Eel id

[Moort82]

Can anyone id this species of eel please. It came in a shipment to my lfs as an unwanted box filler. Its around a foot at the moment and was just wanting to know how big it is likely to get, a quick look says anything from 2ft to 9ft.

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee369/blueseaaquatics1/fish/017-1.jpg

Thanks

[pr12]

It almost looks like a caribbean chestnut moray, Enchelycore carychroa but its hard to see the jaw structure in the picture.

[rubensito]

From the picture it doesn't look like an enchelycore. any idea of where the specimen came from?

[Moort82]

I'm not completely sure where it came from. There were boxes from three suppliers and i don't remember which shipper sent it. they were all from the indo pacific if that helps at all but i can find out exactly and get more pics later.

[DanK13]

Looks to me like Echidna nocturna aka freckled moray or Echidna peli aka pebbletooth moray. It appears to be a juvenile in the picture and if thats the case it will grow into its body spots later for both species. It has the same facial structure as the snowflake so best bet is to look at the Echidna's. Depending on the specie listed above your looking at common lengths of 22"-28" possibly larger because i have a snowflake that is 4'.

[Moray keeper]

Can you post a better pic? From what I can see it looks very similar but I don't think it's a chestnut moray. Normally you can see the chestnuts teeth as the size of them keeps the mouth from closing all the way and the head would be a little more streamlined.

[Moort82]

Sorry i don't have anymore pictures at the moment. i can get some on monday and i'll add them then.
As for the eel it doesn't have any marking on the body as yet, its just that uniform grey all along. The mouth completely closes easily enough and i haven't seen any signs of teeth at all.

I'll get some more info and get back to you all. But thanks for all the help so far.

[LukFox]

Not a chestnut... I had one that was the size of a worm and even at that size the teeth were extreme. That does look close to E. nocturna without the freckles. It has the shape, mouth spots, and the right color. Maybe they get body freckles later in life...

[Moort82]

I checked where it came from yesterday and it was on the Cebu import, so from the area surrounding the Philippines. I took some more pics as well and i'll upload them when i get a minute.

[Moort82]

So a few more pics to help. It was imported from Cebu in the Philippines so should be from the surrounding waters.

I don't know if the tail varies at all in eel species

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee369/blueseaaquatics1/001.jpg

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee369/blueseaaquatics1/002-1.jpg

and then the money end. Even with the mouth slightly open the teeth don't appear to be very big

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee369/blueseaaquatics1/057.jpg

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee369/blueseaaquatics1/040.jpg

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee369/blueseaaquatics1/022.jpg

the body also seems to be a uniform colour all the way along it with only the white dots around the face

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee369/blueseaaquatics1/044.jpg

hopefully that'll make an id easy.

Thanks again Ad

[billsreef]

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee369/blueseaaquatics1/057.jpg

Those pointy teeth remove any possibly of being a pebble toothed species. Considering the box filler status, origin, and looks of the eel, it's quite likely Gymnothorax richardsonii.

[Moort82]

Thanks Bill. Is there any geographical differences in terms of colouration and pattern? as all the pics i can find for Gymnothorax richardsonii show a more marbled pattern. If it comes with maturity then i think it might be a very similar eel as this one is topping the maximum size i can find for that species (it's already around 1').

[billsreef]

There can be a wide variation in that marbling, or lack of it. They also tend to be surprisingly aggressive for the size when it comes to eating. They don't think twice about grabbing a fish far too big to eat in one bite and tying themselves in a knot to pull their head thru and tear out a bit :eek1:

[Moort82]

Thanks again Bill. I did look though some of the earlier Reef central posts and saw you'd advised they can take surprisingly big fish and that they were aggressive, so i'm really glad its in a tank on it's own at the moment, well apart from a couple of feeder shrimp.