All fish / Muraenidae

Snowflake Moray Eel

Echidna nebulosa

Also known as snowflake moray, snowflake eel, starry moray, clouded moray, starry eel, snowflake morey, ปลาไหลมอเรย์เกล็ดหิมะ, アラシウツボ, sidat snowflake, 雪花鳗, 星带蝮鳝

A slim moray with a white or cream body covered in black blotches holding bright yellow spots, which gives it a snowflake look. It is one of the hardiest and least aggressive morays, so it is a popular first eel for larger marine tanks. Its blunt teeth are built for crushing crustaceans rather than catching fish.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

60 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

300 litres

Keep as

Best kept singly

Diet

Carnivore: chopped shrimp, crab, squid, mussel and fish pieces

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 20 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-Pacific and eastern Pacific, from East Africa and the Red Sea to Hawaii and Mexico

Breeding

It spawns in open water and produces planktonic leptocephalus larvae. It has not been bred reliably in home aquariums.

Good to know

It will eat crabs, shrimps and other small crustaceans and may swallow very small fish, so it is not reef safe for invertebrates. Morays are skilled escape artists, so the tank needs a tight, fully sealed lid.