Friday Fish Facts - Viper Moray Eel

The Viper Moray Eel, Chestnut Moray (Enchelycore carychoa)

Viper Moray Eel 1 A special Valentine's Day edition of Friday Fish Facts featuring A Moray Eel (AMORE eel.... bad pun). All kidding aside, the Viper Moray Eel looks as vicious as it's name, however they are actually very shy, and prefer to hide among the rock work in an aquarium. Hailing from the Tropical Atlantic region, the Viper Eel is also found in the Pacific region in and around Hawaii. It can grow to a maximum size of 13.5" inches, however average size in the aquarium hobby tends to be between 5" - 7" inches long.

Viper Moray Eel 3 The Viper Moray requires a minimum tanks size of 20 gallons or larger, and needs rockwork and possibly the addition of a PVC pipe piece to provide a shelter. They are known to be escape artists, especially on open top aquariums, so a tank cover is required. This Moray Eel is a carnivore and should be fed to the point of being satiated 2 times per week. Meaty foods such as fresh or frozen fish, and crustacean meat is best. May require initial feeding of live feeder fish or small live shrimp to initiate feeding in captivity. It is best if the Viper Eel has already been converted to captive feeding before purchasing.

Viper Moray Eel 2 Although they are generally peaceful tank mates, they have been known to eat small fishes and ornamental crustaceans. They may also topple over rock work in the tank that is not securely fixed. Viper Eels can be kept with other similar sized Moray Eels, however no more than one Viper Eel should be in a single tank. Larger eels may display predatory behavior towards Viper Eels.