Thread: Electric Eel's
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Old 11-05-2007, 08:08 AM   #14
TheOldSalt
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600 volts, DC, is a lot of juice. The amperage is plenty high enough to hurt you, as intended. These guys hunt with this current, after all. A large specimen can easily take out a horse, so I'm sure a man would be no problem.
These fish go blind as they age, and then use their electrofields as replacement eyes. This makes them very prone to zapping you when they get the slightest bit nervous, as they crank up the juice to get a better "view" when they detect something nearby them.

I wouldn't want to have to work on that tank, or worse, move the eel to another one. Big morays are enough of a pain.

I didn't think the import of this fish was even allowed anymore, but I guess anything can get through with the right paperwork.

Here's a good analogy for Volts & Amps:

volts- speed of water through a hose
amps- diameter of the hose

Each factor allows for more or less water (electricty) to flow within a specified timeframe.
A really big electric eel ( which is really a knifefish, not an eel ) equates to a big fat hose indeed.
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