Chain Moray Care Guide
Echidna catenata is a western Atlantic moray with blunt teeth adapted for eating crustaceans rather than fish.
Overview
Echidna catenata, the Chain Moray, is a moray eel of the family Muraenidae from the western Atlantic. Its body is dark brown to black with an interconnecting lattice of yellow, chain-like lines. Unlike many morays, its teeth are short and blunt, an adaptation for crushing crustaceans.
Taxonomy
- Family: Muraenidae
- Genus: Echidna
- Scientific name: Echidna catenata (Bloch, 1795)
Habitat
According to FishBase, the species occurs in the western Atlantic from Bermuda, Florida and the Bahamas to the Antilles and Brazil, with records from the eastern Atlantic at Cape Verde and Ascension Island. It is reef-associated and benthic, living on reefs and rocky shores in clear water, usually within 2 m of the surface and at depths under 12 m.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 600 L (about 158 gal)
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- GH: 8-12 °dGH
- Water flow: low
- Lifespan: 10-30 years
Diet
The Chain Moray is carnivorous. FishBase and Wikipedia report a diet dominated by crustaceans, including sally lightfoot and other crabs, plus shrimps, worms, octopuses and small fish. Its blunt teeth are specifically adapted for feeding on crustaceans rather than seizing fish. In the KB record it is fed roughly twice weekly.
Compatibility
This is a nocturnal, bottom-dwelling, semi-aggressive predator that hides in crevices during the day. The KB record suggests housing it only with large, robust tankmates such as large groupers and triggers (the latter with care), and avoiding crabs and shrimp, which it readily eats.
Behavior
Wikipedia notes the species is mainly nocturnal and can survive out of water for up to about half an hour, foraging across exposed reef and tidal areas using both ambush and active pursuit.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 2011).