Photograph By Carlie Burton
Many a social media user has been mindlessly scrolling through their feeds until a dark room full of freshwater eels suddenly grabs their attention. A friendly “Hi everybody!” greets viewers and and Nick Tobler, known online as “The Eel Pit Guy,” gives us an update on the creatures in his basement habitat. Luckily for fish enthusiasts of Cincinnati, Tobler actually lives in the area.
Tell us how you got started with your eel pit.
About two years ago when we were moving into this house, I saw the manhole cover in the corner [of the basement] and checked it out and immediately knew I was building a fish pond down there.
How did you choose the specific species you wanted to put in there?
I’ve always been wanting to keep American eels. They’re just hard to [care for] and they’re something that handles the cold really well. I like primitive fish. So that’s kind of what I go after. I’ve always wanted to keep all these giant monster fish, like the sturgeon and the gars, that I’m slowly adding over time, now that I have the time to track them down and actually get them.
Photograph By Carlie Burton
When did you start finding success online with the Eel Pit?
About two years ago, it really blew up. I think the second video I posted went viral pretty much within the first 10 minutes. It had like 50,000 views. And then it just goes viral at least once a month since then.
Have you found an Eel Pit appreciation community in town?
I work at a fish store, and I’ve had customers ask, “Have you seen that eel pit online?” It’s like, “Oh, yeah, that’s mine.” So that’s a regular occurrence—people telling me about it not knowing it’s mine.
Have you embraced your title as the Eel Pit Guy?
Oh, yeah, for sure. It’s crazy. I can walk into a bar and they’ll be like, “You ever heard of the eel pit?” so that’s fun just going out. I was in the Everglades once and someone stopped and was talking to us and asked me if I’d ever heard about the eel pit and I was like, “Yeah, that’s mine,” in the middle of the Florida Everglades, so that was a fun one, too.
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