Golden Dwarf Moray Eel (Gymnothorax melatremus)

[Chaloupa]

My new eel...."he's" only about 7-8" long...just got him from J&L on Friday. Good thing they double bagged him...many holes in the bag from him biting it! Seems to have settled in and as of today is eating.....
First pic to give some perspective to his small size;


Closeup to show detail and his blue eyes;

[Borderjumper]

Awesome hes eating for you. Good job Sarah!

[Delphinus]

I was hoping someone on here was the one who snagged him and would post pictures. I was soooooo tempted but just not a good time for a big purchase like that. But thank you thank you for sharing "him" with us (his photos at least). More more more more!

[Chaloupa]

Hey Tony...it was a big purchase but worth it! I'm really glad that I got him. He is still very very shy but getting better. He ate well today so I think things should work out....just getting him comfortable has been tough...we re-arranged the tank the day after we got him to catch an angel that was giving us grief...and surprisingly he toughed it out .... I'll take more as he becomes more agreeable to us...and the camera!

[Delphinus]

Which tank do you have him in? Did you arrange the rock special to creates caves and what not, or did you get lucky in that there were already caves like the one he's in?

Can't wait to see more. That's awesome, hope he does really well for you!

[Chaloupa]

I have him in my 120g that has changed ALOT over the last year.

I lost my Scribbled Angel still have NO idea why, as no other fish was looking "off" or anything and 2 hours prior the angel was eating..then dead. So after that we replaced the glass as it was BADLY scratched and very well used, (we had a new 120g in the garage waiting for the day we got brave) did a swap out of the tanks in a 24 hour period...so rescaped the tank.....then had purchased a Lemon Peel Angel from a fellow reefer that just turned out to be a terror to a few fish and now we realize the extent of it's nastiness as the tank is much calmer....but to catch it we had to take out some rock, rip apart things....(all of which the eel had been in the tank for less than 24 hours but the angel was becoming a really really big concern) then it gave us an even better chance to change the rock to make more caves for the fish and give the eel some dark spots.

Right now he is living in a hole in one of the rocks..it has a hole that reaches from one side to the other so he has 2 places to come out of....and at least I can target feed him easily where he has chosen!

[Argentiner]

Would this eel eat all hermits and snails? How about a full grown fire shrimp and black cucumber? Was thinking of getting one sometime in the future but was never sure what you would do for a cleanup crew. Was also thinking about a ghost eel...

[Chaloupa]

He doesn't seem concerned about the cleanup crew....he is SMALL though. This is the smallest, as far as I know, of the eel family that is brought in for aquariums...correct me if I am wrong....I don't know that he could manage a full size cleaner shrimp or the like, nor do I think they have any interest in a cucumbers....it's not something I worried about and I don't think it's something you need to be worried about.

[Chaloupa]

Here it is at feeding time...put in a couple of clams for the CBB and wrasse and to see what the eel would do....turns out he was pretty interested!!!!! Not shy AT ALL! I have seen him in the rockwork "swimming" a little when the halides go out....

[Delphinus]

I love it, thanks for the pics!!