ZebraMSelFAQs

FAQs about Zebra Moray Eel Stocking/Selection

Related Articles: Zebra Moray, Ribbon Morays,

Now, that's small!

Zebra Moray Question 12/5/17
Hi Bob-
Gabe here. Hope you are well. A retailer reached out to me yesterday about taking in a pair of Zebra Morays that someone donated to the store last week. Hobbyist had a small tank and decided to ditch them after buying them as babies and keeping them for a few years... Shame. They are beautiful specimens. 3.5' each. I have them in a 90 gallon right now, while I change some things around in a 180 for them, so please know that they will not be in this small tank for more than a week or so. The LFS had them in a 40 gallon tank, so I felt obligated to take them off their hands. I can't stand to see them suffer in a small tank.
My question was, because they are a pair, is it possible they will mate?
<Mmm; I doubt it; but am asking MarcoL his opinion here>
I know that they are hermaphrodites, so at this point I'm not sure the sexes of them. One is larger than the other, so I was thinking that maybe one has changed to female in hopes to mate? Not sure. I didn't think that they normally paired up unless they had plans to mate, but it sounds like these two eels have been together since birth from the way the LFS put it.
Any way to tell if one is a female/ready to mate? Should I pass this on to Marco?
<I've done so here>
They ate this morning before I ran off to school. Seem happy as of now.
I'll keep you posted. Should have them in the 180 by the beginning of next week.
Cheers-
Gabe Walsh WWM Crew
<Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>
Zebra Moray Question, comp., repro. /Marco 12/6/17
Hi Bob-
Gabe here. Hope you are well. A retailer reached out to me yesterday about taking in a pair of Zebra Morays that someone donated to the store last week. Hobbyist had a small tank and decided to ditch them after buying them as babies and keeping them for a few years... Shame. They are beautiful specimens. 3.5' each. I have them in a 90 gallon right now, while I change some things around in a 180 for them, so please know that they will not be in this small tank for more than a week or so. The LFS had them in a 40
gallon tank, so I felt obligated to take them off their hands. I can't stand to see them suffer in a small tank. My question was, because they are a pair, is it possible they will mate?
<Mmm; I doubt it; but am asking MarcoL his opinion here>
I know that they are hermaphrodites, so at this point I'm not sure the sexes of them. One is larger than the other, so I was thinking that maybe one has changed to female in hopes to mate? Not sure. I didn't think that they normally paired up unless they had plans to mate, but it sounds like these two eels have been together since birth from the way the LFS put it. Any way to tell if one is a female/ready to mate? Should I pass this on to Marco?
<I've done so here>
They ate this morning before I ran off to school. Seem happy as of now. I'll keep you posted. Should have them in the 180 by the beginning of next week. Cheers-Gabe Walsh WWM Crew
<Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>
<<Gymnomuraena zebra often don't get along well with conspecifics and have even killed each other on rare occasions. You are lucky having found two, which appear to be a pair. Comparable pairs have mated and produced eggs in captivity (as have some other moray eel species), although the larvae could not be raised. I am not aware of any moray eel larvae raised in captivity at all probably due to the long time and planktonic nature of their larval stage. In contrast to many other moray eels, Gymnomuraena zebra are protogynous hermaphrodites, they all start as females and the largest ones change to males. If you really have a pair, the larger one likely is the male and the smaller one the female. When the females produce eggs they become quite bloated. However, aside that I am not aware of any other external trait, that can be used to tell them apart. Hope this helps. Cheers, Marco.>>

zebra moray eel question, comp., sys. 1/17/13
Hi I have a quick question, I've used searches and still need an answer.
I have a ~36" zebra moray I've had in a 75 gallon for about 1.5 years.
<Needs more room than this by twice plus>
It has a 30 gallon sump/refugium and protein skimmer. There is a person locally that knows about my eel and wanted to know if I wanted another
zebra moray. My question is that the eel is only about ~20". Will these two zebra morays be okay together given their size difference?
<Likely so... but only trial can tell... I would put a perforated screen (likely a cut to fit piece of louver) twixt the two for a few weeks... in
the larger system>
The tank mates would be 2 flasher wrasse 2 small tomato clowns and a Tomini tang. There is no aggression between any of the fish and the eel, he hardly come out. Thank you in advance!
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

