Keeping Eels?

[Lxpaul6]

In my yard i have a small pond, prolly 6 feet deep or so, and i fish it all summer when i cant be out at the beach. I have often caught decent sized eels, (10-18inches), and was wondering if i could just keep my eels that way. if i bought a buncha eels live from the store could i just put them into my pond? would there be any negative side effects? Would they stay in my pond? i have streams coming into and leaving my pond. Also i dont know much about eels but would they damage other fish populations such as bass, catfish, or trout? Thanks

[gsxraddict]

I don't know much about eels, because I am a freshwater guy but....

wouldn't they become catfish/bass food in your pond? How do you plan on recatching them for bait?

I would think building a tank in your garage for them would be a better option.

[RodReaper]

That's a bad idea!, bringing a creature from one habit to another, for Exp. Look at The Northern Snake Head. Freshwater to Saltwater wont work well eels or no eels bad idea, build a bait tank with a plastic barrel works well

[prta79]

http://massbay.mit.edu/seafood/americaneel.pdf

[Sudsy]

Originally Posted by RodReaper

That's a bad idea!, bringing a creature from one habit to another, for Exp. Look at The Northern Snake Head. Freshwater to Saltwater wont work well eels or no eels bad idea, build a bait tank with a plastic barrel works well

Uhmmm - fail

American eels are anadromous, meaning that during their lives they travel between fresh and salt water. They spawn in the Sargosso sea then the young find their way to fresh water to mature.

When I was first married and absolutely stone broke, rather then buy eels I would catch em in a local lake, keep em in a tank at home, and fish em off the beach. Never had an issue with them holding up just as well as bait shop bought eels.
The only issue I ever had was the occasional tank escapee, usually signaled by the screaming of my wife

[RodReaper]

Thanks for clearing that up, I thought the eels came from diapers that people throw in the river

, but I see it as saving money, I hate spending money on worms that are smaller than the ones in my backyard. Because when it rains out I'm out with my frog suit on getting the earth worms to use for my time spent lake fishing

[Lxpaul6]

The tank for keeping them is a good idea. what do i need for one??

[Sudsy]

An EXTREMELY tight fitting top !!

The best tanks that I've seen are plastic 55 gallon drums filled no more than 1/2 way up with the type of aerator used on livewells for vehicles. Keep in in a cool spot in the basement and change out some of the water every few days.
This is best for temporary storage. If you want to keep em alive for long term you need a gravel base and filtration rather then just aeration.

I read somewhere that a guy sank a drum 4/5ths of its length into the ground in his back yard and the cool of the ground helped keep eels alive indefinately.

[Striperjim]

Originally Posted by Sudsy

I read somewhere that a guy sank a drum 4/5ths of its length into the ground in his back yard and the cool of the ground helped keep eels alive indefinately.

https://www.stripers247.com/phpBB2/sh...light=eel+tank