Snowflake Eel

Echidna nebulosa

Also known as Snowflake Moray Eel, Clouded Moray, Starry Moray, Floral Moray

SaltwaterFish

Snowflake Eel (Echidna nebulosa) — Brocken Inaglory · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F (22–26°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 39.4 in (100 cm)
Minimum tank: 50 gal (189 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Very common
Reef safe: Reef safe with caution
Origin: Indo-Pacific reefs, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii, with an isolated population along the eastern Pacific coast from Mexico to Colombia
Family: Muraenidae

Overview

This eel is hardy and generally calm with tankmates it can't swallow, rating semi-aggressive more for its predatory nature than for picking fights. It's reef safe with caution: it leaves coral and anemones alone but treats shrimp, crabs, and other crustaceans as food, so skip it if the plan includes a cleanup crew or ornamental shrimp. Offer chunks of fish, shrimp, and other meaty foods a couple times a week. Above all, keep the lid sealed with no gaps; a snowflake eel that finds any opening at the waterline will use it, often within the first few weeks in a new tank.

In the wild

Snowflake eels live across a huge stretch of the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii, and turn up again in an isolated population along the eastern Pacific coast from Mexico to Colombia. They spend the day tucked into reef crevices and rubble, coming out at night to hunt. In the aquarium it needs at least 189 litres (50 US gal) with plenty of live rock offering caves to disappear into, and a tightly sealed, gap-free lid, since morays are relentless escape artists and most losses come from a poorly secured tank rather than anything else.

Good to know

Echidna nebulosa belongs to a group of morays sometimes called pebbletooth eels, named for their blunt, rounded teeth built for crushing crustacean shells rather than the long, needle-like teeth that fish-eating morays use to grab slippery prey. FishBase lists a maximum length of 100 cm, though most specimens in captivity stay well under that, more often topping out around 60 cm. Like other true eels it has no pelvic or pectoral fins, and it breathes by rhythmically opening and closing its mouth to pass water over the gills, a habit new owners sometimes mistake for aggression.

Did you know

A snowflake eel constantly opening and closing its mouth at the glass isn't threatening anyone, it's just moving water over its gills to breathe, one of the more commonly misread behaviors in the whole hobby.