Moray

The moray is a little bit a nerve-wracking creature. I've seen it in all sorts of sizes and colors. I think it gives respect and a little mythical feeling. Some say it is aggressive, but I find it very difficult to see, as I would assume that every other diver would have been bitten in that case. Usually you swim quite close and also look and take out the camera and take a pic. What many do not know is that the moray are very teachable, are able to become tame and eat out of the hand. Doubtful if I would do that as the risk still increases that hand vs food can be missed, for the moment I am content to watch and photograph.

Knowledge is power, it is said, and likewise knowledge is something that can ward off fear and show how important and beautiful something is. To give and have a mutual respect for life!

There are 200 different species of morays, from the small one at about 12 cm up to the largest species that can be 4 meters long. It is believed that the moray eel is a bit snake-like, but it is a fish and eats crustaceans, fish and squid. It also has a second set of teeth a little further back in the throat that helps to crush or finely distribute a certain type of food. Morays are mostly out at night and hunts, and in the daytime it is inside a den of some kind.

The morays vision is a little more limited, while the sense of smell is incredibly well-developed. The teeth are long and needle-shaped, and some of the teeth are connected to poison-producing glands. It has a single long fin that runs along the entire back and body. The skin has a mucus condition that in some species is toxic and can cause food poisoning.
The moray opens and closes its mouth all the time, and it is to circulate the water through the gills that looks more like two holes on the side of the neck.

They are fertile at about 3 years of age when she lays her eggs in a safe place where the male comes and fertilizes. Then it takes 30–45 days until the eggs hatch. The newly hatched moray eels are called larvae and are a little translucent and live among the plankton for about 1 year. Those who survive can live 10–30 years.

As many animals do in the wild, they find other species with which they can cooperate. Once they like to hang out with is grouper because they hunt on different surfaces. The grouper likes to hunt on open spaces, and the moray hunt among corals. If, for example, the fish they hunt becomes afraid of the moray, the grouper takes it and if the fish becomes afraid of the grouper, the moray will take it.

I have seen on several occasions the polishing shrimp sitting in the mouth of the moray and polishing and fixing the morays teeth, and the shrimp are very safe. There they live in symbiosis and benefit from each other.

Like all animals, the moray is also needed to keep the balance in our ecosystem.