REAL SMALL ZEBRA 10/4/11
hello , I just what to show off my small ZEBRA .. isn't she a beauty ?
eating like a champ too!!!
<Don't know mate... and likely never will. Your email has been deleted permanently for being too large. See our requirements... where you got this link from. Hundreds of Kbytes max., NOT seven megs. >
Re: REAL SMALL ZEBRA
Sorry , " mate" , I'll be more careful next time. I've been waiting for years to Get my hands on a real small zebra eel .. The wait was worth it.,
Tom Christou
<Mmm, Gymnomuraena zebra is a fave... Caught a smallish (18" overall length) one last week in Cakaulevu reef... Fiji; fished for them for years in Hawai'i'. Small ones are hard to find. Bob Fenner>
RE: REAL SMALL ZEBRA
here ya go much smaller , mate !
<Wow, tiny! Thanks for sharing. BobF>

Re: REAL SMALL ZEBRA 10/4/11
yes sir, I've got her housed in a 125 with a golden dwarf moray ( no issues so far).. I'm planning a trip to Hawaii next summer with my girls , I've been diving the new jersey ship wrecks for years and would like to do so in Hawaii , but would like to meet with a diver who makes a living catching fish per our hobby.. do you know of anyone who can show us around ?
<Mmm, are you a "proficient" diver? Most folks in the trade have little time and/or patience for... "non professionals"... Which island/s will you be on? Likely O'ahu... you might call, visit Randy Fernley of Coral Fish Hawaii... he has a retail outlet in addn. to being a collector... B>
best regards,
tom
RE: REAL SMALL ZEBRA 10/4/11
lol, yes , I've got about 500 dives under my belt .. however , at age 44 I've slowed down a bit , the " cave diving " trips to northern florida are a little out of my league now! enjoy !!
tom
<Ahh, do try to make it over to Kona (the Big Island)... Kailua/Keohole Airport... I'd order/read "The Big Island Discovered" ahead of your trip.
B, 59>

Re: REAL SMALL ZEBRA-- 10/05/11
thanks for your help !!
tom
<Thank you for sharing Tom. I have a piece... somewhere... not w/ me unfortunately, on visiting HI... the Big Island... If time's not too dear, head on over there for sure. Cheers, BobF>
Re: REAL SMALL ZEBRA-- 10/05/11
Iv got plenty of reason too , my 10 year anniversary with my lovely wife ( earth science teacher ) , and my lovely 5 and 8 years old daughters who need to experience I'm sure an indescribable beauty the Hawaiian islands have to offer.
Enjoy !!
Tom Christou
<Ah yes; thank you. B>

Reef tank Hi Bob, you got a nice setup with this Q&A. It has been very educational for me. My question is could I put an eel in a 40 gallon setup with a very good protein skimmer? With eel would be good? How about a Zebra moray? And how large do they get? Thanx for your answer. >> Thank you for being part of this forum. A smaller Zebra (Gymnomuraena zebra) would be fine to start... they do get a good four feet or so in the wild... but grow quite slowly in captivity... Our old service company had some for over ten years.... Another good choice for smaller marine systems is the Snowflake (Echidna nebulosa) which tops out at about 3 feet... both are good animals for captive use.... that eat most all types of meaty foods (they prefer crustaceans), and leave most marine fishes alone (unlike most of their kin of the moray eel family, Muraenidae).... Just take care to keep a tight cover over all openings of your tank top.... as they are escape artists par excellence. Bob Fenner

Zebra moray Hi, Thanks for the very useful information on the zebra moray at http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zebramor.htm <Ah, yes. You're welcome> I recently saw one of these amazing creatures in a fish store and am considering setting up a large (6ft) tank for one of these beauties. <Am visiting in PA, and just saw one that was a mere 6-8 inches at a fish store> I have maintained fresh-water aquariums for many years, but never a marine tank. I was wondering if you thought it was a good idea to have a zebra moray eel in my first marine tank? You mention their tolerance on the webpage. <Not a terrible choice... a pretty tough species. Specimens just tend to run large... but tolerant of wide ranges of chemical, physical conditions... and hardy crab eater. > Thank you, Andrew Bayliss <Bob Fenner>

