snakes'n'fish
Member
I have been asked to do a FOTW on the more aggressive species of morays. I have always been fascinated by them. How many of you out there remember the movie The Deep? Most moray are a secretive creature, and tend to be shy. Some can be rather aggressive. I have been given the chance to show off a few of species of the Gymnothorax genus or piscivore (fish eaters) morays. This species is a very opportunistic feeder. It will eat fish and inverts with out a second though. In other words , if it will fit in there mouths they will eat it. One of the defining characteristics, is they tend to have a heavier body; most of this family has a very stocky head and lower jaw. Teeth are usually visible when the animal is breathing. There are a few of these that can get nine feet or better.
Right now I am currently keeping a Fimbriated moray (Gymnothorax fimbriatus). He has been a very neat addition to my tank. I had him for about a month before I learned two lessons real fast. One: my tank was not escape proof. Two : It really hurts to get bit by one. He escaped one morning after I went to bed. He must of escaped early on in the morning. When I found him he was completely dried up. I had heard that they can survive out of the water, so I hurried got a bucket of water from the tank and put him in it. Not five minutes later he started to breath and there was a grayish white film all over him. The film started to come off almost immediately like a snake shedding it's skin. With in a half an hour he was moving slowly around the bucket. I decided to move him to my Q-tank for a while, that is when I learned the second lesson. It hurt!! The teeth are a lot longer than they look.. He made a full recovery and but he went off food for about a month. To prevent him from escaping , I used Plexiglas to cover the back of the tank, I cut out spaces for the return tubes and the fluval so there is no large openings big enough for him to go through. You could probably use screen to cover the back to, but I prefer glass or plexigas. If you happen to find your moray has jumped , try to revive him before you get rid of the body. They are a VERY resilient creature.
When you see one your LFS make sure it is ID'd and that you know how big they will get, do a little research before buying one. IMO The smaller ones (30 - 40 inches) would be ok in a 75 but would probably do better in a 125 as even the smaller ones are rather heavy bodied. Morays like the Tessalata and the Greens are going to need a 125 and Greens a much larger tank as an adult. Now with moray's there is always the chance of a bite. Unless the animals is extremely large there should not be any need for medical attention. If you get bitten, DO NOT PULL AWAY. That will cause you to get cut on the recurved teeth, they will let you go almost immediately. I know it is hard not to jerk back, but I have learned over the years with my other animals except for a few they will let you go right after, this way you are not injured any worse and neither is the animal.
Filtration and tank setup:
Morays can be very messy creatures. So you want to have a decent filtration system on the tank. My 150 I use a wet/dry(rated for a 300 gal. tank) and Fluval 404 with bio-beads for a little extra filtration and water movement. I also have an old seaclone 150 for a skimmer, 100 lbs LR and a four inch DSB. Some people believe that a skimmer is not necessary on an aggressive tank, I am a chronic over feeder and with the skimmer running it has cut down on algae problems. Before you add a moray you should have at least 2 separate hiding spots so that the animal can complete disappear from view. You can use large piece of PVC pipe for this, but I have found that they will pretty much make there own. Just make sure your rock is stable so it can not fall on them.
Acclimation:
There is nothing very special you have to do to acclimate a moray. Just treat him like any other fish. They tend to be very hardy and resilient animal. Be ready for erratic activity when first introduced to a new tank. Often they will swim about franticly, given a little time they will settle down in a tempory cave, keeping other tank mates at bay. The tank should also have a full top as they are quite able to escape from the tank.
Tank mates :
With the more aggressive morays you have to be careful of what else you add with them. None of mine have ever killed or eaten any of my fish but there is always the chance. Try to keep them with fish at least twice the size eels head. Though, they are still capable of killing a larger fish. I have mine with 3 triggers, so far so good. When he comes out for the skewer everything else just moves and waits for him to return to his cave before they start eating again. If you want one of the larger species it would be a good idea to plan to have a species only tank, just to be on the safe side. These morays are know for being able to have cleaner shrimp with. But there is always the chance they will eat them.
Feeding :
With morays I am a firm believer that they do the best with spot feeding with a skewer. This way it helps them realize that the skewer means food, I personally have had good luck with this method as he doesn't chase any of the fish. If you decide to feed them live prey, you will probably sooner of later start missing fish as you are in a sense training him that he has to go after his food. By spot feeding you condition them to see nothing else a possible meal. Or at least that is the theory. Food items : Shrimp, squid, krill, large silver sides, scallops ect. . They are not very picky animals when it comes to eating. Hand feeding a moray is not a good idea, with their poor eye sight and them getting excited about food, they can easily mistake a finger for a piece shrimp.
I have chosen three morays that seem to be most available with in the trade.
