
Asian swamp eel
Monopterus albus
Synbranchidae

Monopterus albus
Synbranchidae
Know what is missing? Suggest it in the app.
Lives wild in Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong SAR China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, and 7 more countries.
Introduced to United States.
Oliver KnottMay 20, 2026
Oliver KnottSep 28, 2025
Oliver KnottAug 7, 2025
Found in hill streams to lowland wetlands often occurring in ephemeral waters. Adults are found in medium to large rivers, flooded fields and stagnant waters including sluggish flowing canals, in streamlets and estuaries. Benthic, burrowing in moist earth in dry season surviving for long periods without water (Ref 2686). Occasionally dug out in old taro fields, in Hawaii, long after the field has been drained; more frequently observed in stream clearing operations using heavy equipment to remove large amounts of silt and vegetation where the eels are hidden. Nocturnal predators devouring fishes, worms, crustaceans, and other small aquatic animals; also feed on detritus. Are protandrous hermaphrodites. The male guards and builds nest or burrow. Marketed fresh and can be kept alive for long periods of time as long as the skin is kept moist. Good flesh. Important fisheries throughout Southeast Asia.
Temperament, fin nippers, fish that eat other fish, and fish that need the same water. And what the Harmony mark in the app means.
Two aquariums from Southeast Asia: calm forest streams and peat swamps with soft, brown water, and fast mountain streams with cool, oxygen-rich water.
The home of rainbowfish: water, substrate, plants and light for rainbowfish, blue-eyes and peacock gudgeons, with a long aquarium and open water in the middle.
From the store to the tank: how to get the fish used to your water, why you should add only a few at a time, and what to watch for in the first few days.