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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / November 2006Identification and compatibility: Barred Moray or Zebra Eel
Moved the aquarium today. Found an eel (never bought it so it must have been a stowaway). The pictures I've found of the Barred Moray and the Zebra are very similar and that's what it looked like. How can I tell the difference? Are either or both compatible with a reef? They don't hurt the corals, but they do like to eat the fish and critters that one normally keeps in the reef tank. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Wayne@WaynesPets.com hawgdawg wrote on 11/17/2006 9:38 PM: > Moved the aquarium today. Found an eel (never bought it so it must have > been a stowaway). The pictures I've found of the Barred Moray and the Zebra > are very similar and that's what it looked like. How can I tell the > difference? Are either or both compatible with a reef? > Moved the aquarium today. Found an eel (never bought it so it must have > been a stowaway). The pictures I've found of the Barred Moray and the Zebra > are very similar and that's what it looked like. How can I tell the > difference? Are either or both compatible with a reef? Neat stowaway - F&S wants over $100 for a zebra. Several vendors say they max out at 18", but the Monterey Bay Aquarium site says 5', and several other sites state that they get very big. All sites say they eat live food (like small fish). F&S says it's reef compatible "with caution" and saltwaterfish.com uses similar language. The barred moray gets to 24" long and has similar eating habits. Basically, don't try to keep small fish, shrimp, or crabs with either. I've found less info on the web about this guy. The barred moray has relatively wide bands. The bands don't have dark edges. The zebra eel has narrower bands which have dark brown edges. Zebra eels have spotted noses in all the photos I've seen. A Google search turned up many photos of the two eels, and there's a tremendous variation in the patterns of individual barred morays. There seems to be much less variation between individual zebra morays. George Patterson Those who do not study History are doomed to repeat it. Those who DO study History are doomed to watch every one else repeat it. > > The pictures I've found of the Barred Moray and the Zebra > > are very similar and that's what it looked like. How can I tell the > > difference? Are either or both compatible with a reef? Hi HD, Try Googling on their scientific names as shown below. I've included links to FishBase pages on each. Barred Moray (Echidna polyzona) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=5389 Zebra Moray (Gymnomuraena zebra) http://64.95.130.5/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=7880 You may have a problem with identification if what you have is a juvenile. These species both appear to change markings pretty dramatically as they mature and it's quite possible that they look very similar when young (under a foot or so in length). It looks like both species have similar diets (crab, shrimp, mollusks, & urchins) and the Zebra is described by some as a safe species (of course, YMMV). FishBasically yours, Alex |
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