Fimbriated Moray Gymnothorax fimbriatus. Adult size: 32-36 inches Location : Indo-Pacific
Fimbriated morays are most commonly sold under assorted morays. I have heard them refered to a leopard morays or yellow headed. They may not be one of the morays that get extremely large but they have a lot of attitude for there size, and unfortunately have been known to bite the hand that feeds them. As juveniles they have a very attractive yellow green head and a greenish gray body with black spots. As they grow they go to a uniform greenish grey and keep the spotting. This the current species I am keeping, and he is a great animal to watch. Mine is starting to loose his juv. colors and is heading into the drabber adult coloration. Mine will be comfortable for life in the 150 but you could probably keep one buy himself in a 75.
Green Moray Gymnothorax funebris. Adult size 6-9 feet Location : Western Atlantic
This is one of the VERY big species, they can reach lengths of nine feet and tend to be very aggressive. I have never kept one, but from some peoples experiences on this BB and from what I have read is that they are best kept alone. They will eat there tank mates as they get bigger. I would guess that a minimum tank size for one of these would be a 180 or a 220. But I have seen one that would even make a large tanks like them look small. Green morays seem to be very common at the LFS and readily available. They are a very good looking moray, but greens can get to sizes that will require a very large tank. Make sure you know what you are getting into with this moray.
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Tessalata Moray Gymnothorax favagineus. Adult Size: 5-6 feet Found: Indo-Pacific
This is one of the real beauties of morays. From what I have heard and read about them they are one of the better morays for aquarists. They are not overly aggressive and have not been known to eat there tank mates. Though , you should be always sure that there is nothing in the tank that can fit in his mouth. Minimum tank size on these guys would probably be a 75 or a 90. But for a full grown Tessalata you should have a 125 or 150. To give the animal some extra room. I have read a couple of articles that say the Tesslata is the perfect home specimen, they do not get nine foot long and they get over three feet. If you have seen pictures of U235a4 tessy you can understand why people think they are one of the better looking morays.
(My thanks to U235a4 for the use of his most recent photo of his tessy. This is a very good looking moray)
Species that should be avoided: There are a few that should be avoided. The Rhinomuraena species, Ribbon Moray Eels. They are hard to acclimate, don't ship well and can be extremely hard to get to eat. They are VERY difficult to keep and many do not make it a month in captivity
Morays in a reef:
In a sense most morays are considered reef safe, they will not harm or eat corals. But they can cause a lot of problems with the other inhabitants of the tank. You inverts and small reef fish would likely be on the menu for the more aggressive morays. Morays natural tendencies can cause havoc in a reef as well. They like to dig underneath rocks to make there burrows. This causes a lot of debris to be put into the water as well as destabilizing the LR. I would be very upset if I came home and found my prized brain or frogspawn top down in the sand due to the rock shifting from the moray making a bigger burrow. These guys are best kept in FO or species only to save your self the hassle and possible problems. So come on people lets see those pictures of your morays. As well as every ones experiences with them.
Right now I am currently keeping a Fimbriated moray (Gymnothorax fimbriatus). He has been a very neat addition to my tank. I had him for about a month before I learned two lessons real fast. One: my tank was not escape proof. Two : It really hurts to get bit by one. He escaped one morning after I went to bed. He must of escaped early on in the morning. When I found him he was completely dried up. I had heard that they can survive out of the water, so I hurried got a bucket of water from the tank and put him in it. Not five minutes later he started to breath and there was a grayish white film all over him. The film started to come off almost immediately like a snake shedding it's skin. With in a half an hour he was moving slowly around the bucket. I decided to move him to my Q-tank for a while, that is when I learned the second lesson. It hurt!! The teeth are a lot longer than they look.. He made a full recovery and but he went off food for about a month. To prevent him from escaping , I used Plexiglas to cover the back of the tank, I cut out spaces for the return tubes and the fluval so there is no large openings big enough for him to go through. You could probably use screen to cover the back to, but I prefer glass or plexigas. If you happen to find your moray has jumped , try to revive him before you get rid of the body. They are a VERY resilient creature.
When you see one your LFS make sure it is ID'd and that you know how big they will get, do a little research before buying one. IMO The smaller ones (30 - 40 inches) would be ok in a 75 but would probably do better in a 125 as even the smaller ones are rather heavy bodied. Morays like the Tessalata and the Greens are going to need a 125 and Greens a much larger tank as an adult. Now with moray's there is always the chance of a bite. Unless the animals is extremely large there should not be any need for medical attention. If you get bitten, DO NOT PULL AWAY. That will cause you to get cut on the recurved teeth, they will let you go almost immediately. I know it is hard not to jerk back, but I have learned over the years with my other animals except for a few they will let you go right after, this way you are not injured any worse and neither is the animal.
