Family keeps pet eel in bath, for 33 years

[ufcrusher]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/01/07/offbeat.germany.eel.reut/index.html

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A German family has kept a live eel in its bathtub for the last 33 years and even trained it to swim into a bucket when someone needs to wash.

"He's part of our family," said Hannelore Richter of Bochum in western Germany, whose husband Paul caught the eel on a fishing trip in 1969 and took it home for supper.

His children fell in love with the eel, refusing to let him kill and cook it, and since then it has lived in the bath, shared it with the children when they were small -- and has even moved house with the family, German newspapers reported.

"It's a weird situation," zoologist Walter Gettmann told Reuters. "He has certainly lost the skills needed to survive in the wild. But if he is fed properly, he can survive in a tub."


Darkfury, relatives of yours? :D

[zenbooty]

Well, everyone knows eels are at LEAST as smart as dogs and cats. Maybe even chickens. :laugh:

[Grimm]

Originally posted by zenbooty
Well, everyone knows eels are at LEAST as smart as dogs and cats. Maybe even chickens. :laugh: :heh: rofl

[Showtime]

chicken :drool:

eel :drool:

cats and dogs :nono:

<nothing much to do with anything its just i'm on a diet and i'm hungry>

-jel:halo:

[brain]

My friend had an eel for 15 years. It got so big, it would eat everything in the tank. He tried to donate it to Sea World or some zoo, but they wouldn't take it. He ended up giving it away, but who knows what REALLY happened to it. They could've cut it up and made 1,000 pieces of unagi.

[attgig]

Originally posted by brain
My friend had an eel for 15 years. It got so big, it would eat everything in the tank. He tried to donate it to Sea World or some zoo, but they wouldn't take it. He ended up giving it away, but who knows what REALLY happened to it. They could've cut it up and made 1,000 pieces of unagi.

:drool:


I too am on a diet.

[Hunny]

Originally posted by attgig


:drool:


I too am on a diet.


Now that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard...an eel in a tub? Imagine...going to the bathroom and being entertained at the same time...I wonder how many of their house guests stuck their hand in that tub while going potty...trying to cop a feel of the eel...
:P

[Kevster]

I used to have an eel in my freshwater aquarium. he would let me hand-feed him shrimp - he would suck them right down like a vaccum cleaner. Now I have turtles - they are a lot more fun (and dangerous for the fingers!).

The best thing of all was at college parties I could legally use the line, "why don't you come back to my <room/apartment/house> and check out my eel".

:D

[GraingerGuy]

Originally posted by Kevster
I used to have an eel in my freshwater aquarium. he would let me hand-feed him shrimp - he would suck them right down like a vaccum cleaner. Now I have turtles - they are a lot more fun (and dangerous for the fingers!).


But it's so much fun tossing fish in the tank once in a while and watching the turtle chasing the fish around before the fish gets caught. :)

[Kevster]

Originally posted by GraingerGuy


But it's so much fun tossing fish in the tank once in a while and watching the turtle chasing the fish around before the fish gets caught. :)

:thumb: Turtles can provide hours of cheap entertainment! You will never see a turtle move so fast as when there's live food to be gobbled up. The funniest times are when I would put the goldfish in my softshell turtle's tank and the dumbass goldfish would just sit there and slowly start swimming towards my turtle. Then my turtle would suddenly go into feeding (aka vacuum cleaner) mode and the goldfish would suddenly freak out all over.

Here's the play-by-play:

Dumbass Goldfish: "Well here we are. Boy this sure is good water! hey what's that big dark round-ish thing over there? Maybe he's friendly? Let's go say Hi!"

Otis the Turtle: "Food. Must eat."

Dumbass Goldfish: "Oh look! It's coming over here! Maybe we'll be friends!"

Otis the Turtle: "Food. Must eat."

Dumbass Goldfish: "AAAHHHHHHHHH!!! Run Away! Run Away! It's a monster! AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Otis the Turtle: "<Chomp>, <Gulp>....Food. Must eat."


I love my turtle :D