Spotted Garden Eel (Heteroconger hassi)
Fish in the family Congridae. Hard care. Reef Safe.
Quick facts
Appearance
The Spotted Garden Eel is a long, slender eel with a tan or beige body covered with distinctive brown or dark spots and markings. It has a blunt snout and relatively small eyes, with a habit of hovering nearly vertically in the water column. The body is elongated and somewhat compressed laterally, typical of garden eels.
Diet and feeding
Feed small live or frozen foods such as mysis shrimp, copepods, and small crustaceans 1–2 times daily. Garden eels are natural plankton and small invertebrate feeders and may be reluctant to accept prepared foods initially.
Difficulty and care for the Spotted Garden Eel
Spotted Garden Eels are challenging in captivity due to their specialized feeding habits, need for a deep sand bed, and tendency to hide or refuse food. They require pristine water quality, calm tank conditions, and a patient hobbyist willing to acclimate them slowly.
Common health issues
Starvation, intestinal parasites, lateral line disease, fin rot
Origin and habitat
Indo-Pacific region, including waters around Indonesia, the Philippines, and other tropical reef areas in the western Pacific.
Log Spotted Garden Eel in your reef tank
Reef Trak gives you the full record on every species in your tank: acquisition date, source, photos, parameters at time of stocking, and links to maintenance and feeding events. Track Spotted Garden Eel alongside everything else in your reef.
Related Fish
