Here's the breakdown:
* Female eels lay eggs in nests built by the male eels. These nests are often located in deep ocean waters.
* The eggs hatch into larvae called leptocephali. These larvae are transparent, ribbon-like, and drift with ocean currents.
* Leptocephali eventually metamorphose into glass eels. These are small, translucent eels that begin to resemble adult eels.
* Glass eels migrate to freshwater rivers and streams. They grow into elvers and eventually into adult eels.
So, to answer your question, eels don't give birth to live young. They lay eggs, and those eggs hatch into larvae that undergo a complex metamorphosis to become adult eels.