Moray Eels
Morays are the most personable fish we sell. They learn who feeds them, they come out to meet you, and a well-kept one will live for decades. They are also the single most escape-prone animal in the hobby. Gallery Aquatica stocks four at our shop in Tingalpa, east of the Brisbane CBD.
Eels are in-store purchase and pickup only. We do not send live fish by courier or freight. Ring 0420 484 584 to check what is in.
They will escape. Plan for it.
This is the first and most important thing about keeping a moray, and it is why most of them are lost. An eel does not need a lid left open - it needs a gap. The cutout around a return pipe, the space behind an overflow box, the corner where a lid does not quite meet the brace, the few centimetres beside a heater cable. A moray will find it, test it over days, and eventually get through.
What you need is a fully sealed top with every penetration blocked - foam or mesh packed around pipework, weight on any lid that simply rests in place, and no gap wider than the eel's head. Bear in mind they can compress considerably, so assume the head fits through anything that looks close.
They also climb. An eel can brace against the back glass and lift a surprising amount of its body out of the water, so a lid that is merely resting on the rim is not enough.
What morays need
Caves. A moray spends most of the day wedged into rockwork with just the head protruding. It needs a burrow it fits in properly, and rockwork stable enough that it does not collapse when the eel muscles through it. Build the scape with that in mind, and glue it.
Volume, for the length. These are long fish. A 60 cm snowflake in a 500 litre tank is reasonable; the same eel in 200 litres is not, regardless of what it fitted in as a juvenile.
Meaty food, a couple of times a week. Chunks of prawn, squid, mussel or fish flesh on a feeding stick. Do not hand feed - a moray has poor eyesight and works largely by smell, so it strikes at where it thinks the food is rather than where your fingers are. Use tongs or a stick, always.
Good filtration. Morays are messy eaters producing a lot of waste for their size, so they suit a system with more filtration than the volume alone suggests.
What they will eat that you did not intend
Every eel here will eat shrimp, crabs, snails and any fish small enough to swallow. That is not a behavioural problem to train out, it is the animal. A moray is compatible with coral - it takes no interest in it - but it is not compatible with an invertebrate cleanup crew or small fish.
Plan the tank around the eel, not the other way round.
The eels we stock
Snowflake Eel (Echidna nebulosa)
The one to start with, and the most commonly kept moray in the hobby. Cream and dark brown in a mottled snowflake pattern. Reaches 60 cm and wants around 500 litres.
What makes it the beginner's moray is the teeth. Snowflakes feed mainly on crustaceans in the wild and have blunt, pebble-like crushing teeth rather than the needle teeth of the fish-eating species. That makes them less dangerous to handle around, less likely to take a tankmate, and generally more docile. They are also hardy, long-lived and quick to learn a feeding routine.
Compatible with coral. Will eat shrimp, crabs and snails.
Zebra Eel (Gymnomuraena zebra)
Boldly banded in dark brown and cream, and one of the more handsome morays. Reaches 90 cm, so plan for 900 litres.
Like the snowflake, it is a crustacean specialist with crushing teeth rather than needle teeth, and it is one of the most docile morays available - genuinely placid for its size. The size is the consideration: this is a substantial animal that is usually sold at a fraction of its adult length.
Compatible with coral. Will eat shrimp, crabs and snails.
White Eye Moray (Gymnothorax thyrsoideus)
Grey-brown, finely speckled, with the pale eyes the name refers to. Reaches 65 cm and wants around 600 litres.
More active than the snowflake or zebra, and a Gymnothorax rather than a crustacean specialist - which means proper needle teeth and a genuine appetite for fish. It is quicker to take a tankmate and needs more care around feeding time. A good eel for someone who has kept a snowflake and wants something with more presence.
Compatible with coral. Will eat fish, shrimp, crabs and snails.
Other eels we regularly stock
Also part of our regular range. Ask us in store or ring 0420 484 584 for adult size and tank requirements - worth doing before you commit tank space, because morays vary enormously in eventual length.
- Leopard Moray
Which eel should you buy?
The snowflake, for a first moray, without much question. It is the smallest, the most docile, the hardiest, and its crushing teeth make it the safest to keep and handle around.
The zebra if you have 900 litres and want something bigger with the same placid temperament.
The white eye if you want a more active eel and understand that it will eat fish.
Tankmates
Morays work with fish large enough not to be food and robust enough to share a tank with a predator: large angelfish, triggerfish and tuskfish, larger tangs and rabbitfish.
Everything small is food. Clownfish, chromis, gobies, blennies, anthias and cardinals will all eventually disappear, and so will every shrimp, crab and snail in the tank.
A lionfish can work with a moray in a large predator tank, since neither is prey to the other.
Common questions
Do you ship eels?
No. All marine fish are in-store purchase and pickup only. We do not send live fish by courier or freight.
Are these eels in stock right now?
These are the species we stock as our regular range, not a live inventory. Ring 0420 484 584 or email shop@galleryaquatica.com.au to check.
What size tank does a snowflake eel need?
Around 500 litres for a 60 cm adult. A zebra eel reaches 90 cm and wants 900 litres, a white eye 65 cm and 600 litres. Length matters more than volume, and all of them are sold well short of adult size.
Are moray eels reef safe?
They take no interest in coral, so yes in that sense. They are not invertebrate safe - shrimp, crabs and snails will be eaten - and the fish-eating species will take small tankmates.
Will a moray eel escape from my tank?
If there is a gap, eventually yes. This is the most common way people lose them. You need a fully sealed top with foam or mesh packed around every pipework penetration, and weight on any lid that just rests in place. Assume the eel's head fits through anything that looks close, and note that they can brace and climb.
Do moray eels bite?
Not out of aggression, but they have poor eyesight and hunt by smell, so they strike at where they think food is. Never hand feed. Use tongs or a feeding stick, and know where the eel is before putting your hands in the tank. Snowflake and zebra eels have blunt crushing teeth, which makes them considerably less of a concern than the needle-toothed species.
What do you feed a moray eel?
Chunks of prawn, squid, mussel or fish flesh, two or three times a week, offered on a feeding stick. They do not need daily feeding and overfeeding is a common mistake.
Which moray eel is best for a beginner?
The snowflake eel. It is the smallest of the four, the most docile, and its crushing teeth make it much safer to keep than the fish-eating species.
More marine fish
See all the marine fish we stock, or the Brisbane store page for coral and equipment.