Eel Pit (TikTok)

About

The Eel Pit, also known as the Eel Hole or Eel Pond on TikTok, refers to a user named Cowturtle (@cowturtle) who's been constructing a habitat for eels in his basement using cinderblocks, cement, hoses, pebbles and other sea creatures like crawfish. Since early 2022, the eel pit has drawn in viewers who are invested in its completion, inspired by its creepy aura mixed with wholesome sentiments. In June 2022, the eel pit was finished and the eels were introduced to the environment, with the viral videos being covered and discussed online. Many on the app called it Eel Day.

History

TikToker cowturtle, whose real name is Nick Tobler, lives in Cinncinati, Ohio and is a sealife enthusiast.^[1] He started posting content to TikTok on August 20th, 2018, with his first video^[2] being a stingray in an aquarium tank.

Cowturtle continued to post content going into 2022 when he posted his first video^[3] on March 24th showing what would later become the eel pit. In this original video, cowturtle showcased what he claimed was an old cistern in his newly purchased home that used to supply drinking water to the building. When thinking about buying his new home, the abandoned cistern, located through a hole in the floor, became a primary motivator. He saw it as an opportunity to construct a "future eel pond." Over the course of three months, the video received roughly 100,600 plays and 3,700 likes (shown below, left).

The next day, on March 25th, 2022, cowturtle posted another video^[4] of the eel hole, showing himself pouring orange fish into the water below. This video received mass engagement compared to the first, earning roughly 5.7 million plays and 178,400 likes in three months (shown below, right).

The construction of the eel pit continued to unfold going into March and April 2022 as more and more TikTokers started to keep track of its progress. On April 20th, 2022, cowturtle posted a video^[5] in which he finished creating the cinderblock walkways. On April 25th, 2022, he posted another video showing this progress, earning roughly 940,800 plays and 93,200 likes in two months (shown. below, left). On June 15th, 2022, cowturtle posted a video that showed the first eel to be let into the eel pit, earning roughly 637,600 plays and 122,200 likes in less than a day (shown below, right). This marked the beginning of eels actually inhabiting the pit.

Reactions and Memes

Other TikTokers started posting humorous content about the "eel hole guy," or cowturtle, most notably in May 2022 through the form of stitches. For instance, on May 3rd, 2022, TikToker^[8] akayoungbeefy posted a stitch that earned roughly 7,600 plays and over 750 likes in one month (shown below, left). On May 10th, 2022, TikToker^[9] mrzack123 posted a similar stitch that earned roughly 10,800 plays and over 900 likes (shown below, right).

Buzz surrounding cowturtle's eel pit also surfaced on Twitter in April and May 2022. For instance, on April 22nd, 2022, Twitter^[10] user generalslug reposted one of cowturtle's videos, stating, "obsessively following this man’s progress in building an 'eel hole,'" and earning roughly 24,500 views and 1,300 likes over the course of two months (shown below).

obsessively following this man’s progress in building an “eel hole” pic.twitter.com/2H63ONqQhm

— SLUG (@generalslug) April 22, 2022

The memes and reactions continued to build on both Twitter and TikTok going into May and June 2022. For instance, on May 27th, 2022, TikToker^[11] emilysteaparty posted a video with text overlay reading, "POV you're the newest video about that one guys basement eel hole," gaining roughly 45,600 plays and 8,100 likes in four weeks (shown below, left). On June 14th, 2022, Twitter^[12] user SuperJulia started a thread about cowturtle's eel pit with the primary tweet receiving roughly 241,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7102382812216511786

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References