...like a big pizza pie....it's a Moray!

I had the pleasure of viewing a Goldentail Moray (Gymnothorax miliaris) at Alligator Reef! Moray eels have always been a favorite of reef diving (in my opinion). Ever since I was a tiny 10 year old scuba diver, I've always enjoyed scouring the ledges and caves for a moray. There's something exciting about spotting a fish with no paired fins! They always look "grumpy" but very rarely are violent human encounters reported. The reason they are often taken as "grumpy" is because they often open and close their mouths to move water across their gills for respiration. All too often people feel scared or threatened by morays but actually they're very shy creatures with poor eyesight.They tend to feed nocturnally on fish, octopus and crustaceans. I've actually seen Goldentail Moray eels out in the open on the reef floor on night dives; it's really cool to see these critters in full because usually you can only see just the head poking out of a cave during the day. Goldentail Moray eels (Gymnothorax miliaris) are much smaller than their cousins the Green Moray eel, this makes them popular aquarium species but I prefer to make a trip to see them in the wild! :) 

Here's my little guy in the very center of the picture, followed by a grouper!