximum length of 30 centimetres (11.8 in). M. siamensis is a freshwater species, generally found at the bottoms of bodies of water. It is found in the rivers of Southeast Asia, including the Mekong, Chao Phraya, and Mae Klong
Mae Klong
The Mae Klong is a river in western Thailand. The river begins at the confluence of the Khwae Noi or Khwae Sai Yok and the Khwae Yai River or Khwae Si Sawat in Kanchanaburi, pass Ratchaburi Province and empties into the Gulf of Thailand in Samut Songkhram....

. During the day, Macrognathus siamensis buries itself in the river bottom, coming out at night to feed on insects, crustaceans, and worms.

In the aquarium

Although usually peaceful, they will eat any fish smaller than their mouths (ex. Neon Tetra
Neon tetra
The neon tetra is a freshwater fish of the characin family of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater or clearwater streams in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil, including the tributaries of the Solimões where the water is between...

); like most eels, they need places to hide, such as driftwood or artificial decorations, coming out usually only at night to feed, hence they should be fed at night. They are notorious jumpers, and will use open areas and even external filters to escape.
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