All fish / Muraenidae

Barred Moray Eel

Echidna polyzona

Also known as barred moray, zebra-banded moray, banded moray, girdled moray, barred moray eel, banded moray eel, アミキカイ, アミキカイウツボ, 多带蛇鳝, 环纹蛇鳝

This is a fairly small moray with a short snout. Young fish have bold dark brown and creamy bands, and these fade to a more mottled brown as the fish grows. Keepers like it because it stays modest in size and has blunt, crushing teeth for eating crustaceans, so it is less dangerous to most fish than the fish-eating morays.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

50 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

300 litres

Keep as

Keep singly

Diet

Carnivore: crabs, shrimp, mussel, squid and other meaty seafood

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 20 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii and the Tuamotus

Breeding

It has not been reliably bred in home aquariums. In the wild it spawns in open water and the larvae drift in the plankton for a long time, which is not practical to reproduce at home.

Good to know

Crabs, shrimps and other ornamental invertebrates will be eaten. Morays are expert escape artists, so the lid must be tight with every gap sealed, and the rockwork should give the eel caves to hide in.