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Encyclopedia / Frogs & Newts / Rubber eel
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Variations

1 kinds · tap one for a closer look

Rubber eel

Typhlonectes natans · Caecilian, Aquatic caecilian, Typhlonectes

Peaceful with a good appetite; will eat small fish and shrimp.

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60 cmAdult size ✓
24–28 °CTemperature ✓
6–7pH ✓
250 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.

Not recommended
  • Rubber eel should be kept without other species.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 24–25 °C.
Not recommended
  • Rubber eel should be kept without other species.
Not recommended
  • Rubber eel should be kept without other species.
Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓up to 5.6 dGH
Group size ?Can live alone
Temperament ?Peaceful
Swims at ✓Bottom
Care level ?Moderate
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan ✓up to 14 years
Size in shops 25–40 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Peaceful with a good appetite; will eat small fish and shrimp. Needs slow water and a gentle substrate.

Check your local laws. Not CITES-listed and not on the US Lacey Act salamander list (caecilians are not covered). It is established as an introduced species in South Florida, so never release animals; check local import and invasive-species rules. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.

Good to know: Not a fish but a caecilian, a legless amphibian. Its skin secretions can kill tank-mate fish when stressed.

Food

Earthworms, blackworms and sinking pellets.

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Male or female

Only reliable in mature animals: males have larger, more bluntly rounded rear ends with wider cloacal discs; females' cloacal discs look more slit-like and elongated.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Live-bearer ·

Live-bearer: gestation about 7 months in captivity; young are born fully formed, sometimes over several days.

Pairing

Needs a sexed pair.

Setup

Large tank with gentle flow, smooth sand and plants.

What starts it

Seasonal cooling.

Eggs

1-11 live young per birth, born one to three at a time over up to seven days.

Raising the fry

Young are fed the same as adults.

Common mistakes
  • Sharp substrate
  • Strong flow
  • Fish tankmates
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionNorthern South America – Colombia & Venezuela
Rivers and lakesMagdalena and Orinoco basins
HabitatSlow, muddy rivers and swamps
Native rangeAbout 600 km across
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The story of the rubber eel

A legless, eel-like aquatic amphibian (a caecilian) from Colombia and Venezuela, often sold as a 'fish'. It breathes air at the surface but does most of its breathing through the skin, and gives birth to live young.

German zoologist Johann Gustav Fischer described this caecilian in 1880. It is not an eel but a legless amphibian. It gives birth to live young.

First described by Johann Gustav Fischer in 1880.

  • It is a caecilian, not an eel.
  • It gives birth to live young.
  • It has tiny eyes and relies on smell.

Sources

16 facts checked with sources