The Honeycomb Moray Eel also known as Gymnothorax favagineus is a wonderful creature with brown spots shaped like honeycomb. Their skin color can be light white, brown, or yellow. They have a large jaw with canine-like teeth in front of their mouth. The teeth in their mouths are wide in size and designed to tear rather than grind the flesh. Also, they have an additional row of teeth on the upper palate. It helps them to catch prey easily. These teeth are longer than the teeth in the jaws and curve backward.
They have no pectoral or pelvic fins. But they gave dorsal fin runs the length of the body. The Honeycomb Moray Eel can be found at depths ranging from 2 to 45 meters and usually, they are common in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific area. They may grow to at least 2 meters in length and are close in size to giant Honeycomb Moray Eels. And they have become somewhat of a competitor for coral reefs.
Some researchers speculate that their mouth may contain venom and is poisonous. But with my diving experience of years, I have got close to them to take pictures and videos. I had never been bitten by them. But one day, a moray tried to bite my leg below the knee. And it was some minor injury and the fish was not able to do any serious damage. But as soon as I reached to the beach, the fishermen there advised me to keep the injured area soaked in hot water as much as possible. After that, I went to the hospital and got relevant treatment to get rid of the illness that might have been caused by some germs in the body. And Moray Eels bite force is about 900 PSI.
Moray eels secrete some type of mucus on their scaleless skin. But in some species, the mucus may contain toxins. They have thick skin and a large number of cells that secrete mucus epidermis. They are nocturnal hunters. Therefore, they usually live in coral reefs sunken shipwrecks, or small caves during the day and are rarely seen outdoors. Usually, they are not aggressive. But should be handled with care due to their sharp teeth.
Honeycomb Moray Eels back of the mouth, there are proportionally smaller circular pores. As a result, they constantly open and close their mouths to facilitate sufficient water to flow through the mouth and out of the pores.
I have seen in many videos and pictures, that divers feed Moray Eel with their hands. There may be no intention to harm these animals. But that action put both humans and animals at risk. This is not just sensational. In addition, they may be harmful to human due to their size and speed of attack. As Moray Eel’s behavior, they catch prey large enough to swallow. At the hunting, they slowly pull away so that the prey doesn't notice. After that, it grips the prey with its strong jaws and paralyzes it with a fatal bite. They mostly do this if prey is of larger or equal size, and only on sharks and large fish.
As soon as they catch a prey large enough to swallow, they slowly pull away so that the prey doesn't notice. It then grips the prey with its strong jaws and paralyzes the victim with a fatal bite. This is done only on prey of larger or equal size, and only on sharks and large fish. The sudden fatal blow to other prey paralyzes it tears it apart and devours it. Other prey are struck with a sudden fatal blow that paralyzes them, then tears them apart and devours them.
They mostly hunt at night and usually, they feed on small fish and large fish including octopus, and parrot fish. But are sometimes caught by fishermen using bait, indicating that they eat either dead fish or bait as prey. Pharyngeal jaws are the jaws located on the neck of moray eels, and they function similarly to a second set of jaws. Their outer jaws hold the prey they have captured.
The jaws on the throat of moray eels are called pharyngeal jaws and act like a second set of jaws. Then they push the jaws of the throat at the back of the mouth forward. These jaws then recapture the prey and make it easier for them to swallow the prey. Moray eels are the only fish that use pharyngeal jaws to capture prey.
Nature has given them a strong sense of smell and pharyngeal jaws as hunting tools. And actually, Moray Eel has poor eyesight. As I mentioned before they get food as weakened or dead organisms.
Studies show that moray eels reproduce through hermaphroditism. This means they produce both male and female gametes. Species with separate males and females are called gonochoric, the opposite of hermaphrodites. Some moray eels switch between sexes over time. Others produce both sperm and eggs at the same time, so they can mate with any gender. They usually form pairs when the water is warm. After a courtship, they release sperm and eggs together. The larvae drift in the ocean for about eight months. Over time, they transform into young eels, eventually becoming adult moray eels.
Some types of moray eels absorb ciguatoxin from their food, a harmful substance made by certain organisms. This makes them unsafe for humans to eat. However, in countries like Japan, special methods are used to remove the toxins before they are consumed.
Catching moray eels is tough because they are slippery. And hard to handle due to the large amounts of mucus they produce.
Their unique appearance makes them popular as pets in aquariums and homes. Since they can grow up to two meters long, they need large tanks with plenty of space. They are easy to feed. Providing hiding spots in the tank like caves or rocks helps reduce their stress. They prefer dead fish as food, making feeding simple. However, if there are small children around the tank, extra care should be taken to avoid any risks for both the eel and the child.
