Fish of the Day 33 - I got that electricity in me

Today's fish of the day is the electric eel! Oh, this'll be a sad entry for me. I feel so betrayed!!

At least electric eels are cuties!

Electric eel facts:

- Arguably the worst fact... electric eels aren't true eels 💔 It pains me to say that, because I LOVE eels! Despite having the appearance of an eel, they aren't part of the order Anguilliformes. Instead, they are knifefish, which are more closely related to carp than they are to eels.

- Although one half of their name is a lie, the other isn't. These incredible fish have the power to generate around 800 volts of electricity, which they use to stun prey and predators. They have this ability due to specialized cells and organs that help store electricity, similarly to batteries. They unleash all the built up power, and it can really pack a punch. Although it's very uncommon, there have been deaths caused by these eels... Yikes!

- The electric eel, in most images, looks sort of small. I'd expect them to grow to around 3ft max, but they can actually reach 9ft! Crazy!!

- As many marine creatures are, the electric eel has poor eyesight. However, one thing that it uses to help balance this disadvantage is using electricity as a radar. By releasing very small bursts of electricity, only around 10-ish volts... it helps them find mates and prey, and they can even use it as communication with other electric eels. Think of it as echolocation but with electricity! (I'm sure there's a word for it.)

- Electric eels, among other kinds of fish such as bettas, make spit nests, where they lay their eggs! A less disgusting name for this would be a "bubble nest", which actually sounds sort of cute?

When I was younger I thought moray eels were the same as electric eels. Obviously thats very wrong, but maybe in another universe, electric eels are true eels... oh well! Anyway, do u got that electric eel in u? Or that electricity in u? I still think zebra morays or cuttlefish are my spirit animals so sadly I don't think I got that electric eel in me, but i still think they're awesome!