# What Do Electric Eels Eat?

> What electric eels eat: Carnivore, foraging style, and seasonal shifts in Murky freshwater streams and pools.

- **Species:** Electric Eel (*Electrophorus electricus*)
- **Conservation status:** Least Concern
- **Diet:** Carnivore
- **Habitat:** Murky freshwater streams and pools
- **Lifespan:** About 15 years in the wild
- **Top speed:** Slow, undulating swimmer
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/electric-eel/what-do-electric-eel-eat/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/electric-eel/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) is a freshwater fish of South America famous for generating powerful electric shocks to stun prey and defend itself. Despite the name it is not a true eel but a knifefish, growing up to 2.5 m long and weighing around 20 kg. It is a slow, undulating swimmer that lives in murky streams and pools and breathes air at the surface. Electric eels live about 15 years and are listed as Least Concern.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a captive feeding plan from a veterinarian. This page is wild diet, not a pet-care sheet.

## Not a true eel

Despite its name, the electric eel is not a true eel at all but a type of knifefish, more closely related to catfish and carp than to the eels of the sea. It gets its name from its long, cylindrical, eel-like body, which can reach 2.5 m in length. It swims slowly by rippling a long fin that runs along the underside of its body. This undulating motion lets it move forward or backward with equal ease through cluttered water.

## Help protect the Electric Eel

Ocean wildlife is under mounting pressure from overfishing, bycatch and plastic pollution.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/electric-eel/what-do-electric-eel-eat/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.