Harry the mystery eel

[ValerieR]

This is Harry. I had him back in college. Got him as a "small eel" from the Diver's Den. He was about 8" long. He had blunt teeth, yellow eyes, and a flourescent yellow dorsal stripe. He ate whatever I'd give him, and survived until a vindictive ex intentionally seeded my tank with ich and wiped out my entire tank. 

 

Anyone know what he might be? I have Reef Fishes vol 1 by Scott Michael, and there's nothing like him in there. Looks like a mix of a ribbon eel and a golden moray, but nothing definite. I had a white ribbon eel a bit ago and they aren't the same. 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Juvenile yellowmargin moray eel? 

 

http://honuhawaiiandiving.blogspot.com/2013/09/yellowmargin-moray-eel.html

 

I found an old thread on NR with this pic too:

 

 

 

[Break]

3 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Juvenile yellowmargin moray eel? 

 

http://honuhawaiiandiving.blogspot.com/2013/09/yellowmargin-moray-eel.html

 

I found an old thread on NR with this pic too:

 

 

 

That would be my guess as well. I looked through fishbase and it was the only one that fit.

 

Plus it would seem their coloration changes as they age and they are often misidentified and sold as other species.

 

From LiveAquaria: "The Yellow Edged Moray Eel is a larger species of Moray Eel that can attain lengths up to 8 feet as a mature adult. Younger or smaller-sized Yellow Edged Eels are primarily brown to purple in color with its namesake yellow edge or border running along the perimeter of their fin. As the Yellow-Edge Eel matures, the overall body color becomes more mottled with an attractive creamy yellow-gold coloration."

 

Looks like BlueZooAquatics has sold a juvenile under that name that looks similar to the OP's.

 

Juvenile markings

[jambon]

3 hours ago, ValerieR said:

This is Harry. I had him back in college. Got him as a "small eel" from the Diver's Den. He was about 8" long. He had blunt teeth, yellow eyes, and a flourescent yellow dorsal stripe. He ate whatever I'd give him, and survived until a vindictive ex intentionally seeded my tank with ich and wiped out my entire tank. 

 

Anyone know what he might be? I have Reef Fishes vol 1 by Scott Michael, and there's nothing like him in there. Looks like a mix of a ribbon eel and a golden moray, but nothing definite. I had a white ribbon eel a bit ago and they aren't the same. 

 

 

Could it be a variation of a golden dwarf moray? May a hybrid..

[Break]

33 minutes ago, jambon said:

Could it be a variation of a golden dwarf moray? May a hybrid..

Unlikely because in the golden dwarf moray (Gymnothorax melatremus) the dorsal fin originates about midway between the gill opening and corner of mouth. You can see it starts further back, behind the gill opening, in the OP's picture. Also, the eyes are all wrong for a golden dwarf (no vertical bar). It does match the Yellow-edge's hallmark orange eyes though.

[ValerieR]

On 7/1/2020 at 8:42 AM, Break said:

That would be my guess as well. I looked through fishbase and it was the only one that fit.

 

Plus it would seem their coloration changes as they age and they are often misidentified and sold as other species.

 

From LiveAquaria: "The Yellow Edged Moray Eel is a larger species of Moray Eel that can attain lengths up to 8 feet as a mature adult. Younger or smaller-sized Yellow Edged Eels are primarily brown to purple in color with its namesake yellow edge or border running along the perimeter of their fin. As the Yellow-Edge Eel matures, the overall body color becomes more mottled with an attractive creamy yellow-gold coloration."

 

Looks like BlueZooAquatics has sold a juvenile under that name that looks similar to the OP's.

 

Juvenile markings

I'd never seen a juvenile before. It is the closest I've seen, however there is a difference of blunt vs sharp teeth, overall color being significantly lighter, and it seems odd that I had him for over a year with little to no growth if his mature size was to be 8'. He wasn't remotely aggressive, I could work around him in the tank with no issues. But it does seem the most likely option. Maybe he was a subspecies or a local subspecies.

[Break]

Morphology is hard to do from photos. But either way, I'd prioritize fins, length ratios, eyes, and the like, before body coloring which is more likely to vary between individuals. If yours was a yellow-edge, it was probably pretty young given it's size, wouldn't be surprised if it was lighter. There aren't that many morays with a max size under 10" or so, but eels do generally grow fastest in the first few years of life and then slow down. 

 

I would say Yellow Edged Moray Eel are more curious and bold than outright aggressive; I wouldn't classify most morays as outright aggressive unless defending their home. That being said the Hawaiian name for yellow-edges translates to "fierce eel" and they will straight up try to steal fish from you in broad daylight if you are spearfishing or something. 

 

Anyway, I am pretty sure the genus is gymnothorax.

 

Could be a morph of gymnothorax tile, they come in range of colors. (I saw an old post from 2004 when you originally tried to have it ID'd. 🧐 The internet is weird.)

 

But that stripe on yours was so bright and distinct. The shape and coloring, reminds me a bit of a white margin moray Gymnothorax albimarginatus.

 

How are you sure it had blunt teeth? If so, it would look like cobblestone pavement on the jaws (like a zebra moray). Blunt teeth are uncommon among moray, so that would narrow it down. Most morays have sharp teeth to take advantage of their very mobile pharyngeal jaw. Yes, they are essentially straight out of the movie alien.

 

Zebra moray is Figure C below, the one with a mouth full of molars

[mcarroll]

The OP's pic reminds me of freshwater or brackish eels I've seen.  Can't name any names, unfortunately...but here's something to start with...maybe shoot this guy a message somehow:

https://sites.google.com/site/houseofharyo/freshwater-moray-page

[ValerieR]

Thank you all for the information so far. It's given me a lot to consider.