Filtration and tank setup:
Morays can be very messy creatures. So you want to have a decent filtration system on the tank. My 150 I use a wet/dry(rated for a 300 gal. tank) and Fluval 404 with bio-beads for a little extra filtration and water movement. I also have an old seaclone 150 for a skimmer, 100 lbs LR and a four inch DSB. Some people believe that a skimmer is not necessary on an aggressive tank, I am a chronic over feeder and with the skimmer running it has cut down on algae problems. Before you add a moray you should have at least 2 separate hiding spots so that the animal can complete disappear from view. You can use large piece of PVC pipe for this, but I have found that they will pretty much make there own. Just make sure your rock is stable so it can not fall on them.
Acclimation:
There is nothing very special you have to do to acclimate a moray. Just treat him like any other fish. They tend to be very hardy and resilient animal. Be ready for erratic activity when first introduced to a new tank. Often they will swim about franticly, given a little time they will settle down in a tempory cave, keeping other tank mates at bay. The tank should also have a full top as they are quite able to escape from the tank.
Tank mates :
With the more aggressive morays you have to be careful of what else you add with them. None of mine have ever killed or eaten any of my fish but there is always the chance. Try to keep them with fish at least twice the size eels head. Though, they are still capable of killing a larger fish. I have mine with 3 triggers, so far so good. When he comes out for the skewer everything else just moves and waits for him to return to his cave before they start eating again. If you want one of the larger species it would be a good idea to plan to have a species only tank, just to be on the safe side. These morays are know for being able to have cleaner shrimp with. But there is always the chance they will eat them.
Feeding :
With morays I am a firm believer that they do the best with spot feeding with a skewer. This way it helps them realize that the skewer means food, I personally have had good luck with this method as he doesn't chase any of the fish. If you decide to feed them live prey, you will probably sooner of later start missing fish as you are in a sense training him that he has to go after his food. By spot feeding you condition them to see nothing else a possible meal. Or at least that is the theory. Food items : Shrimp, squid, krill, large silver sides, scallops ect. . They are not very picky animals when it comes to eating. Hand feeding a moray is not a good idea, with their poor eye sight and them getting excited about food, they can easily mistake a finger for a piece shrimp.
I have chosen three morays that seem to be most available with in the trade.
Fimbriated Moray Gymnothorax fimbriatus. Adult size: 32-36 inches Location : Indo-Pacific
Fimbriated morays are most commonly sold under assorted morays. I have heard them refered to a leopard morays or yellow headed. They may not be one of the morays that get extremely large but they have a lot of attitude for there size, and unfortunately have been known to bite the hand that feeds them. As juveniles they have a very attractive yellow green head and a greenish gray body with black spots. As they grow they go to a uniform greenish grey and keep the spotting. This the current species I am keeping, and he is a great animal to watch. Mine is starting to loose his juv. colors and is heading into the drabber adult coloration. Mine will be comfortable for life in the 150 but you could probably keep one buy himself in a 75.
Green Moray Gymnothorax funebris. Adult size 6-9 feet Location : Western Atlantic
This is one of the VERY big species, they can reach lengths of nine feet and tend to be very aggressive. I have never kept one, but from some peoples experiences on this BB and from what I have read is that they are best kept alone. They will eat there tank mates as they get bigger. I would guess that a minimum tank size for one of these would be a 180 or a 220. But I have seen one that would even make a large tanks like them look small. Green morays seem to be very common at the LFS and readily available. They are a very good looking moray, but greens can get to sizes that will require a very large tank. Make sure you know what you are getting into with this moray.
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Tessalata Moray Gymnothorax favagineus. Adult Size: 5-6 feet Found: Indo-Pacific
This is one of the real beauties of morays. From what I have heard and read about them they are one of the better morays for aquarists. They are not overly aggressive and have not been known to eat there tank mates. Though , you should be always sure that there is nothing in the tank that can fit in his mouth. Minimum tank size on these guys would probably be a 75 or a 90. But for a full grown Tessalata you should have a 125 or 150. To give the animal some extra room. I have read a couple of articles that say the Tesslata is the perfect home specimen, they do not get nine foot long and they get over three feet. If you have seen pictures of U235a4 tessy you can understand why people think they are one of the better looking morays.
(My thanks to U235a4 for the use of his most recent photo of his tessy. This is a very good looking moray)
Species that should be avoided: There are a few that should be avoided. The Rhinomuraena species, Ribbon Moray Eels. They are hard to acclimate, don't ship well and can be extremely hard to get to eat. They are VERY difficult to keep and many do not make it a month in captivity
Morays in a reef:
In a sense most morays are considered reef safe, they will not harm or eat corals. But they can cause a lot of problems with the other inhabitants of the tank. You inverts and small reef fish would likely be on the menu for the more aggressive morays. Morays natural tendencies can cause havoc in a reef as well. They like to dig underneath rocks to make there burrows. This causes a lot of debris to be put into the water as well as destabilizing the LR. I would be very upset if I came home and found my prized brain or frogspawn top down in the sand due to the rock shifting from the moray making a bigger burrow. These guys are best kept in FO or species only to save your self the hassle and possible problems. So come on people lets see those pictures of your morays. As well as every ones experiences with them.