Zebra Moray Bob, I have had my eye on a Zebra Moray at my LFS for about a month. They say they haven't seen it eat yet. The moray is about 18 inches long. Should I avoid this specimen, or should I give it a go? Thanks, Kelly <Have them offer it fresh, or live shrimp, a crab... and don't buy this specimen or any other unless it's eating... what you will be offering. Please review the selecting livestock sections of the website: www.wetwebmedia.com for much more. Bob Fenner>

Re: Zebra Moray Robert Fenner wrote: > I know bigger is better and all, but would a 125 gallon be a good size for it? > <Yes, a good size for a few years, medium size specimen> would a snowflake be better at that size setup then? just how large should a dedicated zebra be? <A Snowflake would be better (typically start smaller, stay so). And about eighteen inches if you can find one... recently encountered a barely eight inch one in NJ... tiny. Bob Fenner>

Re: Zebra Moray All right then, I'll stick with the snowflake, saw one for sale here about the same size, around 8" - 9", hopefully I'll be able to acquire one that size when I finally get the setup going. Thanks for all the advice! Mike, aka Pinkie Finger. <Make sure the specimen is feeding ahead of purchasing it. Bob Fenner>

Smallest zebra moray Hi again, I think I've seen the smallest zebra offered so far, about 6". <Good gosh, that IS tiny!> Aqua Serene in Eugene has him in the acrylic display case in a fishbowl covered with cheese cloth. he has a place to hide, but it's got to be the tiniest eel I've ever seen, no bigger around than one of those fat pencils they saddle elementary school kids with. Mike <Hope this specimen is eating... Bob Fenner>

Re: smallest zebra moray, expensive Harlequin Shrimp meals So do I, he seemed to be in good shape, but we know how deceptive that can be. While I consider them a somewhat high price wise, they do have excellent livestock. No dead or sick animals in the tanks, everybody bright eyed and bushy tailed. <Commendable> I didn't have the time to check up on him though. If the condo sale goes through (I have someone interested!) I might get back and reserve him, as long as he's healthy. I'm not sure if the next one was intentional or not, but they had a harlequin shrimp (a lovely blue) in with a "scarlet" starfish, the harlequin was going to town on it. since they were asking $27 for the starfish, I'm not sure if they set it up as a feeder or if someone just didn't know better. <Suspect the latter. Bob Fenner>

Eels Thank you for your response Cody. That is well needed information concerning the decision of the what type of eel to purchase. I researched a lot about the Zebra and Snowflake as well and I think I would rather go for a Zebra because of the personality and aggression levels it has but was wondering two things.<This is a great choice, I have one myself that will eat out of my hand! They become very tame after a while, mine even lets me "pet" it.> One web site I found said they were difficult to keep compared to other eels and I want to know if this is true and if so what makes them difficult compared to others?<They are a very hardy choice, although they can sometimes have problems with blindness.> Next question would be could I keep a large sea cucumber with this eel? <Yes> I pride myself on researching and making informed decisions especially when it comes to the life of a living creature. Also, if you don't mind will a Zebra work well in a 125g tank or should I just get a snowflake? <He should be fine, just keep the tank under crowded with a protein skimmer to clean up after their messy meals. Cody> Please advise, Thanks, JB

Zebra eel I read on one website that these animals are "difficult to keep". Is this true? <Not the Gymnomuraena zebra eel... it's amongst the hardiest, easiest to keep morays. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zebramor.htm > I have a 125 and a 55 gallon tank. I was thinking about getting an eel and putting it in the 125 but I do have 2 angels 4 tangs and a lion. I did the plumbing so that my 55 and 125 are linked to a 75 gallon aquarium that is my lighted sump and filter system( I have plants growing in the sump for natural filtration and to dissuade algae growth). In essence I have a 250 gallon setup. What do you think? I had a snowflake eel in this tank. He actually got pretty large (until I went on vacation and my brother left the top hood open). <A very good choice for your set-up and other livestock.> Thanks for any info! Joe <Thank you for writing. Bob Fenner>