Umair Gaines
Electric eels are top predators, with few animals willing or able to take on these highly charged fish. They are obligate air-breathing animals with poor vision, using low-level electrical pulses to navigate and explore their surroundings. They can also use their electric shocks to stun prey and to protect themselves from predators. They are mostly nocturnal and eat a variety of animals, including fish, crustaceans, insects, and small vertebrates, such as amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.
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What You'll Learn
The diet of electric eels
Electric eels are nocturnal, obligate air-breathing animals with poor vision. They are not closely related to true eels but are members of the electroreceptive knifefish order Gymnotiformes, which is more closely related to catfish. They have a slender, snake-like body and flattened head. Their thick, scaleless skin is generally dark grey to brown, and their underside is yellow to orange.
Electric eels are generalist carnivores, and their diet primarily consists of fish. The species E. voltai mainly eats fish, particularly the armoured catfish Megalechis thoracata. It has also been observed to hunt in packs, targeting schools of tetras. The other species, E. varii, is also a fish predator and preys on armoured catfishes and cichlids.
In addition to fish, electric eels also eat crabs, insects, amphibians, crustaceans, and small vertebrates such as reptiles and mammals. Juvenile eels feed mainly on invertebrates, and newly hatched eels will eat unhatched eggs.
Electric eels use their electric shocks to stun prey, usually other fish. They also use weaker electric impulses to navigate, hunt and communicate. The main organ and part of the Hunter's organ produce strong electric shocks, while the Sachs's organ and the other half of the Hunter's organ produce weaker electric impulses. The electric eel's penchant for shocking its prey may have evolved to protect its sensitive mouth from injury by often spiny struggling fish.
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Predators of electric eels
Electric eels are top predators, with few animals willing or able to take on these highly charged fish. They can deliver powerful electric shocks of up to 860 volts of electricity to deter predators or stun prey.
The main predators of electric eels are large mammals that hunt from outside the shallow waters inhabited by electric eels. During the dry season, when water levels are low, electric eels are at greater risk from predators as there is little space to retreat, and they are often forced to defend themselves.
In 1839, the chemist Michael Faraday recorded that the indigenous people of Surinam feared the fish so much that they would not fish for them in the usual way. He observed that the electric shocks from the eels were strong enough to stun and drown horses, and that the eels could be easily caught with small harpoons on ropes after expending their galvanic power.
Despite their powerful electric defence mechanism, electric eels are not aggressive animals and will only use their shocks when necessary for defence or predation.
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How electric eels hunt
Electric eels are nocturnal, air-breathing animals with poor vision. They inhabit the quiet, slow-moving waters of oxbow lakes, streams, pools, and flooded forests of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers in northern South America. They seek out murky waters, where they hunt for prey.
Electric eels have three specialized electric organs—the main organ, the Hunter's organ, and the Sachs' organ—which make up about 80% of their body. These organs allow them to produce electric impulses of different strengths, which they use for various functions. The main organ and part of the Hunter's organ produce strong electric shocks that can ward off predators or stun prey, while the Sachs' organ and the other half of the Hunter's organ produce weaker electric impulses used for navigation, communication, and seeking out prey.
To aid in their hunt, electric eels have motion-sensitive hairs along their bodies (the lateral line system) that detect any slight pressure changes in the surrounding water. When an eel suspects prey is nearby, it emits two rapid electric pulses called a doublet, which affects the muscles of the prey and causes it to twitch involuntarily. The eel then releases a series of high-voltage pulses (up to 400 per second) to paralyze and consume its prey. This process happens very quickly and can be challenging for the human eye to observe.
Electric eels primarily feed on fish, but they will also eat crabs, insects, amphibians, and small mammals. They have been known to hunt alone or in packs, herding their prey into a small space and issuing coordinated electric shocks to stun them.
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The habitat of electric eels
Electric eels are neotropical freshwater fish from South America. They are found in the Amazon and Orinoco rivers of northern South America, spanning Brazil, the Guianas, Suriname, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. They inhabit quiet, slow-moving waters, seeking out murky waters such as pools, swamps, oxbow lakes, streams, and rocky environments. They can also be found in flooded forests, where they prefer side channels and inland areas.
The electric eel's habitat experiences two distinct seasons: the wet season and the dry season. During the wet season, the rivers swell, reconnecting lakes and ponds as the forests flood. Juvenile electric eels take advantage of this time to disperse and expand into new territories. In the dry season, water levels drop, isolating large groups of fish in the remaining pools and smaller streams. The dry season also brings a greater risk of predators, such as large mammals, that hunt in the shallow waters.
Electric eels are obligate air breathers, which means they periodically surface for air. This adaptation allows them to thrive in poorly oxygenated waters. They have small eyes and poor vision but can hear through a Weberian apparatus that connects the inner ear to the swim bladder. They are mostly nocturnal, using electrolocation to navigate and hunt.
The three species of electric eels have different habitat preferences within the lowland, upland, and central regions. E. electricus is found in the northern region, confined to the Guiana Shield. E. voltai is found in the southern region, ranging from the Brazilian shield northwards. E. varii inhabits the central region, mainly in the lowlands with habitats ranging from streams, grasslands, and ravines to ponds. All three species live on muddy river bottoms and sometimes in swamps, favouring areas in deep shade.
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The breeding season of electric eels
Electric eels reproduce during the dry season, from September to December. During this time, male-female pairs are seen in small pools left behind after water levels drop. The male makes a bubble nest using his saliva, and the female deposits around 1,200 eggs for fertilisation. The spawn hatches seven days later, and mothers keep depositing eggs periodically throughout the breeding season, making them fractional spawners. When they reach 15 mm (0.59 in), the hatched larvae consume any leftover eggs, and after they reach 9 cm (3.5 in) they begin to eat other foods.
The adults provide prolonged parental care lasting four months. However, the two upland species, E. electricus and E. voltai, which live in fast-flowing rivers, appear to make less use of parental care.
During the breeding season, electric eels use weak electric impulses to signal one another for courtship. They can convey information about their sex and sexual receptivity, which is important during this time.
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Frequently asked questions
Electric eels are not found in the ocean. They inhabit the quiet, slow-moving waters of oxbow lakes, streams, pools and flooded forests of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers in northern South America.
Electric eels are top predators, with few animals willing or able to take on these highly charged fish. Large mammals that hunt from outside the shallow waters are one of the predators.
Electric eels can deliver powerful electric shocks of up to 860 volts to ward off predators. They can also use weaker electric impulses to navigate, hunt and communicate.
Adult electric eels are generalist carnivores, eating fish, crustaceans, insects, small vertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Juvenile electric eels feed on invertebrates, such as crabs and freshwater shrimp. They also eat unhatched eggs and fruit that falls from trees whose canopies hang over rivers.
